Wired for Worship
Wired for Worship Series: Beyond The Palms
March 24, 2024 • Pastor Tammy Long • Mark 11:7–10, Mark 14:3–8, Romans 12:1
We are concluding our mini-series, “Wired for Worship” highlighting worship leading up to Resurrection Sunday. Today is Palm Sunday and Easter weekend is coming. The focus of this Wired for Worship series is a deepening understanding and desire to connect with God in worship that is pleasing to the Lord. In the first Wired for Worship message on the Heart of Worship, in John 4 Jesus met with the woman at the well and declared that a heart of worship involves both a spirit of passionate devotion and the truth of who God is and God’s ways. For the second Wired for Worship message on the Keys to Worship, we explored that we worship because God is worthy. How we worship is through voice, body, lips, service; the list actually is endless. In the third Wired for Worship message on the Power of Worship, we unpacked the truth that worship combats spiritual anemia through the power of God’s presence, which broadens our perspective, aligns us with God’s purpose and priorities, and unites God’s people in worship manifesting a powerful witness to the world. In this Wired for Worship message on Beyond the Palms, we are comparing two scenes as we enter into holy week. Both of these passages have something to teach us about true worship. In Mark 11, the crowd is charged in waving branches to celebrate a triumph of Jesus as Messiah and King. But within a week the crowd chants of worship turned to incriminating cries of “Crucify Him.” Jesus didn’t do what the crowd expected and wanted Him to do, which was to overthrow the Roman Empire. Their worship, in essence, was all about them. In Mark 14, a woman anoints Jesus with oil of extreme value. Because of God’s mercy toward us, and Jesus’ work in us and for us, we are to offer our precious bodies, meaning every aspect of our lives in a continuous act of worship. This lifestyle of worship is our response when we give ourselves to the Lord with a pure heart every day, every hour, and every minute.
Wired for Worship Series: The Power of Worship
March 17, 2024 • Pastor Tammy Long • Acts 16:22–31
We are continuing our mini-series, “Wired for Worship” highlighting worship leading up to Resurrection Sunday. We will examine new ways to worship, praise, and celebrate God. The focus of this message is about the power of worship. As God transforms us through worship, God uses us to advance the Kingdom of God. Have you ever felt spiritually anemic, listless, out of gas, inert, or in desperate need of a spiritual energy charge? Even with spiritual anemia, the truth is that there is power in worship. God graciously offers to us power as we worship God in spirit and in truth. We may not know who is watching us or who is listening to us, especially when we stand strong in the Lord even in hard times. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were severely beaten and thrown into prison. In the midst of it all, Paul and Silas worshipped by praying and singing hymns to God. As Paul and Silas worshipped, the foundations of the prison were shaken by the power of God. This depicts the power of worship literally for Paul and Silas and the power of worship in our lives today. Power of worship begins with loving God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and entering into God’s presence to adore God simply for who God is. There are at least four ways we experience power when we worship God. (1) There’s power in being in God’s presence. (2) This leads to the power of seeing a broader view through God’s perspective. (3) This invites the power of aligning with God’s purpose and priorities. (4) This manifests the power of unity among God’s people and a powerful witness to the world.
Wired for Worship Series: The Keys to Effective Worship
March 10, 2024 • Tony DeGruy • 1 Chronicles 16:23–31
We are continuing our mini-series, “Wired for Worship” highlighting worship leading up to Resurrection Sunday. We will examine new ways to worship, praise, and celebrate God. The focus of this message is about the keys for effective worship. Keys are usually used to gain access to something that is locked. Some of us try to break into God’s presence using short cuts without the keys. Without keys there is no legitimate access to the fullness of experiencing God’s presence. Worship is recognizing the worth of the one you worship. Let’s highlight three keys to worship that are available to us. The three keys to worship are purpose, preparation, and participation. (1) The purpose key unlocks why we worship. God is holy. God sacrificed the Son while we were sinners, and worship is our reasonable service. (2) The preparation key prepares us to hear from God in worship. We communicate with God through prayer, and we acknowledge our sins to grasp the true nature of God. (3) The participation key unlocks how we worship. We sing, praise, use music, dance, worship with the fruit of our lips, give, witness, and baptize. As God transforms us through worship, God uses us to advance the Kingdom of God.
Wired for Worship: The Heart of Worship
March 3, 2024 • Pastor Tammy Long • John 4:19–24
We are beginning a mini-series, “Wired for Worship” that highlights worship leading up to Resurrection Sunday when we will apply in transformed ways worship, praise, and celebrations of God. The heart of worshipping God is all about Jesus, but often we are distracted during worship. Since we are multi-sensory beings and our attention spans are shrinking, we may start worshipping God, but then we lose focus. External distractions during our worship together can include whether you like the music or the sermon. Internal distractions when trying to worship can include not feeling well or not in the best of moods. Our minds can be distracted from worship because we sing words to a song like we are on autopilot without feeling the meaning, or our mind is high jacked by whatever other concerns we have. When watching online, the distractions can grow exponentially thinking about undone chores instead of focusing on God during the time set aside for worship. When Jesus related with a Samaritan woman in John 4:19-25, Jesus taught new ways on where, how, and who for worship. Jesus taught lessons on where to worship. Worship can occur anywhere and at any time. It is not about a particular place, time, or building, but about intentional spiritual practices. Jesus taught lessons on how to worship. True worship is done in both spirit and truth. Unless there is passion for God, there is no worship in spirit. Jesus taught lessons on the worthiness of who to worship. Unless we have knowledge of God, there is no worship in truth. The more we get to know God, then the more we love God. This deepens our worship and glorifies God. God reveals self through creation, God’s Word, and Jesus. Understanding some attributes of God is crucial in stirring in your spirit a heart of worship. God is love. God is holy. God is faithful. God is just. God is omnipotent. God is omniscient. God is omnipresent. God is sovereign. God is merciful. God is good. God is gracious. Grasping what worship really is all about and engaging in worship as a spiritual practice could be life changing and transformational both for us personally, and for us as we worship as a church.