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The 5 W’s of Worship

 Psalm 29:2 (NIV)

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

 Romans 12:1-2 (TNIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  

According to the Bible, this is WHAT worship is about.  It is not about musical styles and tastes.  It’s not about you, it’s about GOD.  

God is the heart of worship and God WANTS you!  

I have a friend who is a newspaper writer.  This person told me that they use a technique to write an article.  They ask five questions… 

who, what, when, where, and why.  

Today I will use this template as the background to my message,

‘The 5 W’s of Worship”  

1.  WHO--is foremost about God and placing our devotion and attention on God’s presence.   

Worship is about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Worship is about the amazing, awesomeness of God!  

2.  WHAT--Surrender.  This is not a word we like to hear, today.  

“In today’s competitive culture we are taught to never give up and never give in—so we don’t hear very much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. We would rather talk about winning, succeeding, overcoming, and conquering than yielding, submitting, obeying, and surrendering. But surrendering to God is the heart of worship.”

Rick Warren, day 10 of 40 Days of Purpose  

3.   WHERE--in this sanctuary and when you walk out of the doors of this church

Hebrews 10:25 (NKJV)

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”  

Tommy Tenney made this statement in his book, The God Chasers  

“I don’t know about you, but I am tired of just being ‘another somebody’ to the lost around me. I have made a decision. I made up my mind and set my heart to declare, ‘I am going to pursue the presence of God in my life. I am going to get so close to God that when I walk into secular and public places, people will meet Him.’

(The God Chasers, by Tommy Tenney, p. 113-114)  

What about you?  

4.   WHEN--Always  

One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4  (NIV)  

What is that ONE thing you desire in life?   

If you come to the service expecting God to speak to you, you will discover God’s will for your life.  The service is all about the Lord!  

Many people feel empty when they leave a worship service.  But they haven’t brought anything to the celebration.  

“No one is to show up in the Presence of God empty-handed”

Deuteronomy 16:16  

5.   WHY?  God is worthy, 100%  

Revelation 4:8, 11

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come…

You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being."  

Revelation 5:13 (NIV)

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!"  

HOW do we worship?  

1.  Quietly

“Be still, and know that I am God”

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)  

2.  Raise your voice

“My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You; And my soul, which You have redeemed”

Psalm 71:23  

3.  Bow down

“O come, let us give worship, falling down on our knees before the Lord our Maker”

Psalm 95:6  

4.  Clap your hands

“Clap your hands all you people”

Psalm 47:1  

5.  Lift your hands

Psalm 134:2 "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD."  

Lamentations 3:41 "Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven."  

In worship to the Lord, though it’s not about you, in the end,

God gets you.  God wants YOU!  

“God doesn’t need anything, God WANTS you”

(from Ross Macklin, Tuesday Night Mens’ Bible study at TUCC)  

Are you giving God what’s left or what’s right?  

Benediction

And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 (NIV)