Saturday, February 25, 2012

Worship Works pt 3 Outline

Review: Last week we made one basic point about worship. Worship is done through Jesus life, crucifixion and resurrection. Therefore, we do not worship through our guilt, flesh, feelings or who we are or are not. When we worship through our Savior we have no right to withhold our praise and EVERY reason to give it enthusiastically. We worship in three arenas; publically, privately/personally and through our problems.
Pericope: Hebrews 13: 11 – 16  
Sermon Text: Hebrews 13: 15KJV
Sermon Title: Worship Works: It’s All About the Atmosphere
Point 1: Life changing word…comes when the worship atmosphere is right 2 Kings 3: 15 But now bring me a harpist.” While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, “This is what the Lord says…
1 Samuel 10: 5, 6 After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 1 Chronicles 25: 3 As for Jeduthum, from his sons…who prophesied, using the harp in thanking and praising the Lord.
 
 
 
(a) Participatory atmospherics must be charged with thanksgiving, praise and worship
(b) Worship orientates you toward God
(c) The atmospherics disturbs the prince of the air flow in your mind
(d) The Holy Spirit holds us captive to hear what God has to say and produces revelation in the preacher
 
 
 
 
Point 2: Spirit changes… 1 Samuel 16: 16, 23Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better. 23”Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
Music has the power to change your spirit. E.g. Heavy! Tension! Relaxing! Sad! Happy! Deliverance! The right music charges and changes the atmosphere. The same is true for worship.
 
 
 
Point 3: Chains are broken…when the worship atmosphere is right. Acts 16: 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
(a) Those in bondage listened to those who were free…
(b) Listening brought deliverance the chains broke…
(c) Salvation was the result of the right atmosphere…
 
 
 
Life Implementation:
1. When you come to worship be ready to worship through Jesus, with enthusiasm and expectation
2. Accept you have a part to play in setting the atmosphere by participating. It’s not up to Fred and the Voices of New Life to worship God for you or anyone else. You have a responsibility to worship God for yourself
3. Give yourself permission to be moved by the worship atmosphere  i.e. tears, cheers, reflection, dance, etc.
4. If you feel convicted then confession and conversion is appropriate
 

Friday, February 24, 2012

Worship Works: His Sacrifice, My Praise

Sermon Text: Hebrews 13: 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of Praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Are you tired of coming to church to just fill the square? Have you decided you want something to happen when you worship? You must remember that it’s His sacrifice and your praise that makes it work. When you are going through things worship isn’t usually the first thing on your mind. You are usually trying to figure out how to solve the problem. You come to church carrying a lot of issues and sometimes don’t praise because you are trying to deal with your issues. You forget that because of His sacrifice you are holy no matter what you may have done. Stop trying to worship through the guilt you are feeling; worship through Christ.
Hebrews 7:27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
Once we digest that we are now ready to worship in three ways: Personal, Public, and for our Problems.

Point 1: Personal

a) W/o guilt. (Romans 8: 1) “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

One of the most difficult things to do is worship when you are feeling guilty. Many of us would worship if we could get pass what we were feeling. Stop allowing the devil to condemn you. Your salvation says you can stand up and praise Him. Your salvation alone gives you the right to worship. Nothing else you want could ever measure up to it. Stop waiting to worship when something happens. Worship through Jesus. Stop having contingency worship.
b) W/consistency (vs. 15) “…let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise”

Continually worship because Jesus has saved you. Your personal life should never hinder my praise.

Point 2: Public
(Heb 13: 2) “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
(a) Hurry up. (Psalm 122: 1 KJV) “I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord “

How can you come late to the Lord’s house to worship Him? You are not late to work. You make plans to ensure you are on time for everything else that you decide to do. There should be no difference when it comes to worshipping the Lord.

(b) Heart. (Psalm 86: 12 KJV) “I will praise thee, O Lord my God with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.”

Perhaps you don’t mind being late because your heart isn’t in it.

(c) Happy. (2 Timothy 2:3 ) “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

James told us how to do it in James 1: 2- “count it all joy…”, and in James 5: 13 “is any happy let him sing praise songs…”. Worshipping is a happy time. Do not allow Satan to come in and steal your joy. The moment you allow him to make you unhappy you have given him tremendous power.

(d) Honor. (Rev 5: 13) “to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever! “

We come to honor God and celebrate Him. When you worship, talk to God like you know Him. You cannot come into God’s house and not worship Him. You come to get into His presence.

Point 3: Problem
(Psalms 73:17)(a) W/full assurance the psalmist said in Psalms 73 he life was in torment. He could not understand why he was doing so poorly and sinners were doing so well. It didn’t make sense to him until he came to the sanctuary. Psalm 73: 17 till I entered the sanctuary then I understood their final destiny.

The writer is trying understand why the people who aren’t living right seem to be doing well and those who are living correctly have situations that seem to be falling apart. When you have problems you will not have full assurance that God will handle them until you make it into His presence- on time, not preoccupied with your issues.

Worship Works 'N' 3's Public, Personal, & Problems

Sermon Text: Hebrews 13: 15 Through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise –the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Definition: …the attitude and acts of reverence to a deity. The term ‘worship’ in the OT translates the Hebrew word meaning ‘to bow down, prostrate oneself,’ a posture indicating reverence and homage given to a lord, whether human or divine. The concept of worship is expressed by the term ‘serve.’

Although Israelite worship shared many of these external forms, even to calling sacrifices ‘the food of God’ (e.g., Lev. 21:6), its essence was quite different.

Context: Adopting a lifestyle of offering and sacrifice is exactly the point of Hebrews chapter 13, verses 15-16. Here, the anonymous author of this letter to a group of Hebrew believers, admonishes his readers to develop a lifestyle of offering sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God. But the admonition doesn’t end there, but rather only begins there. The epistle’s author, in these two short verses, is actually describing the kind of praise that pleases God. The writer was writing to young Christian believers who were under lots of spiritual pressure and persecution. He wanted them to understand that Jesus is the ultimate reason why we praise.
Your worship is not just your words, but its your life and what you offer/sacrifice to Christ.

Point 1: Public Psalms 150
Matt. 12:34: “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
Paul puts it in Romans 12:1. The author of Hebrews says this: “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Public worship is also considered corporate worship. Praise begins in a grateful heart and ends with praising lips. When something good happens to you, you can’t keep it to yourself. If He’s done so much for you, it shouldn’t take much to praise Him. We should “talk the talk” AND “walk the walk”.

QUESTION:
How is your praise doing?

Point 2: Personal Hebrew 13: 15
The admonition begins in verse 15 with a command for believers to make praising God an essential component of their Christian lives. “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God,” he says. Praising God should not just be an hour-long, Sunday activity.
Personal worship is reflected outside of the church. Don’t let it just start when you get to church. We cannot restrict it to a once-a-week exercise. Praising and worshiping God in spirit and in truth must be the most important thing we do. Worship should be an obligation and a joy. You should know that your worship is going to cost you something. If it doesn’t cost you anything, is it really a sacrifice?

Point 3: Problems Matt 15: 25 KJV
The woman came and worshiped him. Lord help me she said. Worship put the woman into the right position and the right posture to receive what God would do in her life. The devil doesn’t care about your dreams, but he is interested in your screams. Once you begin to worship, then Jesus will respond. Every now and then, you have to get Jesus’ attention. After you get His attention, you must make your case. Worship puts you into the position for God to do exactly what He intends to do in your life.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

OUTLINE - Worship Works: His Sacrifice My Praise 02/12/12

Sermon Text: Hebrews 13: 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of Praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Sermon Title: Worship Works: His Sacrifice My Praise
Hebrews 7:27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
Once we digest that we are now ready to worship in three ways: Personal, Public, and for our Problems.
Point 1: Personal
a) W/o guilt. Romans 8: 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
b) W/consistency vs. 15 …let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise…
c) A lifestyle of praise Romans 12: 1 and a mouth full of praise. Psalms 103 I will bless the Lord at all times and praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Point 2: Public Heb 13: 2 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
(a) Hurry up. Psalm 122: 1 KJV I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord
(b) Heart. Psalm 86: 12 KJV I will praise thee, O Lord my God with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
(c) Happy. 2 Timothy 2:3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. James told us how to do it James 1: 2 count it all joy… James 5: 13…is any happy let him sing praise songs
(d) Honor. Rev 5: 13…to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!
Point 3: Problem.
(a) W/full assurance the psalmist said in Psalms 73 he life was in torment. He could not understand why he was doing so poorly and sinners were doing so well. It didn’t make sense to him until he came to the sanctuary. Psalm 73: 17 till I entered the sanctuary then I understood their final destiny.

DEVOTIONAL: The Significance of Obedience: Misplaced Faith

DEVOTIONAL: The Significance of Obedience: Misplaced Faith
By Catherine Marshall

Hebrew 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (NIV)

Sacrifice means to give up of something valued for the sake of something else.
Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. He was better than the laws, prophets, tabernacles and all other sacrifices. Through Christ, we can worship God without condemnation because our sins are forgiven. When we worship God through Jesus Christ our focus is never our problems, brokenness or failures. Our focus is his awesomeness, compassion, love and forgiveness because God is bigger than our problems. When we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can continually give praises to God because our sins have already been forgiven. We can give praise to God from our own lips continuously because Christ’s sacrifice was personal. Our sacrifice of praise should represent the value of Christ in our lives considering, the sacrifice that Christ made for our lives was priceless.

Devotional by Catherine Marshall - Approved by Bishop Geoffrey V. Dudley, Sr., D.Min.

The Significance of Obedience: Misplaced Faith

DEVOTIONAL: The Significance of Obedience: Misplaced Faith
BY Christopher Anderson

In America today, we exercise faith more frequently than we give ourselves credit for. While we can hear a God inspired Word in Church or we can read the Word of God for ourselves we often feel that faith is a hard thing. But consider, if you will, the TV commercials we see on a daily basis. We choose the cars we buy often because we’ve heard how reliable it is and how much safer a new model is. We shop where we shop because of we were told about reasonable prices and we buy everything down to the tooth paste we use because we were told it was better than the rest. Well, have you ever noticed that no one uses tooth paste in tooth paste commercials? If someone did it would look like they were foaming at the mouth! We often act on many choices, big and small, through faith that a product is the best decision for us but yet we find it difficult to trust God with the some of the same decisions. Faith isn’t a mystery that takes ages of study to comprehend. In fact it’s quite simple. Simply try the one and only, longest lasting, most dependable God there is. He never fails.


Devotional by Christopher Anderson - Approved by Bishop Geoffrey V. Dudley, Sr., D.Min.

The Significance of Obedience: Misplaced Faith

In America today, we exercise faith more frequently than we give ourselves credit for. While we can hear a God inspired Word in Church or we can read the Word of God for ourselves we often feel that faith is a hard thing. But consider, if you will, the TV commercials we see on a daily basis. We choose the cars we buy often because we’ve heard how reliable it is and how much safer a new model is. We shop where we shop because of we were told about reasonable prices and we buy everything down to the tooth paste we use because we were told it was better than the rest. Well, have you ever noticed that no one uses tooth paste in tooth paste commercials? If someone did it would look like they were foaming at the mouth! We often act on many choices, big and small, through faith that a product is the best decision for us but yet we find it difficult to trust God with the some of the same decisions. Faith isn’t a mystery that takes ages of study to comprehend. In fact it’s quite simple. Simply try the one and only, longest lasting, most dependable God there is. He never fails.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Worship Works ‘N’ 3’s Public, Personal & Problems

Sermon Text: Hebrews 13: 15 Through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise –the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Sermon Title: Worship Works ‘N’ 3’s Public, Personal & Problems

Definition: …the attitude and acts of reverence to a deity. The term ‘worship’ in the OT translates the Hebrew word meaning ‘to bow down, prostrate oneself,’ a posture indicating reverence and homage given to a lord, whether human or divine. The concept of worship is expressed by the term ‘serve.’

Although Israelite worship shared many of these external forms, even to calling sacrifices ‘the food of God’ (e.g., Lev. 21:6), its essence was quite different.

Context: Adopting a lifestyle of offering and sacrifice is exactly the point of Hebrews chapter 13, verses 15-16. Here, the anonymous author of this letter to a group of Hebrew believers, admonishes his readers to develop a lifestyle of offering sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God. But the admonition doesn’t end there, but rather only begins there. The epistle’s author, in these two short verses, is actually describing the kind of praise that pleases God.

Point 1: Public Psalms 150
Matt. 12:34: “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
Paul puts it in Romans 12:1. The author of Hebrews says this: “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”

Point 2: Personal Hebrew 13: 15 The admonition begins in verse 15 with a command for believers to make praising God an essential component of their Christian lives. “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God,” he says. Praising God should not just be an hour-long, Sunday activity.

Point 3: Problems Matt 15: 25 KJV The woman came and worshiped him. Lord help me she said.
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3
4
5

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

WHAT SIZE IS YOUR SIGNIFICANCE? OUTLINE 02/01/12

Sermon Text: 1 Samuel 17: 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these, “he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.

Sermon Title: What Size is Your Significance?

Point 1: Select the Right Weapon vs. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

. 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these, “he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.
(a) You cannot use anyone else weapon…
(b) Be secure in…
(c) The weapons of our warfare are…
(d) No weapon…

Point 2: Seize the Moment vss. 24 When the Israelites saw the man [Goliath] they all ran from him in great fear. 25a Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel…33 Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

Point 3: Shut Out Shout Downs vs. 28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” 29 Now what have I done? Said David. “Can’t I even speak?”
(a) Your presence will remind them of their short comings…
(b) They will call you names…
(c) They will try to tell you where your place is and keep you there…
vss. 34, 35, 36 Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God

Point 4: Sling Your Best Shot vs. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck down the Philistine on the forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
vs. 37 The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Point 5: Secure Your Reward vs. 25.b The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel.

Please Pass the Salt DEVOTIONAL By Sis. Carolyn Marshall

Please Pass the Salt DEVOTIONAL

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Please pass the salt; the request is often made because there is a need and it is an effortless request. However, we can’t be effortless in our obedience to the Word because just as the Word cleanses, comforts and convicts, it is the salt that's added that gives flavor, irritates and medicates the soul. Christ says that we are the salt of the earth, which implies that we have to apply the salt to make a difference and makes an impact in others lives. Calvary gives us value and significance.

Nevertheless, it rests on each of us through our choices to retain the value that Christ gave us. If our speech is seasoned with salt, we will win souls, which are significant to the Kingdom; therefore, serving is valuable and living a godly life is just as significant.

Devotional by Carolyn Marshall…Edited by Bishop Geoffrey V. Dudley, Sr., D.Min.

Salt: The Season for Significance DEVOTIONAL By Elder Shumaker

Salt: The Season for Significance

Matt 5: 13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

Salt is a precious commodity used in our everyday lives. It adds flavor, it preserves and prevents decay, it can change the physical make up of things and when consumed can bring about an intense thirst.

Jesus reminds us that we are the “Salt of the Earth.” We are distinct, we are different and we have been added to a dying and decaying world to have significant impact. We are to be in this world yet not of this world. We are not to allow ourselves to become distracted by the world and lose sight of our purpose.

Wherever we are there should be a change, whatever we touch it should never be the same again. In this dry and barren land we are to bring about a thirst for the things of God. But if the salt has lost its saltiness, it is no longer good for anything.

How salty are you?

Devotional by Elder Christine Shumaker - Edited by Bishop Geoffrey V. Dudley, Sr., D.Min.

Virtual Family Sunday Questions

What ways can we create community as a family? How has our viewership/church attendance enhanced or diminished our family covenant? What way...