Showing posts with label praise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label praise. Show all posts

Wednesday

5 Things We Can Use To Worship - A Dose of Encouragement

  



Fred and I are involved in "leading the worship" in our church which means we lead the corporate singing of our praise and worship to God.


Some people see this as all that worship consists of but we also need to remember that


Worship is an act of devotion towards God


So when I look at it like that then it is obvious that as a Christian I should automatically love worship.









If we consider our purpose on earth (as mentioned in Why We Worship 1 ) which is nothing to do with all the Purpose books I see around us - but simply what the reason we are alive is then we see that


Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever


But because we are human and imperfect, I know that we are not immediately drawn in to worship and it may feel completely alien to some of us.


One of the reasons I love worship is basically because I love singing and we find it easier to worship God in a song, don't we - someone else has done the hard work of writing the words and arranging the music and we just have to read the words listen to the tune and sing along.


But can't we do other things that are very easy? 


That's why I'm going to take the opportunity to give you some help by thinking about
5 Things We Can Use To Worship

  1. The Bible
  2. Prayer
  3. Thoughts
  4. Songs
  5. Actions



1. We can use the Bible as a great means of Worship.

Reading and memorizing God's Word is a great and easy way to worship God.
Either on our own in our quiet times or in church among others.



Read out verses in worship to God

Here we are reading out His Word which is powerful and in doing so we are agreeing with what God has said.

As we ourselves read from the bible we are focused on the truth in those passages and greatly encouraged by what we read, also if we read aloud in corporate worship services everyone gains from hearing His Word which is Truth and because He never changes then neither will His Word.







Read out Bible Verses that are simply words of Worship

Here we are reading what is recorded in the bible of what others have said in worship and in repeating these words we can be in agreement with them.






Read out Bible Verses about God's Love

Here we are reading and hence concentrating on the Love of God.






You may be further encouraged by 
10 Bible Verses of Encouragement about God's Love



Read out Bible Verses about God's Mercy & Grace

Here we are reading and concentrating on the Mercy of God.







Read out Bible Verses about the nature and attributes of God

Here we are reading and concentrating on the very essence of God



You may be further encouraged by this series of short posts on
Why We Worship which is fully based around the Attributes of God




Read out Bible Verses about Jesus

Here we are reading verses about our Saviour and basking in all that He has done for us.






Read out Bible Verses declaring our intention to Worship God

Here we are reading verses which are telling God that we will Bless Him, Praise Him, Obey Him and His Word.






Read out Bible Verses encouraging ourselves and others to worship God

Here we are reading Bible verses written by the apostles (other followers of God) to encourage us all to worship







2. 
We can use Prayer as a great means of Worship.

Talking to God in Prayer is a great and easy way to worship Him.
Again either on our own in our quiet times or in church among others.



Praising God in Prayer

We are talking to God in acknowledgement of His Greatness.






Thanking God in Prayer

We are talking to God about the wonderful things He has done for us




and how He has answered our petitions.






3. We can use Our Thoughts as a great means of Worship.

Thinking about God Regularly is a great and easy way to worship Him.







Recognising just how He is is the one we can depend on at all times.






and let's not leave out what we started with


4. We can use Song as a great means of Worship.

Singing to God is a great and easy way to worship Him.
Again either on our own in our quiet times or in church among others.

Singing all those wonderful hymns that have been written throughout the ages and all the more recent songs and choruses mean we are praising and worshiping God.
Also at the same time we are learning and memorizing His Word which is so often contained in the verses of the hymns and learning doctrine.


We can Write our own Songs and Sing our own Songs.


We can Wait in the Presence of God and receive new Words and Songs from Him.


We can follow the example of the Psalmists and others as they encouraged themselves and others to sing unto God.


O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, 
all the earth.    
 Psalm 96:1


O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done 
marvellous things:    
Psalm 98:1


Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; 
the isles, 
and the inhabitants thereof.   
 Isaiah 42:10





Then we should Progress to other Forms of Worship we may not find so Easy to start with. 



5. We can use Actions as a great means of Worship.

  • We can Obey the Word of God.
  • We can Tell others about His Love and Work in our Lives.
  • We can Write our own Praises and Speak our own Praises.
  • We can Memorize His Word so that we always have it in our thoughts and ready to teach to others.
  • We can help others to Memorize His Word
  • We can show His Love to others
  • We can encourage others to to Sing unto the Lord
  • We can teach the children to learn about God and His Word through Songs


We started off by saying that

Worship is an act of devotion towards God


and 

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever


So let's glorify God and enjoy being in His presence as we worship God and teach and encourage others to do the same.















Sunday

Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 146

Each Sunday I choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 146 


This is one of those Psalms I feel is overlooked at times.







This Psalm falls into five parts:

V. 1-2
When to Praise the Lord.

V. 3-4
Who not to Trust in.

V. 5-7
The Hope we have in the Lord.

V. 8-9
The Deeds of the Lord.

V. 10
The Crescendo!



"When should we praise the Lord?"



When to Praise the Lord.
We must praise Him while we are alive.
Not just some of our years but all the years we live knowing that He is the Lord.









Who not to Trust in.
Oh we should know this but still it has to be mentioned.
Humans are human they are not perfect as God is perfect.
Man has been given life by God and one day each man will lose that life he has been given.
We are finite so can not be the true inspiration for anyone.



The Hope we have in the Lord.
We have true happiness & help when we trust in God because He is our Hope.



The Deeds of the Lord.
Look how much we are told God does just in these few short verses.
He is the Creator, the Truth, the honest Judge, the Provider, the Rescuer, the Healer, the Uplifter of our souls, the Lover of Righteousness, the Carer.
But we must not forget He is also the one who will confront the wicked.



The Crescendo! 
The Psalmist again ends as he started this Psalm with Praise for the Lord.







We are not to choose when or how often we should Praise the Lord.
We are to do it while we live.
While we have breath.



We should start our days with Him in Praise and end them in Praise
to the only one who is worthy of that Praise.

To God be the praise forever and forever!












Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 95


Today I'm looking at Psalm 95 

This is one of Encouragement to come to God with Praise and Worship







This Psalm falls into 5 parts:


V. 1-2
A Call to Praise

V. 3-5
The Reason Why

V. 6
A Call to Worship

V. 7
The Reason Why

V. 8-11
A Prophetic Word of God


"The way to go deeper with God"



A Call to Praise.
The way to come and approach The Lord: singing, joyfully, knowing He is our rock, thankfully, remembering our Salvation.



The Reason Why.
He is a Great God.
He is a Great King.
All of the Earth is His.
All of the Sea is His.
Everything is His.






A Call to Worship.
The way to go deeper with God: with reverence, humility and awe of our Creator.



The Reason Why.
We are His People and He is our God.  He is the one who protects and cares for us.



A Prophetic word of God.
A Reminder not to be like the Israelites in the wilderness when they hardened their hearts, tempted God and looked to themselves and not God.




The first part of the Psalm seems to be the instruction of how we are to pursue 
our relationship with the Lord


The second part is how not to have the right relationship.



















Pondering The Psalms - Psalm 27



Each Sunday I choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 27 


This is one of the Psalms of David.





This Psalm falls into five parts:

V. 1
Declaration

V. 2-3
Confidence

V. 4-6
Praise

V. 7-12
Teaching

V. 13-14
Hope


Declaration.
We need to physically say these words.
We need to speak forth the truth, to truly grasp that we need not be afraid
       
                        He is our Light

                              and
                                        He is our Salvation 

                                              and
                                                        He is our Stronghold


Confidence.
The speaking out as in the last two verses and the knowledge that there is no need to be afraid leads on to being confident about what we know God has promised  -  this makes me think of Psalm 34 
He has promised that He is on our side.







Praise.
The result of seeking God, wanting to live in His ways and being in His Shelter can only lead to us giving Him all the praise and thanksgiving we can.


Declaration, Confidence, Praise, Teaching, Hope.


Teaching.
Crying out to God, seeking His face and accepting His gracious help leads us to listen and pay attention to Him to learn what is the good and acceptable will of God   (Romans 12:2)
All because we are not leaning to the way of others or to our natural instincts but we are being focused on His way.


Hope.
Knowing God's promises, having gained confidence in knowing God's will and His way and being prepared to wait on Him has all come to the point where we know we have hope for now and for the future.







A Lighthouse and a Lifeboat

illustrations

of 

His Love stretched out to us.

















Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 113


Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 113 




This is a Psalm of Praise from start to finish.



This Psalm falls into three parts:


V. 1
Praise the Lord!


V. 2-4
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!


V. 5-9
Who is like the Lord our God?






Praise the Lord!
Just go on and Praise Him is the feeling blasting out in this verse.
If you serve the Lord then Praise His Name.


Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Now and forever.
During every part of the day.
Because He is the greatest.


No-one cares like Him.

Who is like the Lord our God?
No-one because no-one does what He does.
No-one cares like He does.









Even though we have just been told by the Psalmist that the 
Lord is seated on high,

we are also told of the needs He meets for His people 
and 
the love He bestows on them.


He does not ignore our hurts and our feelings.


Praise the Lord!



















Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 98

Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 98


This is one of Encouragement to Praise.







This Psalm falls into four parts:


V. 1-3
We are Encouraged to Sing a New Song to the Lord







V. 4-6
We are Encouraged to Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord



V. 7-8
Nature is Encouraged to Praise the Lord



V. 9
We are Encouraged because We know the Lord is going to return.







Sing a New Song.

Why?

Because The Lord has

  • Done marvelous things
  • Got the victory
  • Shown His steadfast Love & faithfulness.




Make a Joyful Noise.

How?

By
  • Singing praises with joy
  • Using various instruments & melody





Nature's Praise.

Yes even Nature is encouraged to Praise the Lord.

Why?

Because all of Nature is the beautiful creation of God and speaks to us of His awesomeness.




The Lord's Return.

Yes everything must Praise the Lord.

Why?

Because of the knowledge that He is going to return and when He returns He will judge the world.

How?

He will judge righteously and fairly.








We can be so thankful that we have a 
loving
fair
gracious
merciful
God

who has looked past our unrighteousness
&
sees the righteousness of Jesus in us.


We should be thankful?

So we do not need to fear His return
and
the judgement to follow
if we are truly
redeemed by Christ.








Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 67


Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on  it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 67 


This is another short Psalm





For me this Psalm falls into four parts:

V. 1
A Blessing


V. 2
An Effect


V. 3-6
A Song of Praise


V. 7
A Result






A Blessing.
The mercy of God shown to us is a great blessing.
The kindness and love of God adds to that.
Everything is contained in His Grace to us, blessings to us and His love shining on us
Notice the Selah - so we stop and ponder here on this verse especially.







An Effect.
Blessing others brings the goodness and stability of God's love upon the world.
As He shines on us we will shine to the world so they will see His love through our love for them.



A Song of Praise.
Everyone should Praise God.
How can we not Praise Him when we are thankful for all His Blessings to us.
We should praise Him for all that He is and how He blesses us.
God's Righteous deeds should bring gladness & joy throughout the world.
Through our Praise of God others will come to know Him and Praise Him too.
As people turn to the true God in Praise, His Blessings will flow.



A Result.
Such a blessing to be poured out by God that all the world will know the effects of this and will know that it is the hand of God.








It is important we remember what blessing means.

It is the bestowing of
God's favour and protection upon someone.

What more could we ask for?

What else could we possibly ask for our broken world.