WORSHIP INSIDE OUT

Do religious rituals seem cold? Do sacred ceremonies seem meaningless? Is worship impersonal, merely an exercise in demanded duty? Do worship periods make you feel as if you are an audience watching a professional performance?

If you answered "yes" to any of above, then read on.

The Bible teaches that worship is a spiritual fellowship with God. It is not emotional excitement, magic rituals, or holy words, but submission of our will to the will of God.

This submission involves the inner man -- his mind to reason, his heart to feel, and his spirit to will. If you do not understand the words of worship, if what you say and do in worship is not from the heart and if your will is only passively involved, then worship cannot take place. The Bible teaches that worship must be "with the spirit" and "with the mind" (1 Corinthians 14:15). Worship must be more than watching a performance.

This submission involves following the will of God revealed in the Bible. There can be no substitutions of human innovations or neglect of what God has revealed. Good intentions do not count. If they did, every man could make his own idol and worship his own way. The true God is worshipped "in truth." (John 4:24

Worship is a deep spiritual expression of a grateful heart.
Worship is a rational understanding of what is thought, said and done in the worship experience.
Worship is a humble submission to God, approaching Him as He has directed in His Word.

The Bible teaches that true worship comes from the heart and involves both the spirit and understanding of the worshipper. More is involved than going through traditional rituals and the stimulation of emotional response.
Jimmy Jividen

YOU AND WORSHIP
Henry Ward Beecher, the famous pulpit orator, once had to be absent and his brother was invited to speak for him. The church house was crowded, but when it became evident the eloquent Henry Beecher was not going to appear, many started to leave. Beecher's brother was not disturbed. He stood up before the murmuring crowd, called for silence and said, "All who came this morning to worship Henry W. Beecher may now leave. The rest will remain and worship God."

Worship has nothing to do with the song leader or the talent of the preacher. It has to do with you and your God. Let people do what they will to please themselves. "The rest will remain and worship God."
Norman Easter