Worship Series Wrap-up!

It was a somewhat difficult decision for me to cover the topic of music and worship here at Cornerstone. It was something I had been thinking about and praying about for months prior to actually doing it. Why did I feel it was so important?

First of all, I sensed there was a great deal of diversity on the topic. As our church has grown, so has the diversity. Diversity is not a bad thing…but it is a dangerous and volatile thing. Diversity CAN breed dissention and division. So what can bring diverse followers of Christ together? One thing…uniting and rallying around the TRUTH of GOD’S WORD! So one of the main reasons I felt the series was necessary was to get God’s heart and say, “Ok…let’s be all about THAT! Let’s see what GOD thinks in important about music and worship and let’s make THAT important to US!”

So as we wrap up this mini-series up this week, here are some truths that I want us as a church to be united around.

1. John 4:23-24 – God wants worship to be passionate and laden with truth.

John 4:23-24
23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
(NKJ)

God is SEEKING worshippers! He wants people who can be passionate about His truth and He wants people to worship from the very depth of their hearts! THIS IS IMPORTANT and IT INVOLVES MY ENTIRE BEING! And the truth of God should generate an EMOTIONAL and PASSIONATE response!!

Now…how various people express that passion may be different than how YOU express that passion and that’s OK. Some of you don’t get into raising your hands…fine. You don’t have to. In heart-felt moments, some of you express your passion by raising you hands…and since it is a biblical expression of worship…it’s all over the bible…I say worship! Diversity With unity!!

2. John 4:24 -Worship is the ACT of attributing WORTH to God.
From that same passage, when we look at the definition of the word for “worship” we see that it is an ACTION! It is much more than coming here and sitting and being entertained. It is a GIVING to God because you believe He is WORTHY of your “sacrifice of praise.”

3. Heb. 1:6 – Jesus Christ should be the object of our worship.

Heb 1:6
6 But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him."
(NKJ)

This is literally found all over the OT…Christ is seen ALL OVER the elements used in corporate worship. He should be the object of our worship today.

Not worshipping worship... not worshipping US. But our worship here should lift up JESUS CHRIST and Him alone!

4. Ps. 150 – God wants to worshipped in everywhere for what He has done with a variety of instruments.

There is a tremendous amount of freedom for what we bring to worship God and there is freedom with the instrumentation used in worship.We should embrace that freedom!

5. Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8-10 – We should exercise our freedom with caution and in such a way that the gospel is not hindered.

We had a lengthly and involved message about freedoms last week. And I hope you clearly got the picture. You have a wonderful freedom, but your freedom is not an excuse to serve YOURSELF! It is always about GOD and OTHERS…both saved and unsaved. Practice your freedom in such a way that GOD is honored and other’s are loved.

6. Rom. 15:1-6; Eph. 4:1-6 – We should work hard to walk in unity.
I started with this and I ended our time last week with this. DIVERSITY AND UNITY! We are different…but more important that us getting our way worship being what I want…we need to consider our brother FIRST and UNITY should be our ultimate goal.

Rom. 15:5-6
5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(NKJ)

I've enjoyed the series and I'm glad we went through these truths. My prayer is that this will UNITE our church so we can move forward with effectiveness!