![\"Toon](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/toon_town_1.jpg\" "\\"Toon")
\n\t\t\t\t![\"Space](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/spaceplaceroom.jpg\" "\\"Space")
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Text: Psalm 95<\/p>\nI. A critical danger that happens to most Christians is approaching the worship of God by\nrote.\n
A. We go through the motions of worship, but our minds are not fully engaged.<\/p>\n
1. With their hearts not involved, worship becomes a drudgery<\/p>\n 2. We understand intellectually that is not right, but we wonder how do we\nget our minds past this and start feeling worship\n B. I know of no passage of God’s Word where God promises to overwhelm the\nworshiper with feelings and a passion for worship.\n 1. Christians can wait from now until Judgment, but it will never swoop down\non them from above.\n
2. The joy of worship must come from within the soul of God’s servant.<\/p>\n
II. Too often, people approach the problem from the external<\/p>\n A. In a multi-denominational magazine that I sometimes receive, I found an article\ntitled “Church Meets Disneyland”\n 1. It seems that in 1999, the First Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas,\nwanted a new vision for its children’s worship center.\n 2. They hired a designer of children’s amusement park rides and convinced\nhim to design their worship space.\n
3. For first through third grades, they developed “Toon Town.”<\/p>\n a. “Entering the room is like entering a different world, full of\nanimation, 26-foot tall buildings, puppet stages, lights, bright\ncolors, and video games. The room has pipes that blow out\nconfetti, a water tower bucket that overflows and pours bubbles\ndown on the kids, a prize booth, a firehouse and a hammer that\nrings a big bell, cars that honk and flash their headlights, an\noversized working stoplight, and a TV shop with glowing neon\nwires and moving satellite dishes. ‘It is almost like going on a ride\nat Disneyland,’ Hudson says.”\n
4. For fourth and fifth graders, they have “Space Place”<\/p>\n
a. It has an outer space theme.<\/p>\n b. “It features cutting-edge video games, a giant space painting, disco\nlights, and lots of posters of Christian musicians. ‘It is an\nenvironment that our preteens feel comfortable in.’”\n 5. What happens when the kids get tired of the same old thing? What happens\nwhen the paint starts to wear thin?\n
B. The emphasis is all the physical, but God is a spirit – John 4:21-24<\/p>\n
1. Notice that God is seeking worshipers who will worship him in spirit<\/p>\n
C. The emphasis is on pleasing men and not on pleasing God – Galatians 1:10<\/p>\n 1. Notice that by placing the wrong emphasis, we cease to be servants of\nGod.\n
III. What is worship?<\/p>\n A. “Too many Christians worship their work, work at their play, and play at their\nworship.”\n
B. True worship of God doesn’t happen without effort on our part<\/p>\n
C. Worship is “an active response to God whereby we declare His worth.”<\/p>\n D. In fact, the word “worship” is a modification of an older word, “worthship.”\nWorship means “to attribute worth” to something or someone.\n 1. When we say “he worships his money” or “she worships her\ngrandchildren”, it is a loose usage of the word. However, if the supreme\nobject of worth for him is his money or for her, her grandchildren, then it is\nan accurate use of the word.\n
E. A person must work to engage his mind in worship.<\/p>\n
IV. The approach to worship<\/p>\n
A. Effort to come together – Psalm 95:1-2<\/p>\n
1. One doesn’t accidently worship God.<\/p>\n 2. One doesn’t attribute worth to a God when we only worship at our\nconvenience or because we didn’t have something more pressing.\n
3. Even gathering in a location is not enough – I Corinthians 11:17<\/p>\n a. The Corinthians assembled, but in mind were divided – I\nCorinthians 11:18\n b. Their division was evident in their inequity of partaking in the\nLord’s Supper – I Corinthians 11:21\n
4. Coming together mean joining together in one heart and mind<\/p>\n a. The Lord’s Supper is a sharing of the memory of Jesus’ death – I\nCorinthians 10:16-17\n
b. The church is one body – I Corinthians 12:12<\/p>\n
c. There should be no division – I Corinthians 12:25-27<\/p>\n
d. In that unity we are made complete – I Corinthians 1:10<\/p>\n
B. Taking on a reverent attitude – Psalm 95:3-5<\/p>\n
1. In our minds, we must reflect on the awesomeness of our God<\/p>\n
2. Consider our Savior – Colossians 1:11-18<\/p>\n 3. The Corinthians did not have Jesus as first place in their hearts when they\ngathered. They treated their worship of God as a common meal – I\nCorinthians 11:22, 33-34\n
4. The awe of the God we come before was missing – Romans 11:33-36<\/p>\n C. Acknowledging the might of God means humbling ourselves before him – Psalms\n95:6\n
1. God wants us in submission to him – James 4:5-10<\/p>\n
2. God requires that we walk with him humbly – Micah 6:8<\/p>\n
3. God dwells far above us, but also with the humble – Isaiah 57:15<\/p>\n
4. The sacrifice to God is a contrite heart – Psalm 51:17<\/p>\n
D. Worship of God is taking a personal relationship with Him – Psalm 95:7<\/p>\n
1. We must draw near to God as James instructs us.<\/p>\n
2. We should not have a distant, arms length relationship with God.<\/p>\n 3. As insignificant as we are, as undeserving as we are, God has come to us –\nPsalm 8:4-6\n
4. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren – Hebrews 2:10-11<\/p>\n 5. For those who earnestly seek God, God is not ashamed to be called their\nGod – Hebrews 11:16\n
6. We are God’s people – I Peter 2:9-10<\/p>\n
E. Worship means obedience to our God – Psalm 95:7-11<\/p>\n 1. We do not want to be like the Israelites who displeased God – Hebrews\n3:12-4:2\n
2. We must apply effort to do so – Hebrews 4:11<\/p>\n 3. The greatest show of the worth of our God is when we are obedient to\nHim – I Samuel 15:22\n
V. Today is an opportunity to obey our Great Lord.<\/p>\n
A. Bring him the worship of your heart<\/p>\n
B. Give to him obedient service.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Psalm 95 I. A critical danger that happens to most Christians is approaching the worship of God by rote. A. We go through the motions of worship, but our minds are not fully engaged. 1. With their hearts not involved, worship becomes a drudgery 2. We understand intellectually that is not right, but we wonder how do we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[152,84],"class_list":["post-15957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-social-activities","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14318,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-okay-to-listen-to-instrumental-christian-music-outside-of-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":15957,"position":0},"title":"Is it okay to listen to instrumental “Christian” music outside of worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Someone asked me this question and I would like your opinion. I looked on your great web site but didn't see it addressed. A young lady asked me if it is okay to listen to \"Christian rock\" or instrumental (\"Christian\") songs outside of worship. I would appreciate your opinion.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2705,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-worship\/","url_meta":{"origin":15957,"position":1},"title":"What is Worship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: John 4:19-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I was asked recently to address a question of what constitutes worship \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Defining terms, such as worship, is interesting because there is a tendency in the religious world towards vagueness. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pentecostal beliefs emphasize the emotional experience (the spirit). Worship is not real unless you can feel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61207,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-worship-wars\/","url_meta":{"origin":15957,"position":2},"title":"The “Worship Wars”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne S. Walker In an article headlined \"Understanding the 'worship wars'\" from\u00a0World Magazine's website on October 16, 2009, Warren Cole Smith began, \"A recent Religion News Service dispatch caught my attention. Under the headline 'Missouri Synod Leaders Declare Worship Wars \"Sinful\"' came an article announcing the conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10292,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-children-attend-your-worship-services\/","url_meta":{"origin":15957,"position":3},"title":"Do children attend your worship services?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. We are going to be visiting Omaha next weekend and we are looking for a church to attend on Sunday morning. I have a couple of questions. Do you allow children ( 2 years old to 6 years old) to be a part of your worship service or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94292,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/worship-in-reverence\/","url_meta":{"origin":15957,"position":4},"title":"Worship in Reverence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by David A. Cox via Market Street Messenger \"By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified\" (Leviticus 10:3). It is easy to come to worship without thinking deeply about why we gather. For many, attending services has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21111,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-we-worship-and-praise-the-holy-spirit\/","url_meta":{"origin":15957,"position":5},"title":"Can we worship and praise the Holy Spirit?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A question was raised in class about worship and praise to the Holy Spirit. Can you give any passages that say we are to do so? I couldn't find any that give a specific yes or no. There are some that infer it and we can be condemned by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15957\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}