by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
I. It seems many people today are struggling with the concept of worship. <\/p>\n A. Suppose a visitor comes to worship with us. We sing a song of praise to God. The\nlights are on, eyes are open, no one is swaying with hands in the air.\n 1. This same person visits another group that evening and they happen to sing\nthe same song. But here the lights are dimmed, candles are lit, eyes are\nclosed and bodies sway to the music.\n 2. This person declares “I felt so much closer to God this evening than I did\nthis morning.”\n
B. Please notice a few things<\/p>\n
1. This person based “closeness” to God on his feelings at the moment. <\/p>\n a. Have you considered where the Bible teaches that we are to have a\nrelationship with God based on our emotions?\n b. Don’t get me wrong, our relationship with God does produce an\nemotional response within us, but the emotions are not the source\nof that relationship.\n
2. This person is unable to get close to God without external stimulation.<\/p>\n a. You can watch a good movie and be brought to tears or laugh\nyourself silly, but it doesn’t really come from within you. It is a\nresponse to the stimulation.\n (1) I may not have felt like crying before watching, but for a\nmoment there are tears in my eyes.\n (2) The problem is that our emotions can be manipulated –\nProverbs 28:26\n b. Many worship ceremonies for idols, both past and present, invoke\nstrong emotional responses, but it does make the people truly close\nto these false deities.\n
II. How do we get close to God?<\/p>\n
A. We cannot come to Christ unless God draws us – John 6:44<\/p>\n 1. Many use this verse to say that God tugs directly on their heart-strings to\ncause them to seek him. It is something, they say, that they feel within\nthemselves.\n 2. But notice the next verse. Coming to God is accomplished through the\nlearning of the teachings of God.\n
B. Faith (trust in God) comes from listening to God’s words – Romans 10:17<\/p>\n 1. Proverbs 3:5-6 – We trust in God by leaning on God’s wisdom. God directs\nour path by teaching us where to walk. \n
2. Notice the context: Proverbs 3:1-4<\/p>\n
a. Recalling the teaching<\/p>\n
b. Keeping commandments in our heart<\/p>\n
c. Not letting kindness or TRUTH leave, writing them on our hearts<\/p>\n
d. Finding favor and a good reputation in the sight of God<\/p>\n C. When we are close to someone, we really get to know him. We have some\nmeasure of understanding of him.\n
1. We know God by keeping His commandments – I John 2:3-6<\/p>\n 2. Such love for God, is demonstrated in our earnest desire to please God – I\nJohn 5:1-3\nIII. It seems people have come to view worship as a vague emotional response. Jesus defines\nworship in John 4:21-24\n
A. It requires a worshiper<\/p>\n
1. Worship is an action taken by people<\/p>\n 2. The existence of a rock is not worship, despite the insistence of New-Age\nexistentialism\n
3. Animals do not worship<\/p>\n 4. People worship because we made in the image of God. Our spirits long to\ncommune with the Spirit of God.\n
B. It requires an object of worship<\/p>\n
1. Mankind has often misdirected its worship – Isaiah 2:8<\/p>\n 2. Man’s worship of things is useless because man cannot make God –\nRomans 1:21-23\n
3. As Jesus told Satan, only God is to be worshiped – Luke 4:8<\/p>\n 4. In this line, a frequent misconception is the idea that it really doesn’t matter\nwhom you worship.\n a. For example, some claim Allah and God are the same being, just\ncalled by different names.\n
b. The god of the Muslims is not the God of the Christians.<\/p>\n c. The god of the Muslims is the figment of Mohammed’s\nimagination.\n
d. The God of the Bible is the only true God.<\/p>\n e. The god of the New Age Movement, Gaia, is a falsehood and\ncannot be equated with the reality of our God, the Father.\n
f. The god of the Mormons is a product of men and does not exist.<\/p>\n
C. It must be done in spirit<\/p>\n 1. Our worship must be sincere, coming from our whole being – Matthew\n22:37-38\n 2. The worship of our God is not a frivolous thing to be taken lightly. This is\nwhy Paul warned the Corinthians to be sure their partaking of the Lord’s\nwas done in the proper frame of mind – I Corinthians 11:27-30\n 3. Even when a person does the actions prescribed by God, his worship is\nuseless if his heart is not in it – Matthew 15:8\n
D. It must be done in truth<\/p>\n
1. God’s word, his teachings and commandments, are truth – John 17:17<\/p>\n 2. The Jews offered worship to God, but they used their own rules for serving\nGod – Matthew 15:8\n 3. God is the object of our worship and He tells us how He wishes to be\nserved.\n a. The whole duty of man is to serve God and keep his\ncommandments – Ecclesiastes 12:13-14\n b. God doesn’t have to accept anything man may happen to send His\nway – God doesn’t need man’s worship.\n c. Worship is for the benefit of man, but that doesn’t mean man can\ntell God how He will be worshiped – Isaiah 29:16\n
IV. Worship is something distinctly done.<\/p>\n
A. Worship cannot be accidently given<\/p>\n
1. The wise men came and worshiped Jesus – Matthew 2:11<\/p>\n
2. Satan wanted Jesus to worship him – Matthew 4:8-9<\/p>\n
3. A Jewish official offered worship to Jesus – Matthew 9:18<\/p>\n
4. John wrongly offered worship to an angel – Revelation 19:10<\/p>\n
5. Each of these show that worship was a distinct action<\/p>\n
B. Some believe that everything we do is worship to God.<\/p>\n
1. They will quote Romans 12:1-2 as proof.<\/p>\n
a. The word at the end of verse 1 means “religious service”<\/p>\n b. Some translations add the word “worship” to this phrase, but other\nverses using the same word is simply translated as “service” – John\n16:1-2\n
2. Everything we do ought to serve God and His purpose – Colossians 3:17<\/p>\n
a. Including the worship we give to God.<\/p>\n
3. Yet, everything thing we do is not worship of God<\/p>\n
C. Example: Genesis 22:3-8<\/p>\n 1. Abraham obeyed God by taking a three-day journey, but that journey was\nnot worship.\n 2. At the end of his journey, Abraham told his servants to remain while he and\nIsaac went into the mountain to worship.\n 3. Everything Abraham did served God, but Abraham did not consider\neverything he did worship of God.\n
V. Worship is something special<\/p>\n
A. If everything is worship, then worship is ordinary and common place.<\/p>\n
B. Worship is a distinctive action reserved for God alone.<\/p>\n C. The things we do here today is to give God glory and honor by serving Him as he\nhas instructed us. \n 1. It is not a time for us to seek something for ourselves, though we do\nbenefit from worshiping God.\n 2. To say we went to worship and got nothing out of it is to say you went to\nworship for yourself. You were seeking to gratify yourself. Is it not self-worship?\n 3. This is a time to worship our Lord God Almighty, to show Him our\ngratitude and to give Him honor.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. It seems many people today are struggling with the concept of worship. A. Suppose a visitor comes to worship with us. We sing a song of praise to God. The lights are on, eyes are open, no one is swaying with hands in the air. 1. This same person visits another group that…<\/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":[727,84],"class_list":["post-62696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-emotionalism","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94303,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fallacies-about-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":62696,"position":0},"title":"Fallacies About Singing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Roger D. Campbell When it comes to singing songs of praise to the Lord God, our concepts of such need to be based on the teaching of the New Testament. Sometimes, though, when it comes to singing spiritual songs, Christians accept ideas that simply are not true. Since such\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":66630,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-a-head-covering-be-worn-while-singing\/","url_meta":{"origin":62696,"position":1},"title":"Should a head covering be worn while singing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding the head covering. My current practice is to cover my head whenever praying, in or out of the worship. And I generally wear it throughout the worship period. But I do not normally cover it for singing outside of the worship. However, the question\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":4656,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-closer-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":62696,"position":2},"title":"Who is Closer to God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Pulliam Now don't get me wrong! This is not a contest mentality being advocated here. But the question does enter my mind. I surfed over a channel the other day where people had the lights dimmed low, all were holding candles and swaying while singing\u00a0Alleluia. I'm not trying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Emotional Worship","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/03\/emotionalWorship.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15104,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-should-be-done-when-everyone-doesnt-follow-the-song-leader\/","url_meta":{"origin":62696,"position":3},"title":"What should be done when everyone doesn’t follow the song leader?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been reading several of your comments with interest and ran across one that I myself have seen. I am a member of the church of Christ and have been baptized for 22 years. I have been leading songs for around that same time. I have a background in\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":15107,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/worshiping-in-song\/","url_meta":{"origin":62696,"position":4},"title":"Worshiping in Song","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Colossians 3:16-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In many congregations, singing is not consider a very important aspect of worship. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Think about it; when the Lord\u2019s Supper is being served or a prayer is being given, few people would think about leaving the assembly to visit the restrooms, but it commonly happens during\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2845,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/choirs-and-solos\/","url_meta":{"origin":62696,"position":5},"title":"Choirs and Solos","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 13:12-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Satan never stops in his relentless pursuit of God\u2019s people to lead them astray - I Peter 5:8-9 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the past, we talked about the introduction of musical instruments into the worship. \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\u00a0We showed from scripture that the practice was not authorized\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62696","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=62696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}