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The "Whats" and the "Why" of Worship
by Richard Allen Farmer
Text: Psalm 100
Topic: How to approach worship
Big Idea: God wants to be (and should be) celebrated because he is good.
Keywords: Attitudes; Exaltation of God; God, goodness of; Pleasing God; Praise; Worship
Introduction:
- What does God want from our worship?
- Psalm 100
- This psalm answers the question, "what"—what is God looking for?
- This psalm is addressed to all the earth, to all the people of God.
Find a place for gladness.
- This psalm commands us to worship God with gladness.
- When we worship God, his joy ought to be ours.
- Illustration: The Today show featured a "happiness coach."
- We don't manufacture our happiness; our joy is God-given.
- Illustration: Farmer uses the analogy of his excitement to see his grandmother to describe the excitement we should feel when meeting with God.
- It ought to be our delight to come into God's presence.
Find a place for joyful songs.
- When we worship with gladness, we bring ourselves; when we worship with joyful songs, we bring our song.
- "Joyful songs" need not mean an upbeat song; offer God what you can give.
Find a place for truth.
- We must always worship the Lord in theological truth.
- When we come to worship, we must understand that the Lord is God, it is he who made us, and we are his.
Find a place for thanksgiving.
- The psalm says we ought to praise the Lord, not "how."
- Thanksgiving can take a number of different forms.
- Don't give a human thanks that belong to God.
- Illustration: A simple song from the African-American church—a song that just says, "thank you"—has taken on fresh meaning for Farmer.
- When we begin thanking God, we find even more things to thank him for.
- Illustration: Farmer reads an excerpt from "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"
Worship God for who he is.
- The psalm also answers "why"—why does God want our worship?
- We ought to worship God because he is good.
- Worship is a rehearsal of the goodness of God.
- Illustration: A black church reads certain prayers every week, some of which thank God just for letting them be alive that day.
Conclusion
- The "what" of worship is bringing God gladness, joyful songs, theological truth and thanksgiving.
- The "why" of worship is because the Lord is good.
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