Welcome to Tuesday Morning—a great read on whatever day you read it.

 

John Wesley once said that "worship is lost labour without a heart devoted to God." It is true, isn't it? When I attend Sunday morning worship at our church, I expect the music to be carefully selected and performed. I expect the musicians to be prepared to handle their assignments. I expect the pastor to exhibit skills in researching, writing, and presenting his sermon. In fact, I expect that every person in a leadership roll during Sunday morning worship to be at their best. And, by the way, I am never disappointed. However, there is one thing that none of the persons just mentioned can do. They cannot worship in my place. Unless I engage in worshipping God with a heart devoted to Him, worship for me will be a "lost labour."

 

This week's TM is entitled "Worship." It is based on Psalm 95. Open the attachment below and read on whenever you are ready to read and understand what the psalmist has said. I believe you will be encouraged.

 

Tom Barnard

A Senior Worshiper

 

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Worship

Tom Barnard

 

"Sing joyful songs to the Lord! Praise the mighty rock where we are safe. Come to worship him with thankful hearts and songs of praise."

(Psalm 95:6 - CEV)

 

Public worship today-in some ways like it was a century ago-is characterized by singing, by praying, by giving, and by preaching. There may be a different style of music in worship today; different instruments to accompany singers; a different setting in which the church sings; a different posture expected of the congregation (standing to sing); and perhaps a different format for preaching. But singing is a common thread in public worship. Singing was part of Hebrew worship beginning with the first psalms-those written by Moses around 1500 B.C.-to the last psalm to appear around 500 B.C. When you consider that the psalms were written by less than ten authors-some of whom were anonymous-over a period of a thousand years, the fact that there is any common characteristic among the psalms is a miracle indeed.

 

Psalm 95 focuses on singing as one method through which people worship. But true worship is not in the form we use or in a given place! Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). True worship begins within the hearts of God's people. Worship is not just an activity; it is an attitude. It is a way of life. It is an expression of our desire to praise the Lord.

 

What else does the 95th Psalm teach us about worship?  

1. A call to worship begins with a simple invitation, "Come."  It is a call that goes out to the people of God. The psalmist uses "us" four times in the first two verses of this psalm. "Let us sing…Let us shout…Let us come…Let us shout joyfully." And the psalmist is not finished. In verse 6 he says, "Let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." God invites us to come.

2. Singing is something that is done aloud, not just silently. The quality of the voice is not the issue here. Those with no singing ability at all are invited to sing. Singing in worship is a vocal celebration, not a vocal audition.

3.  he object of our worship is God.  Only He is worthy of praise. The psalmist said, "For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also" (verses 3 and 4). We may admire the quality of the music and the beauty of the architecture and stained glass windows in our church. But we are not expected to worship these. They are a means of grace to prepare our hearts for real worship.

4.  A Call to Worship is God's way of saying, "Let's talk." The psalm begins with an invitation to come…to approach…to sing…to shout…to be thankful. In verse 7 the psalmist describes this relationship between God and his children to be intimate. He says, "…we are the people of His   pasture, and the sheep of His hand." God draws us to Himself and then protects and nurtures us like the shepherd cares for the sheep of his flock. He calls us by name; he knows where we are; he watches over us like a true shepherd. We are in his hands, and he wants that relationship to never end.

Some people believe that God is a distant God-that He watches us from a distance. Some are convinced that the only way to get God's attention is to cry out loudly to him. Or to sacrifice in a way as to impress God with our sincerity. Or, positively speaking, to clean up our act before coming to Him. They suggest that there are qualifications to be met before we can approach God. Psalm 95 doesn't say any of that. The psalmist just says, "Come." This invitation is to everyone. Come, let's worship together!