{"id":1227,"date":"2014-03-17T19:59:15","date_gmt":"2014-03-17T23:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=1227"},"modified":"2014-04-18T20:46:20","modified_gmt":"2014-04-19T00:46:20","slug":"fruitful-living-2-of-5-passionate-worship-31614","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=1227","title":{"rendered":"Fruitful Living (2 of 5): “Passionate Worship (3\/16\/14)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sermon on Sunday March 16\u00a0 introduced the second practice of our five part series on the “Five Practices of Fruitful Living.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pastor Kee preached the sermon.\u00a0 During this season of Lent, we are following the companion devotional guide by Robert Schanase entitled in \u201cForty Days of Fruitful Living.\u201d<\/em> The sermons introduce the week\u2019s topic, and we discuss and study these topics during our small group meetings that\u00a0 week.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Worship…<\/span><\/h3>\n

A Sunday school teacher asked her children a question as they made their way to the sanctuary, \u201cWhy is it necessary to be quiet in church?\u201d One bright little girl replied, \u201cBecause people are sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what is worship? Is it a time to sleep?\u00a0 Is it a time to be seen? Is it something we do because our parents force us to go to church on Sunday?\u00a0 Have we ever really worshiped, or do we just attend church?\u00a0 Do you even have to be in a church in order to worship?\u00a0 What is worship?<\/p>\n

The word Worship derives from the same word from which we get our word “Worth.”\u00a0 In worship we are immersing ourselves in the truth of God’s “worth.”\u00a0 With others, we publicly proclaim His holiness and worthiness to be worshiped.<\/p>\n

Worship is defined as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. In other words, worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who God is, and what God has done. Worship is a time to connect people to God and to one another. So we gather seeking to encounter God in Christ.<\/p>\n

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Rom 12:1-2 12:1 <\/span><\/p>\n

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life \u2014 your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life \u2014 and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. <\/span><\/p>\n

(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language \u00a9 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)<\/em><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

Passionate Worship…<\/span><\/h3>\n

Passion means “inflamed with love.”\u00a0 It refers to our desire to totally open ourselves up to God.\u00a0 To open the door.\u00a0 To let Him into every corner of our lives.\u00a0 As Paul wrote in the passage above, Passionate Worship is opening ourselves up to God and allowing Him to change us from the inside out.<\/p>\n

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Worship is NOT entertainment…<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people walk into church expecting to be entertained, because that happens everywhere else they go. They go to the movies, entertained. They go to a sports game, entertained. They plug in their video game system, entertained. They watch TV, entertained. They walk into church, they want to be entertained.<\/span><\/p>\n

Worship is not about being entertained. Worship is about God. Worship is about expressing our love for God.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

Worship isn’t about taking a nap or about being entertained.\u00a0 Worship demands “passion.”\u00a0 We must deliberately clear our thoughts and open ourselves up to the Spirit.<\/p>\n

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We don’t get fed by worship… <\/span><\/p>\n

Many church-goers complain, \u201cI just don\u2019t feel fed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

One pastor responded to this common statement by saying that ministers\/preachers\/worship leaders are merely the chefs. They work hard to prepare the feast. They use their talents and gifts to create something that should be delicious to God. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pastors and the activities of a worship service don’t feed people. People must connect with God and be fed themselves.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

Passionate Worship takes practice.\u00a0 When we constantly look for opportunities to get in touch with the mystery of God’s presence, we learn to love God in return.\u00a0 Whether it be in a church service or during a walk on the beach, worship ponders\u00a0 the power and attributes of God and generates an adoration and love towards our Creator.<\/p>\n

Passionate worship connects us to God, opens our hearts, and\u00a0 allows God to transform us.\u00a0 Through our continuing practice of worship, we stay in love with God.<\/p>\n

\u00a0==================================<\/span><\/p>\n

You can read the text of Pastor Kee’s\u00a0 sermon below…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Read More<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
Scripture: 2 Samuel 6:14-22, Romans 12:1-2 Title: Passionate Worship <\/span><\/p>\n

Let me start with something funny. A Sunday school teacher asked her children a question as they made their way to the sanctuary, \u201cWhy is it necessary to be quiet in church?\u201d One bright little girl replied, \u201cBecause people are sleeping.\u201d Welcome to the worship. <\/span><\/p>\n

During the season of Lent, we have five topics preached on five Sundays each topic. First Sunday was Radical Hospitality Pastor Larry preached last Sunday. Today I preach Passionate Worship. Next week will be Intentional Faith Development. And Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Today we are talking about Passion Worship. What is worship? Worship is defined as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. In other words, worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who God is, and what God has done. Worship is a time to connect people to God and to one another. So we gather seeking to encounter God in Christ. <\/span><\/p>\n

God uses worship to transform our lives, heal wounded souls, renew hope, shape decisions, provoke change, inspire compassion, and bind people to one another. We don\u2019t attend worship to squeeze God into our lives; we seek to meld our lives into God\u2019s. It is a time to less about ourselves and more about faith, less about our personal agendas and more about God\u2019s will. <\/span><\/p>\n

I have heard that people walk into church expecting to be entertained, because that happens everywhere else they go. They go to the movies, entertained. They go to a sports game, entertained. They plug in their video game system, entertained. They watch TV, entertained. They walk into church, they want to be entertained. My loving sisters and brothers, Worship is not about being entertained. Worship is about God. Worship is about expressing our love for God. <\/span><\/p>\n

I have heard many people say this statement about a church\u2019s worship. They said, \u201cI just don\u2019t feel fed.\u201d Then I heard another preacher explain something that was vitally important for us to remember. He said that ministers\/preachers\/worship leaders are merely the chefs. We work hard to prepare the feast. We use our talents and gifts to create something that should be delicious to God. And he said, \u201cwe don\u2019t feed people, people feed themselves.\u201d I hope and pray that you all feed yourselves enough today. <\/span><\/p>\n

God created us for his own purpose. It was God\u2019s purpose and reason that God liberated the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. Exodus 8:1 says, \u201cLet my people go, so that they may worship me.\u201d Worship defines God\u2019s people. We all are designed for worshiping and praising God like King David. <\/span><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s scripture, 2 Samuel 6:14, David danced before the Lord with all his might. Verse 15, David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of trumpet. David was no stranger to worship. He didn\u2019t dance only when people agreed with him. He didn\u2019t hold back because he was worried what people would think. David danced before the Lord with all his might. But Michal despised him and she thought he was crazy. David didn\u2019t care. He loved God and he wasn\u2019t worried about how he looked or how he sounded. Again, worship is not about us or how we look to other, worship is about expressing our love for God and all that he has done for us.So in worship, we practice the highest command Jesus has taught us: \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Through worship, God pardons our sins, restores our relationships, and changes our lives. Worship is most likely setting for people to experience the renewed relationship with God that is called grace. May you all be filled with God\u2019s grace today. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let me conclude my sermon with a true story. There was a huge earthquake in the county of Armenia in 1988. For the earthquake, 55 thousand people died. It was a terrible disaster. A 9 story apartment building was collapsed. As the building was collapsed, a mother and a daughter were survived because of a little gap under the iron and concrete. And they were waiting for rescue for many days. They just could breath in the little space which was dark and wet. The four years old daughter gets thirsty and hungry. She started crying for water and food. She said, \u201cMommy, I am thirsty, Mommy I am thirsty.\u201d But there was no way to help her daughter. Finally she found something in the dark, a broken piece of glass. She immediately started cutting her wrist. And then she moved closer to her daughter and fed the loving daughter her blood from her wrist. Whenever the loving daughter said, \u201cMommy, I am thirsty,\u201d she cut her wrist again to feed her loving daughter her blood for two weeks.Fortunately, they were rescued. This is the power of love. <\/span><\/p>\n

My sisters and brothers, We all are saved by the blood of Christ. This is reason why we worship our God with all our hearts, minds, souls and strength. Such worship is passionate worship and spiritual worship that the Apostle Paul is talking about in Romans chapter 12. To present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let us pray Almighty God, We thank you for your amazing love and grace through Jesus Christ. We thank you for his blood to wash our sins and our iniquities. O gracious and loving God, we have a clear reason to worship you. We have a right reason to sing for you. We have a perfect reason to live our lives for you. We lift up your holy name in our entire lives. We present our bodies as a holy and living sacrifice acceptable to you. O God, you deserve our passionate worship and spiritual worship. We love you and praise you. In the most precious name of Jesus Christ, our Love and Savior we pray. Amen.<\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

Click Here<\/span><\/a><\/span> to learn more about this sermon series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sermon on Sunday March 16\u00a0 introduced the second practice of our five part series on the “Five Practices of Fruitful Living.”\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pastor Kee preached the sermon.\u00a0 During this season of Lent, we are following the companion devotional guide by Robert Schanase entitled in \u201cForty Days of Fruitful Living.\u201d The sermons introduce the week\u2019s topic, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","category-worship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1227"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1241,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1227\/revisions\/1241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}