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<\/p>\nOur United Methodist Men’s Fellowship held our monthly gathering on the morning of December 12, and we considered Psalm 100.\u00a0 This familiar Psalm teaches us that “Theology (knowledge) leads to Doxology (worship).”<\/p>\n
Our guest speaker was Gino Curcuruto,\u00a0 a chiropractor\/pastor\/father and devoted Christian.\u00a0 Gino and his family recently moved from Pitman to Philadelphia, with the intent of planting churches in his South Philly neighborhood (or wherever God is leading them).\u00a0 The “churches” that are needed aren’t the traditional “stained glass and mortar” structures that people go to on Sunday mornings.\u00a0 Today’s “church” is a group of people who want to find out more about who this Jesus is.\u00a0 They are not defined by or limited to a building or day.<\/p>\n
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As David wrote this psalm, he alternated between stanzas of Worship<\/span><\/strong> and stanzas of Theology<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 It’s almost like a conversation.\u00a0 The text below is color coded to show this back and forth message…<\/p>\n 1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth<\/span>.<\/p>\n 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs<\/span>.<\/p>\n 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture<\/span>.<\/p>\n 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name<\/span>.<\/p>\n 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations<\/span>.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n <\/p>\n \n\t\t leads to >>><\/span><\/em>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t leads to >>><\/span><\/em>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t makes us hunger to learn more >>><\/span><\/em>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t\n The Psalm gives us a progression that helps us move towards a life that’s always glorifying God.\u00a0 If we start with a correct understanding of God and His nature, we will be led into a genuine worship which comes from a life infused with God.\u00a0 When we’re like that, we develop a life story which the Holy Spirit can use to draw others to God.<\/p>\n This progression happens with anyone; but if it’s to lead us to a Life Story (biography) that truly glorifies God, we need to start out with the right Theology (knowledge) of God and to really worship God (and not ourselves).<\/p>\n Worship should flow out of the truths we have experienced about God.\u00a0 It’s possible to become caught up in raw emotions that don’t spring out from God.<\/p>\n Too many people discover (the hard way) that they are actually worshiping themselves instead of depending on God and worshiping Him.\u00a0 We need to base our worship on the fact that God made us…\u00a0 We didn’t make Him!<\/p>\n Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture<\/span>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sheep are not smart animals.\u00a0 Without the shepherd they’re lost.\u00a0 We need to come to grips with the fact that we’re in the same “dumb as sheep” boat.\u00a0 We’re totally dependent on The Shepherd (Jesus).<\/p>\n When we walk in that “Theology” (of knowing our dependence on God), we’ll have no other response than to fall down and worship Him in all we do (“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs”<\/span>).\u00a0 As God meets our needs in the darkest of times, He will develop a “biography” in us that joyfully points to Christ.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\tTheology to Doxology to Biography…<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tTheology <\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\tWorship <\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\tBiography <\/span><\/p>\n\n
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It’s good to be thankful.\u00a0 But thanksgiving is genuine only when we have a knowledge of why we’re thankful. It’s not enough to look at the things we have and repeat (“Thanks be to God”); true thanksgiving comes when we realize our utter dependence on God and come face to face with the ways in which He constantly meets our needs.<\/p>\n
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