partnership: how to get ready for sunday morning

8/2/2019 Partnership: How to Get Ready for Sunday Morning

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Preparing to Meet the Lord on Sunday

May 31, 2009

1.What is Worship?The word worship comes from the old English word worth-ship, and it means to

proclaim the worth of someone. So when we declare the honor and worth of God, we are

surely worshiping Him. This is what we do well when we sing and enjoy worship music. But

there is more to worship than that. The most prominent Hebrew word for worship is

pronounced, hawa, which means to prostrate oneself, to bow down, to worship. In its

original tense the word mean to lay yourself out on the ground, prostrated before another.

Prostration was a common act of self-abasement performed before relatives, strangers,

superiors, and especially before royalty (TWOT, #1709).

We see Abraham prostrating himself before the Hittites of Hebron in Genesis 23:7, 12.

We see him bowing low before the angelic visitors at Mamre in Genesis 18:2, and Lot did the

same thing to these same visitors in Sodom according to Genesis 19:1. Balaam perceived an

angel blocked the way of he and his donkey so he fell prostrate in Numbers 22:31. And it

occurs in such fashion with people, idols and God being the object about 170 other times in the

OT. But as it occurs with reference to our great God, David sums it up quite nicely in Psalm 95:6

when he issues a call for us: O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the

Lord our God our maker. Thus, there is this physical bowing down and prostrating ourselves

before our God because of who He is compared to who we are.

The most prominent Greek word is pronounced, pros-kooneh-oh, not surprisingly it

means the same thing: to fall down and worship, kneel, bow low, fall at anothers feet

(UBS, #5193). This is what we see the wise men doing when they visit Jesus in Matthew 2.

When they exclaimed that, we have come to worship Him (v. 2). Then when they found Him,

Matthew reports in verse 11 that, they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His

mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him The word occurs again in Matthew 4 where

Satan desired Jesus to worship him. He told Jesus, All these things I will give You, if You fall

down and worship me (Matt. 4:9). It occurs again in John 4 where Jesus is discussing the

subject of true worship with the Samaritan woman at the well, a one of the most key passages

in the NT on the subject of worship. And it can be found another 50 plus times in the NT.

At the root of worship is a sense of Gods presence and glory. And when Gods

presence and glory has been manifested to a human being, the immediate response was

worship; It was to bow down and quickly prostrate oneself face down to the ground. There

was fear and reverence and obeisance.

MiMMission in

Mobilization


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2.What is the Purpose of Worship?This understanding of worship necessarily leads us to understand its purpose. Once were

down on our knees and/or faces before God, we are finally in a place to receive from Him.

a. Therefore, the first purpose of worship is to recognize Jesus Christ as King. Worship isintended to exalt the worth of God. This leads toward and flows into the second

purpose of worship.

b. The second purpose of worship is to recognize my place under His rulership. Worship,by very virtue of the word, is about my being humbled. When I recognize who Jesus

Christ is, I am thereby affected. And this in turn leads toward and flows into the third

purpose.

c. The third purpose of worship is the enjoyment and valuing of God. When I know He isKing of the universe and therefore over me, and when I know my heart is humbled and

submitted to the authority of King Jesus, then I am able to fully enjoy what He has give

me which enables me to value Him more. And like the other two purposes, this one too,

leads toward and flows into the fourth purpose in worship.

d. The fourth purpose of worship is to bring others to worship God. Its only when I havebeen fully impacted by the authority of King Jesus that I will submit to Him. And its only

when I am fully submitted to Him that I can enjoy Him and value Him. And its only

when I am enjoying Him and valuing Him that I can show Him to others and lead others

to Him.

Jesus encounter with the woman at the well holds a key teaching on worship for us.

Remember what Jesus said there?

Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in

Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we

worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming,

and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and

truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and

those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:21-24).


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The issue here was simple. The woman at the well had only partial-knowledge about God.

She was a Samaritan with a mixed-up view of God and the Bible that would classify their

worship as a cult. They didnt have the right truth about God, because they only used the first

five books of the OT. And they didnt have the right understanding about God, because theyworshiped on a mountain where Jacob built a well and gave the territory to Joseph, and not in

Jerusalem where God had ordained that He be worshiped. So their whole worship was a

complete mess, based around a God they had fashioned for themselves, and based upon a

location of their own choosing. What a classic example of generational idolatry: one generation

making up their own version of God and worshiping Him that way for generations on end. Until

Jesus shows up.

By contrast, Jesus is teaching the woman here that God is seeking true worshipers for

Himself. Jesus defines a true worshiper as someone who is worshiping in spirit and in truth.

Spirit and truth can be understood as grasping the right truth about God with the right

understanding of God. It is knowing the God of the Bible, and knowing how this God of the

Bible wishes us to worship Him. We worship HIM, and we worship Him the WAY He says. We

worship God with the truth He reveals about Himself in Scripture, and with the heart attitude

He says should be present in our worship of Him.

We could say that true worship is about worshiping with the right doctrine and the right

affections and mindset toward God. It is having my head screwed on straight about God, and

having my mind, will and emotions my heart - renewed and refreshed in God. If worship

doesnt lead me to recognize King Jesus, and submit to His rulership, and enjoy and value Him

more, and lead others to worship Him, Im not sure Im a true worship of the Father.

3.How do we Worship?Jesus teaching on worship with the Samaritan woman was an example of something very

unique found throughout the Bible. There was a pattern of Jesus dealing with this woman that

resulted in worship. And what is interesting is that this pattern is found throughout the Bible in

many other places as well. Throughout Scripture, whenever God met man or when man metGod, there were four distinct characteristics found, as in the case with Jesus and this Samaritan

woman.

a. The first is called presentation. This is how the encounter between God and man

begins. It occurred in various ways as God manifested Himself through various means.

Regardless of the ways and means, God is the One who always took the initiative and


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presented Himself to man. This shows us that God desires to reveal Himself, because

God desires to be known by the human beings He created. For example, in the case of

the Samaritan woman, Jesus presented Himself to this her as a prophet, a man who

knew everything about the woman. He presented Himself as the knower of mens

hearts.

b. The second part of biblical worship is called confrontation. When God presents Himself

to man there is almost always immediate confrontation. Man has encountered a holy

God and fear, bewilderment, guilt, and even confusion are natural responses to such an

encounter. Man is always confronted with his own sinfulness in the presence of a holy

God. When it came to Jesus conversation with this woman, she was confronted with

her sin. When Jesus asked her to go get her husband, there was immediate conviction

that she had actually been married many times, and that she was shacking up with a live

in boyfriend at the time.

c. The third part of biblical worship is consolation. God reaches out to console the fearing

person, and this He does in various ways. With the woman at the well, Jesus comforted

her with the truth that He was the Messiah, the chosen one, the anointed one from

God. He comforted her with the truth that He was the living water who could forever

quench the thirst in her soul.

d. Finally, the fourth part of biblical worship seems to always result in mission. Upon

confronting and consoling a person, there is something God requires of the person. He

always presented Himself for a reason. And its really quite simple, and very obvious.

He didnt just appear to make people scared and then disappear again. His purpose for

presenting, confronting and consoling all along was to dispatch the person on a mission

to make His name great by taking this revelation of Himself to others . And its easy to

see what that mission was at the well with Jesus and the woman, isnt it? Jesus knew

that her encounter with him changed her. So she

left her water jar and went away into the town and said to the people, Come

see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? They went out

of the town and were coming to himMany Samaritans from that town believed

in Him because of the womans testimony, He told me all that I ever did. Sowhen the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he

stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said

to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we

have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the

world (John 4:28-30, 39-42).


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A logical conclusion therefore is this: if worship doesnt result in mission, then worship hasnt

really happened. This, then is the ultimate aim of our worship together: to engage ourselves in

the worth of God and be thereby affected in the process in order to value Him more and

make more worshipers.

Additional examples:

Adam (Genesis 3), Moses (Exodus 3:1-4:15) Israel (Judges 2:1-7) Gideon (Judges 6) David (2 Samuel 24 and 2 Chronicles 21) Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-13) Joshua the High Priest (Zechariah 3:1-10) Peter (Luke 5:1-11) The Samaritan Woman (John 4) Apostle John (Revelation 1:10-20) Noah (Genesis 6 Consolation and Mission) Patriarchs: Abraham (Genesis 12 Consolation and Mission), and Jacob (Genesis 28 Presentation and

Confrontation)

Hagar (Genesis 16:1-14 Presentation and Mission) Balak (Numbers 22 Presentation, Confrontation, and Mission) Job (42:5-6 Presentation and Confrontation) John the Baptist (Matt. 3:13-15; John 1:29-34 Presentation, Confrontation, Mission)

4.How do we Prepare for Worship?a. It BEGINS with Saturday night.Worship on Sunday must begin with Saturday evening. If theres not some kind of pattern

for yourself or your family to follow in getting ready for Sunday, it becomes very, very difficult,

if not altogether impossible to make that sudden shift and change in mindset we expect our

children to have come Sunday morning. Somehow, we expect that because its Sunday

morning our children should just suddenly and instantaneously sit up straight, sing along, raise

their hands, stand up, and just plain behave. I heartily recommend you creating some kind of

family preparation for Sunday morning, starting around dinner time.

Remind yourselves and the family what tomorrow morning is all about.


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Pick one of the key passages about God presenting Himself to a person and readthrough it and exposit it to your children. The four-fold process of worship becomes

a teaching outline for you and your family.

Review what behavior and heart honors God during corporate worship: sitting up,listening intently, taking notes (if necessary to keep the mind occupied on the

subject matter), singing, lifting hands and voices to God, dancing, praying, etc.

b. It continues BEFORE worship.Remember to keep the focus by keeping the flow on Sunday morning before gathering for

corporate worship. Get up early enough to make breakfast and lunch (or prepare the night

before).

Fill the house with praise and worship music. Recite Scripture to one another. Gather the family for another moment to remind the family whats about to happen,

read the word, and pray together. (Dads consider praying for each family member

individually, or leading everyone to pray for everyone else in the family).

Try to drive to worship without any fights or conflicts in the vehicle.

c. It PROPELS in punctuality.If worship began Saturday evening, then there generally should be issues getting to worship

on time. Being punctual helps you be a part of the worship preparation time at 9:45. (We

started this for a while, but stopped because hardly anyone was coming on time). Not

being punctual robs you and your family of precious corporate worship involvement, in

addition to disturbing others around you.

d. It DEEPENS in participation.Participation is what brings it all together. If worship began Saturday night then the pattern

has been set to have full participation.

Sing your heart out to God.


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Raise your hands to the Lord. Pray to Him aloud and in quiet. Read the Scriptures on the slides with the congregation. Pray as you listen to the sermon.

o Pray for the Spirit to open your mind to understand and receive.o Pray for the Father to send His angels to war against the enemy to prevent

distraction and satanic involvement.

Take notes as you need to. Meditate on everything thats going on around you. Pray for prophetic words, words of knowledge, etc. Pray in tongues as the Spirit leads. Go to another during worship and make things right if there are unresolved conflicts. Give your money to the Lord. Continually coach and help your children the whole time.

o At first sign of lack of involvement, sit down and whisper instructions oncemore.

o At second sign of lack of involvement, take them out a talk to them oncemore and pray with them and for them and over them.

o At third sign of lack of involvement, take them out to discipline them. (Theyusually get it by now!)


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o At fourth sign of lack of involvement, consider dealing with it at home laterand dont let yourself get more distracted than you already have. God can

deal with them now.

partnership: how to get ready for sunday morning

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