Bro. James Hickey, Interim Pastor
Worship in The Church…..Greenwood Baptist Church must be Christ centered. As it is Christ-centered, it will be worship centered. When we come together this Sunday, let it not be the “usual” routine, but let it be a celebration of the satisfaction of what we have in Christ. John Piper said, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” You are invited to worship with other believers at Greenwood this Sunday at 11 a.m.
Worship in America…..Jesus declared, Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:21-24
The essence of worship is experiencing Christ. It is savoring Christ, treasuring Christ, being satisfied with Christ. This is the inner essence of worship. Worship is prizing Christ, cherishing him, being satisfied with Him. That was the life of the Apostle Paul and should be the life of every Christian.
Worship is all about Jesus. It is not about anything that is produced or protected in a building. By protected I mean styles, furniture, etc. In the New Testament there is a stunning indifference to the outward forms and places of worship. What begs for attention now is the question: what is the essence of that radical, authentic, inward experience called worship, and how is it worked out in everyday life?
We would have to say with Paul in Philippians 3, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Worship then, is being satisfied with Christ, prizing Christ, cherishing Christ, treasuring Christ. It’s about Jesus. It’s not about control. It’s not about comfort. It’s all about Jesus. He is our satisfaction. He is our treasure. We must worship Him.
There is a list of Implications for Worship in the Church Revitalization Manual published by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. Here are four of them:
- Our Worship must reflect our Passion for the pursuit of God. “As a deer pants for the flowing springs, so my soul pants for thee, O God.”
- Our Worship must be radically God-centered.
- Our worship must be expressed in all of life.
- We are essentially answering the basic question: What did we come here for? We come to worship HIM. Then we go to serve Him saying, “Lord, here am I. Send me!”
Yours For Greater Worship,
James Hickey