Sermon Tone Analysis

! INTRO

*Today we are continuing our series looking at worship through the lens of grace*

* Everyone was made to Worship…

* Our website says… WORSHIP LIFE CALVARY is a community of faith, hope and love under the Lordship of Jesus Christ who desire to know God through His WORD, love God through our WORSHIP and reflect God through our WITNESS.

* Our desire is to be a church who worships the Lord

* By way of introduction, let’s look at some definitions for worship.

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WHAT IS WORSHIP?

Most of the teaching that I see and hear about worship focuses on the musical aspect of worship, but worship is so much bigger than what we do at church or at Bible studies.

Worship encompasses all of life.

*William Temple, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1940’s said…*

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To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.

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*Graham Kendrick, the founder of March For Jesus said…*

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Everybody worships.

Whether it is a hero, possessions, success, pleasure, a political cause, a carved idol or oneself, the way we live and behave makes evident the things we love and give ourselves to.

It is in our very nature to worship, and that inner drive is God-given; the disaster is that as part of a fallen race, we have replaced the object of our worship.

To be converted to faith in Jesus Christ is to return to the worship of the true God, and to dethrone all rivals to His authority.

The very heart of worship is the giving, not only of our talents and goods, but of our very selves.

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*There is something of self that is offered in worship.*

* In fact, all the words for worship in the Bible are verbs that describe some action on the part of the worshippers.

* Allow me to highlight just a few of them…

*HEBREW WORDS FOR PRAISE*

* /8416.תְּהִלָּה

tehillah (239d); To sing spontaneously from your heart directly to GOD/

* /1288.בָּרַךְ

barak (138c); To kneel in adoration/

* /1984b.הָלַל

halal (237d); to be boastful, to praise, to shine, To wildly boast or rave about GOD/

* /8426.תּוֹדָה

todah (392d); To thank GOD with an attitude of adoration with hands lifted up/

*GREEK WORDS FOR PRAISE*

* /4352.

προσκυνέω prŏskunĕō, pros-koo-neh´-o; To turn towards to kiss/

* /4576.

σέβομαι sĕbŏmai, seb´-om-ahee; To adore, to revere/

* /3000.

λατρεύω latrĕuō, lat-ryoo´-o; to minister (to God), To serve, to do acts of service demonstrating your allegiance to the Lord/

* /2151.

εὐσεβέω ĕusĕbĕō, yoo-seb-eh´-o; To act in a pious (reverent or devotional) manner, to show respect to God./

*All of these words describe actions that are the overflow of a heart that is in love with God.*

* Worship is a full contact sport… not a spectator sport

* Worship is something you attend, it’s something you do

*It is from this place of love and adoration that Paul writes…*

[[Romans 12:1–2 (NKJV) | Bible: Romans 12:1-2]]

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/"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."/

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*As we look at our text tonight we are going to discover four characteristics about living a life of worship… *

* Worship reminds us of our need for God

* Worship authenticates our faith

* Worship confronts our desire to conform

* Worship transforms our view of reality

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Worship reminds us of our need for God

"/I beseech you therefore, brethren, by or because of the mercies of God"/

* Paul begins by saying… I beseech you… which means to come near.

* This is important to Paul – it’s personal.

* He’s saying come near and listen to me.

Let me tell you what it means to live a life of worship to God… it begins with the mercy of God.

* So often we focus on the part of the verse that says… present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

* We love to major on that.

It’s about sacrifice.

It’s about laying down your lives.

Surrendering to God.

*This statement by Paul implies 2 realities:*

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There was a point in your life that you came to the realization that you needed God’s mercy and that realization brought you to God

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You still need God’s mercy

/We forget that our desire to surrender is a direct result of God’s mercy in our lives./

*Paul writes to Titus*

[[Titus 3:5–6 (NKJV) | Bible: Titus 3:5-6]]

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/"not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,"/

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Isn’t that true for you?

Isn’t that why you’re here?

Because God demonstrated His mercy towards you?

Forgave you of your sins?

Made you family?

Gave you a future and a hope?

[[1 John 4:19 (NKJV) | 1 John 4:19]]

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/"We love Him because He first loved us."/

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/Worship reminds me of my need for God./

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*Worship authenticates our faith*

/Vs. 1 - that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service./

*Paul says that to present our bodies a living sacrifice is our reasonable service.*

* This pertains to being genuine, true to the real and essential nature of something… in other words, worship is the authentic expression of a life that is in love with Jesus.

* A life that is not characterized by worship is not authentically His

*There are three living sacrifices mentioned in the Bible…*

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Issac (Gen.

22): Issac willingly put himself of the altar and would have died in obedience to God’s will, but the Lord sent a Ram to die in Issac’s place.

When Issac got off the altar – he became a living sacrifice.

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Jesus Christ: Jesus willingly surrendered Himself to the cross, died as a sacrifice – and rose again from the dead – thus Jesus is a living sacrifice.

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Believers: We are to willingly present our bodies as a living sacrifice.

*What does it mean to present our bodies?*

/"To approach, to place ourselves in close proximity, to make yourself available to God."/

[[Romans 6:19 (NKJV) | Bible: Romans 6:19]]

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"/For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness."/

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*Do you remember when you used to work for the other guy?*

* You worked hard to sin.

You had no problem sinning.

You would stay out all night partying it up if you had to.

You didn’t complain.

* Now you work for someone who loves you, who adores you, who has given everything for you, who forgives you, who restores you, who has adopted you into His family and given you a name that is above every other name.

*And this is what he says about you…*

* You are Holy – special, set apart for God

* Not because of what you do

* But because of what’s been done for you

* Your sins are forgiven, made clean by the blood of the Lamb

* You are acceptable – God sees you as attractive, pleasant, beautiful, satisfying, that you bring joy to God’s heart

* Not because you’re so perfect

* But because Jesus the perfect One lives in You

* When God looks on your life He sees Jesus

* When we live form that place that we are fully His, set apart for Him, acceptable to Him… it brings us to that place of authentic worship from a heart that is genuinely in love with Jesus.