One of the great promises of the gospel is that, through Christ, God has taken down the hostility and fear that separated us from Him. We can now approach His very presence boldly and without fear (Hebrews 4:14-16)! But boldness and fearlessness should not lead to presumption. Do we have any idea whose presence we […]
“The more I study the unfolding history of worship in the Bible, the more I am forced to conclude that many times, when we’re enjoying worship, God is barely enduring it. Man’s glory has replaced God’s glory as the heart of worship. Man’s pleasure has taken precedent over God’s pleasure as the goal of worship. […]
For weeks, we have been asking the question, “What kind of worship is God seeking?”, and we are starting to see what qualities should mark worship that pleases our God. But what about when our hearts have wandered away to other loves and other worship? Where does that lead us? And how does God bring […]
We have been asking the question, “What kind of worship is God seeking? What worship does He desire to find?” But we really don’t have to imagine the answer. Scripture gives us a picture of the worship that is going on right now around the throne of God! How should our worship be informed and […]
There is no area of the Christian life that is more defined by our preferences, our likes, and our expectations than the area of worship. But in our preoccupation and our lists, we can easily miss out on the beauty and the purpose for which God has ordered His worship. Text: 1 Corinthians 14:20-33 (with […]
We are going to spend several weeks unfolding and marveling around an amazing concept: That God is desiring and seeking our worship. He doesn’t need it; He is not lacking without it. But He does seek it and invite it…because He wants us to enter into the beauty and amazement and blessing of who He […]
The spiritual attacks that we endure are because the enemy wants to keep us from where God wants to be – leaving behind false worship and experiencing the beauty and the reality of lives that are given over to the true worship God has for us. Ezra 4:24-5:2; Haggai 1:1-15
When God’s people start to be revived, the first one stirred up is our enemy – who will do anything to keep us from being the worshipping community God wants us to be. Having been warned of that, what do we need to know about our adversary and how he can be overcome? Ephesians 6:10-13
When God begins to move in His people to revive them and restore them to Himself, the first one stirred up is our enemy – who is defeated, but still dangerous. If we are seeking the restoring power of the Lord’s grace at this church, what opposition can we expect, and how can we overcome […]
As God saves us as individuals, He is making us part of worshipping community. That can be so beautiful, and so scary. What does it look like for us to find more and more of our story and our reality caught up in being a worshipping church together?