2015.1.10 礼拝
誰でも気軽に集える、明るく、カジュアルな雰囲気の教会です。
2015.1.10 礼拝
223rd Life Church Service
2016.1.10 Psalm 96:1-13 “Find the joy of praising the Lord – 2”
At Life Church, we do not sing traditional hymns so much. This is not because they are boring or out-of-date. The main idea is that God wants us to sing praises in our own words as we honestly feel.
Psalm 67:3-4 3 May the people praise you, O God; may all the people praise you. 4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.
God wants us to love him and worship him from our heart. It is just natural that we would want to acclaim God when we are filled with God’s love. God deserves to be praised and honored because of His love.
Do we find joy in worshiping the Lord from our heart? If not, let’s imagine how it feels to enjoy the Sunday service.
1．Receiving the glory of God
Psalm 96:2-4 2Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3Declare his glory among he nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 4For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
To receive God’s love = to understand how great God is = to receive God’s love
Once we receive the glory of God, we would want to share with others (everyone) = ministry.
2．Ascribe the glory to God
Psalm 96:7-9 7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
To ascribe glory to God is to offer ourselves to God in worship with love and not through. God’s purpose is to make his love known to all people so that they will receive his love, which would lead them to love God. God’s blessing, salvation and joy are not God’s purpose, but are processes leading towards his real purpose; that is for people to love God and become worshipers.
4．Know God’s purpose
Show his glory to all → people can receive his glory which is passed on to others → ascribe glory to God
5．God’s purpose becomes our mission
Our mission is to love God and acclaim God. Furthermore, our mission is to let people know God’s love and let them love God so that they will be worshipers and find joy in worshiping God.
In Japan, there’s an expression “family service” for husbands spending time with their families or “serve family”. Some enjoy spending time with their families while others do it out of obligation. Worship or (Sunday) service is to serve God with praise songs, prayers and God’s words.
But God does not want us to do this out of obligation. This does not mean such people do not need to attend the service. Husbands who spend time with their families out of obligation at first would eventually find it enjoyable.
People normally experience joy spending time with their loved ones. Attending Sunday services would be the same. Make one day in a week a day to sing praises, thank God and serve God. When people realize how God appreciates their faith, they will start to find joy in serving God.
