Friday, November 24, 2006

WORSHIP THOTS

Have You ever wondered, what does God think of our worship?

"The revelation of God is the fuel for the fire of our worship." - Matt Redman

"Worship has a purpose. We don't worship for worship's sake. We don't sing, clap, pray and rejoice for our enjoyment or fulfillment but for the Lord. The Holy Father, the Holy Son and the Holy Spirit are the objects of our worship." - LaMar Boschman

"Worship is our reason for being." - Tom Kraeuter

"Worship is the believer's utmost priority and highest occupation." - LaMar Boschman

"Worship is a verb." - Robert Webber

"Worship is an attitude expressed." - Judson Cornwall

"Worship is always a now activity." - Judson Cornwall

"Worship is an exercise of the Holy Spirit directed primarily to God." - Ralph Martin

"Where feelings for God are dead worship is dead." - John Piper

"Regardless of how magnificent the musical moments are, unless your heart is fully engaged in the worship being expressed ... it is still only music." - Darlene Zschech

"Those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." - Jesus

TPWC

Friday, November 10, 2006

THE UNQUENCHABLE WORSHIPPERS

Bible is full of Unquenchable Worshippers - people who refused to be dampened, discouraged or distracted in their quest to glorify God.

1) The Prophet Habakkuk

His heart attitude was to make a choice to respond to God's worth, no matter how bleak a season he found himself in :
"Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop falls and the fields producr no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

2) Paul & Silas (Acts 16)

Sitting in their jail cell you would have forgiven them if they weren't in the mood for singing. They'd been unjustly arrested, beaten, severely flogged, and thrown into the deepest part of prison, with their feet in stocks. Yet, somehow, refusing to let their souls be dampened, Paul & Silas found it in themselves with everything they had left to sing out praise & worship to God. (We all know the result .... the glory of God fell, there was an earthquake, prisoners were set free and salvation came upon the jailer & his family.)

Most of us don't own a fig trees and haven't been in prison for being a Christian, but the principal is the same for us as it was for Habakkuk, Paul & Silas - we can always find a reason to praise. Situations change for better and for worse, but God's worth never change!

3) Fanny Crosby (www.nyise.org/fanny)

This contented worshipper was borned blind has written 9,000 hymns of praise has this say : (Some of her hymns ... To God Be The Glory ... Blessed Assurance ... Close To Thee)

When about six weeks old she was taken sick and her eyes grew weaker ... the lack of knowledge and skill of the doctor then could not save her eye sight. As she grew older she was told that she would never see the faces of her friends, the flowers of the fileds, the blue skies ... soon she learned what other children possessed, but she made up her mind to store away a little jewel in her heart which she called "CONTENT"

Those thousand of songs were simply the result of a fire that burned in her heart for Jesus and could not be put out. Someone once asked her, "Fanny, do you wish you had not been binded?" She replied, in typical style, "Well, the good thing about being blind is that the very face I'll see will be the face of Jesus."

Many might have chosen the path of bitterness and complaint as their response to God, but she chose the path of contentment and praise. The choice between these two paths faces us each day, with every situation that's thrown our way. Bitterness dampens and eventually destroys love for God. It eats away at the statement "God is love" and tells us He is not faithful. But contentment does the opposite: it fuels the heart with endless reasons to praise God.


Extract from - The Unquenchable Worshippers by Matt Redman
TPWC

Friday, November 03, 2006

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

Would you be able to give an immediate on the spot answer to this question? Found this interesting lighter side of worship about people's spontaneous respond to this question






I would like to invite you to give your personal input and comments.
Blessings
TPWC