Psalm 115. Why Sunday Worship?

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Introduction: Pg. 510 What is Redemption Hill Church all about? Mission Statement. How? Discipleship Strategy Map “Help all people become mature and multiplying followers of Jesus.” Following Jesus is a series of steps. Today marks the beginning of our Steps series: Journey with Jesus. When we take steps, God changes our stories. Here are the key steps we’ve established as a church. Overview… But why do we come here every week? “Why Sunday Worship?” Psalm 115 We view our Sunday worship experiences as an irreplaceable aspect of life. We gather on Sundays to know God and celebrate his infinite greatness with one collective voice. It is the collision point where our values as a church are most clearly expressed: transformation through the gospel, encouragement in community, and motivation for mission. In our fast-paced, high intensity culture, worship provides needed refreshment and helps us recalibrate our lives to God’s amazing design for us. We expect what happens on Sunday to influence the other 167 hours of our upcoming week. That’s why we invite others to join us to experience God! We are going to turn to Psalm 115 and see that our… The Point: Our worship flows from the worth of God. I want to give you five reasons why we should collectively prioritize Sunday worship. 1.

Prioritize Sunday Worship because God is supremely worthy.

Read Psalm 115:1-8 •

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The psalm begins: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us…” They are concerned about the reputation and glory of God, because this was a time when God’s people suffered some level of adversity and persecution… We see this in verse 2. Those who did not believe in God were calling into question his power and presence with the derisive challenge: “Where is their God?” The name of God, the reputation of God, the fame of God is under attack. This is why the prayer of verse 1 is: “Give glory to your name.” In other words, “Let people know how glorious you are.” The glory of God is the display of his manifold perfections. It is the going public of his intrinsic worth, his greatness on display for all to see. When we come here on Sundays, this is the most important thing we do. “God, you are worthy. We want all people to know (and we want to remind one another) how glorious God is. Worship is our response to what we value the most. Worship is declaring all of God’s worth.

We find the rebuttal to verse 2 in verse 3: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” This is a declaration of confidence and faith. Look at what we learn about God . . . • God is Personal and Present. ⁃ First he is “Our God” ⁃ But also notice that: “Our God is” He exists and is knowable. • God is Transcendent and Sovereign. ⁃ “Our God is in the heavens” ⁃ We need a God who is both powerful and in control whether life is great or you are going through a time of suffering.

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God is Powerful and Free. ⁃ “Our God is in the heaven; he does all that he pleases.” ⁃ God is not subject to anyone or anything. ⁃ He is perfectly free and independent. That’s why we cannot say God is a pumped up version of us. God is Creator. We are created. We have a manufactured and expiration date. Not God!

Trans: The contrast comes in verse 4 with a strong warning against idolatry. Not one person here today can escape the constant temptation to find satisfaction in substitute gods. • If you were to visit an area of the world dominated by Hinduism or Buddhism, you might be shocked to find people bowing down before wooden statues. Why? Idols are the work of human hands. T • We can say, “oh, that’s crazy!” Or “oh, how sad!” But what about us? • We bow before the gods of approval, sex, money, success, comfort, belonging and many more. • Every counterfeit god overpromises and under delivers (They have eyes but cannot see, ears but cannot hear) but not the one, true God. Our God is alive. This is what we celebrated last Sunday, which should be celebrated every Sunday. In fact, it’s why we worship on this day of the week and not Saturday, which is when people in the Old Testament worshiped together. • • • • • •

Our vision of God should inform our worship. When we come together on Sundays, we should come with a sense of “gravity and gladness.” Gravity because the main word for worship in the Bible found 212 times [proskuneo; 164x OT; 48x NT] carries the basic meaning of bowing down in with reverence and honor. Gravity because God is INFINITELY glorious. There is no end to his glory. It is immeasurable, limitless. [The Bible says his glory is so great that no human being could see it and live.] But also gladness because this God says, “Call me Father.” He desires to be known by us and near to us. When we worship together, it’s both reverence AND celebration; humble reflection AND joyful exuberance. We should bow down and jump up with rejoicing. That’s why the Bible tells us to sing, make music, rejoice, give thanks, and dance (yes, that’s in the Bible).

T: We worship together because God is infinitely worthy. #2. 2. Prioritize Sunday Worship because we encounter God. • • • • • • • •

Look back at verse 1: “Not to us, not to us… for the sake of your steadfast love and faithfulness!” The rhythm of worship is Revelation > Response. Jesus said we worship “in spirit (with all of who we are from the inside out) & in truth (in accordance with the true reality of who God is).” We don’t get hype for no reason… that’s empty emotionalism. We rejoice and sing praise in response to the reality of the one, true God. And God has revealed himself to us in the Bible. That’s why we are a Word-centered church. We read the Word: We have Scripture Readings every service. We preach and teach the Word: We open the Bible and walk through it week after week, explaining and applying it. That’s preaching. We also (are you ready for this?) sing the Word. ⁃ One of my favorite parts of coming together in worship is singing songs of praise together in song. ⁃ A lot of times when we talk about Worship in our culture, we automatically think singing. Singing is certainly a key way we express our worship. In fact, “There are more than five hundred references to singing in the Bible and more than fifty direct commands to sing.” (Mason, in Doxology, 194) ⁃ BUT, singing is just one part of our worship. And when we sing, we sing songs that flow from the Word. ⁃ Songs are a powerful tool to teach us about God. That’s why I’m so thankful for our Music & A/V Teams. You may have difficulty remembering the precise point of my sermon, but you’ll be singing

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“You’re love never fails.” It’s extremely frustrating as a preacher. :) [Maybe I’ll start singing my sermons? Rap them? :)] Because we seek to sing the word, content is always more important than style. ⁃ We can mix up the style. We can throw in a tambourine. We can get a drum kit or keep a cajon; one guitar or multiple guitars, keys or no keys, but the most important thing is how the words with the music move our souls! ⁃ Does the truth move you? ⁃ “Music stirs up and expresses God-glorifying emotion. . . . Half-hearted praise is an oxymoron.” - Bob Kauflin ⁃ Then he quotes Jonathan Edwards who said: “The duty of singing praise to God seems to be given wholly to excite and express religious affections. There is no other reason why we should express ourselves to God in verse rather than in prose and with music, except that these things have a tendency to move our affections.” ⁃ I think we can grow in the outward expression of our praise when we sing. We can be a little more exuberant. It’s okay to clap, to raise your hands, to have a smile on your face, to dance a little bit.

T: We are participants, not spectators; worshipers, not spiritual consumers. #3

3. Prioritize Sunday Worship because we are a united family! • • • • •

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Read 115:9-11 This Psalm is written in the plural. “Our God. Israel, house of Aaron, all who fear, The Lord has remembered us. We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.” We do this together. Yes, we should worship as individuals throughout our week, but there is something qualitatively different about worshiping with other people who love God. Would you rather eat by yourself or with 4-5 other friends? We gain something in community, we can’t get on our own. To state it negatively, there are things we miss when we miss a Sunday. To state it more strongly, we cheat ourselves and one another when we remove ourselves from corporate worship (why? Because Christ in me has something to give Christ in you and Christ in you has something to give Christ in me.) “A shared joy is a double joy.” Not to mention our shared witness to the city of Medford is stronger when it’s 317 (our attendance last week) vs. 13 (our attendance when we moved to Medford to start RHC) (Our ushers are like, Tanner, our attendance was 316. You forgot to count the Holy Spirit!) Let me give you a few thoughts here. ⁃ 1) Don’t always sing with your eyes closed. :) Sometimes I close my eyes. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I look around. And I see… Lionel saying “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free.” (I’m nodding my head, aww yea…) and then I notice Sandra over there “like a flood, his mercy reigns.” (Now, I’m getting hype, ready to beat my chest in excitement…) ⁃ 2) We are here to encourage one another. This is why we take time to greet one another as a part of worship. ⁃ It’s a microcosm of what should be happening before and after worship. ⁃ What would happen if you arrived 10 minutes early and stuck around 10 minutes after? It would change your life. ⁃ 3) The community includes our kids. This is why we start kids 3+ in the service. This is why we have age-appropriate teaching and songs for them in Redemption Kids. ⁃ You may not serve in Redemption Kids, but you should care about every kid.

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How many of us heard the gospel at a young age, perhaps even decided to follow Jesus as a kid (I did!),

T: Do you come for you, or do you come for everyone? #4 4. Prioritize Sunday Worship because we need transformation. • • • • • •

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Here’s the principle from Psalm 115. You become what you worship. Look back at verse 8. Sin deceives us and blinds us. BUT 2 Corinthians 3:18: “Beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” Our vision of God, the truth of God (John 17:17), transforms us. Worship retunes our hearts to live for God throughout the upcoming week. [Dan/guitar?] 1 Corinthians 14:26 says, “When you come together, . . . Let all things be done for building up.” Everything we do has transformative power, because it is founded on and motivated by the gospel (the good news about what God has done in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus). ⁃ Gospel motivates prayer ⁃ Gospel motivates our mutual care and service ⁃ Gospel motivates our giving ⁃ We are reminded of the Gospel, not only in the Word but through the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. ⁃ About Jesus setting Aside his glory so that we can see and savor his glory.... God wants to bless us with a greater experience of himself, as verses 12-15 tell us. So when you come on Sunday, why not pray that God would move in every person through every aspect of worship. Better than that, and I love to see this happen, why not pray with someone on the spot. (It’s not weird to pray in church :) And when we come, let’s expect God to change us.

T: To miss a Sunday is to miss God’s transforming grace. Finally 5. Prioritize Sunday Worship because we were made to worship! • Read 16-18 • God made us to worship him. That is our reason for existence. Worship is not one day a week; it’s seven. Hanging with friends, enjoying a meal, at work tomorrow morning, it’s all given to God in worship. • Verse 17 says: Praise him now while you have breath. There should be a sense of urgency to our praise!!! • Our time on Sunday should be the culmination and continuation of what you are doing through the week. • When you don’t desire it, trust that something is off. I don’t feel like going. Don’t take that as a sign that the sermon is going to stink. Take it as a sign that something is off in your soul. • We don’t have to worship. We GET to worship. •

[[Let me give you a picture of worship as a lifestyle: We have an opportunity to praise God with our words, AND we have opportunity to praise God with our actions. BUT don’t miss this: when we praise him with our actions, we can back that up with more praise that explains why we do what we do with words. ⁃ When someone says, “You are so kind.” We could say thank you. Or we could say, “Thank you, God has been very kind to me..” And oh, by the way, you’re already talking gospel… ⁃ Someone may say, “You are such a servant…” We could say, “Thanks.” Or “Thank you. God has served me and so the least I can do is serve him adn others.” ⁃ How about . . . “You really love your wife.” - You could say, “You know. She really loves me much better than I love her.” To which they will respond, “but you’re so humble!” And you then can talk about the love and humility of Christ!!

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Why is this important? Because what happens in here is meant to effect everything that happens out there. Worship is the fuel for our mission, which is to introduce Jesus to the world.]]

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But it’s not just now. Verse 18 says: Praise him forever! And this is what we will do forever. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:910)

Conclusion: What step can you take to prioritize Sunday worship over the next four months? Respond: 1. I’m going to be here more consistently! (Can’t miss attitude) 2. I’m going to arrive early and expectant. 3. I’m going to worship with all my heart! (don't give a rip about what someone thinks around you!) 4. I’m going to walk away with one way to live the Word. 5. I’m going to allow daily worship to fuel Sunday worship. Dan & Company are going to come and lead us in a prayer. We are going to sing a classic song of praise declaring God’s greatness. Let’s not hold back. Let’s sing the truth and encourage one another as we sing. Let’s allow these words to propel us to greater worship through the week, because God is worthy of all that we have and all that we are. Pray. “Not to us, not to us, but to your name give glory.”

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