Worship at Summit
"David came to the summit, where God was
worshipped"
2 Samuel 15:32
Guiding principle #8 of Summit Church: "Our
Sunday worship will be Christ-centered, contemporary, and celebrational in
spirit. The service should foster unity, as believers of all ages gather
together for motivation and biblical instruction. This time should always be
seeker sensitive, though its primary purpose is to nurture believers."
Our Worship Vision can be described by remembering
"Summit Evangelical
Free Church of Alta"
SINCERITY
John 4:24 - God is spirit, and his
worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
• BOTH: heart and head; emotions and mind; vitality and content
Matt 15:8-9 - "These people honor me with
their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their
teachings are but rules taught by men."
• God looks at the heart; any expression of worship is in vain if
our heart is not in it.
1 Chr 13:8 - David and all the Israelites
were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps,
lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.
• God, help us to worship you with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and
strength!!
EXCELLENCE
Ps 33:3 - Sing to him a new song; play
skillfully, and shout for joy.
1 Chr 15:22 - Kenaniah the
head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he
was skillful at it.
1 Chr 25:6-7 - All these men were under
the supervision of their fathers for the music of the temple of the LORD, with
cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun
and Heman were under the supervision of the king. Along with their relatives--
all of them trained and skilled in music for the LORD-- they numbered 288.
• Excellence: Doing the best we can with the resources we have
• Importance: To help others focus on the Lord without
distraction or embarrassment
Col 3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with
all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men
• Jesus, help us as worshipers to always be growing and doing our
very best for Your glory!
FREEDOM
2 Cor 3:17 - Now the Lord is the Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
• While God looks at the heart, and we can worship Him without
any outward expressions or sounds, the Scriptures are full of ways to
appropriately express our praise to Him.
• Emotions should be expressed, not restrained. In our worship,
we want people to sense the freedom to express their love for the Lord. Most of
all, the joy of the Lord should be seen on our faces, heard in our voices, and
displayed in our actions!!
• These expressions should not be forced or mechanical, but
Spirit-led and heart-felt. While we want people in the congregation to sense the
freedom to not use these expressions, we do want to encourage genuine worship in
its biblical forms:
VOICES
SPEAK - Ps 71:8 - My mouth is
filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.
SING -
Ps 47:6 - Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King,
sing praises.
SHOUT - Ps 100:1 - Shout for joy to the LORD, all
the earth.
HANDS
LIFT - Ps 63:4 - I will praise you as
long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
CLAP - Ps
47:1- Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of
joy.
INSTRUMENTS - Ps 150:3-5 - Praise him with the sounding of
the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and
dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of
cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
POSTURE
STAND - Ps 135:1-2 - Praise the
LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; praise HIM, O servants of the LORD, You who
stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our
God!
KNEEL/BOW - Ps 95:6 - Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
DANCE - Ps 149:2-3 -
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.
• Lord, as we worship, help us to feel joy, reverence, tenderness,
and humility, and to express these emotions to you in biblically appropriate ways!
CONSECRATION
Ps 24:3-4 - Who may ascend the hill of the
LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure
heart
Rom 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view
of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God-- this is your spiritual act of worship.
Matt 5:8 -
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
2 Cor
7:1 - Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves
from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of
reverence for God.
• A holy life is the goal of every true worshiper. On Monday
through Saturday, our thoughts, words, and actions must be consistent with the
worship we offer the Lord on Sundays.
• Prayer time is essential! We must continually confess our sins,
acknowledge our dependence on God, seek His face, ask for His power.
• Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my
anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the
way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24).
AGREEMENT
Rom 15:5-6 - May the God who gives
endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you
follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 17:21 - that all
of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
• We are intent on one purpose: to glorify the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Our individual interests and preferences and ambitions
must never interfere with the unity of spirit God desires to see among His
people. We must all be striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace.
2 Chr 5:13-14 - The trumpeters and singers
joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD.
Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices
in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the
temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform
their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple
of God.
• Heavenly Father, we long to experience such unity that we will
see your glory come and fill our place of worship also, so that everyone present
will stand in awe and wonder!
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