Worship, What We Must Do James 1:21-22 “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

“Let the one who would worship God open his mouth in praise, his heart in receptivity, his mind in contemplation, his purse in dedication, and his hand in fellowship.” Keith Huttenlocker In order to worship God correctly let us consider not only what we must do during worship, but also before and after worship.

What We Must Do Before Worship “lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness.” God has always wanted those who worship Him to be free of personal sinfulness. Before we approach God in worship we need to purify our lives

“Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him He said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.“ Zechariah 3:3-4 “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.” Psalms 24:3-4

“"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24 “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.” Colossians 3:8

“Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking.” I Peter 2:1 We must “lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness”. Why? Because we are in the presence of the Lord. “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.“ Matthew 12:20

What We Must Do During Worship “receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.” One of the greatest benefits of worship is receiving the Word of God. We receive the Word of God in our singing.

What We Must Do During Worship “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19 “ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Col. 3:16 We receive the Word of God through teaching and reading.

“And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also …. the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.” Nehemiah 8:5-8

“Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” Acts 20:7 “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” I Timothy 4:12-13

“How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.” Ephesians 3:3-5

“Be diligent (study KJV) to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15 We must be diligent to rightly divide God’s Word. If not, we can worship in vain. “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:8-9

Therefore, we have an obligation to listen attentively to what is being taught. The parable of the sower. Luke 8:4-18 People react differently to hearing God’s Word. The devil will take away the Word Gladly receive the Word then fall away Care more about the worlds riches & pleasures Receive the Word with noble & good hearts, keep it and bear fruit with patience

Jesus sums up the parable in verse 18, “Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

What We Must Do After Worship “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, We need to remember that worship is not our total duty to God! “"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” Luke 9:23-24

In Acts 5:12-42 we see the Apostles following after Jesus, teaching and preaching, no matter the consequences. “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” Acts 5:41-42

As Christians we must do the same. We must not be content to come to worship and just sit and listen. But we must also be ready to go and teach! “"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 “or not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified.” Romans 2:13

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:23-25

We must not only hear the lessons from God’s Word but we must then go out and do them! Remember, “Worship does not conclude our Christian obligation to God, it merely equips us to carry it out!”

Worship, What We Must Do 1.Prepare ourselves for Worship “lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness” 2.Hear what God is saying through His Word “receive with meekness the implanted word” 3.Go and do what God has commanded “be doers of the word, and not hearers only”

Are You Worshipping God As You Should?

By Bob Gard – Hollister, Missouri church of Christ Adapted from a lesson outline by Brother Grady L. Scott, “What To Do During Worship Services”