Praising the Lord in Song Tuning the Heart for Worship Lesson 12

Introduction Describe the heart that is perfectly suited for worship. In what ways is your heart like that heart? How does your heart differ from that heart? What do you do to reach the point where you think you ought to be?

Tuning the Heart for Worship Prov. 4:23 - “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” Col. 3:15 - our hearts can be the dominion of the peace of Christ Matt. 15: if we permit our hearts to become corrupt, they will defile our entire being We must learn the value of preparing our hearts and minds for worship

Tuning the Heart for Worship Preparation Perception Progress

Preparation –Heb. 10:25 - “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…but exhorting one another” Sounds like active, thoughtful preparation!

Preparation –Is your typical Sunday morning like this? Get up, get dressed, eat breakfast Rush out the door, hurry along the interstate Rush to find a seat in class/auditorium Look around to see who is at services Listen to the announcements Prepare to worship as scripture reading begins This is not preparation!

Preparation –Focus the mind on spiritual things and consecrate the heart for spiritual service –Both of these activities are appropriate before worship –This allows us to be ready for worship when the service begins

Preparation So how do we prepare? –Get enough sleep/rest –Get to services on time –Cleanse our minds of worldly cares –Quiet time prior to worship No radio Prayer/study/meditation

Perception Mal. 1: “You say, “The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its fruit is to be despised”. You also say, “My, how tiresome it is!” And you disdainfully sniff at it.” They were just going through the motions, had lost touch with God – no longer recognized God was in their midst.

Perception Truly realizing that God is in our midst will transform our worship. Would you approach worship differently if God physically manifested Himself in our worship assembly? Many problems exist because we lose sight of God’s presence in our assembly.

Perception Two things that result from a proper perspective are: –Humility –Participation

Perception –Humility Pride and self can damage our worship Pride vanishes in God’s presence –Phil. 2:10 – “every knee shall bow” –We are hopeless without Him Humility will allow us to sing out Humility allows us to focus on serving God and our brothers and sisters Humility will produce gratitude in our hearts

Perception –Participation God’s presence should inspire us Would we continue to offer lazy, half-hearted service? Wouldn’t we be attentive to the message of the hymns and see to it that our brothers and sisters are encouraged? Get involved!

Progress If our hearts are truly “tuned” for worship, we will not remain at the same level of maturity forever… God is not content if we become content with our spiritual maturity (Heb. 5:11-14) We must: –Develop our singing skill –Learn –Offer a better sacrifice

Progress –Develop our singing skill Everyone’s responsibility Allow singing to be more joyful Allow us to praise God and teach others better –Learn Allow songs to teach us Look for scriptural references/ideas –Offer a better sacrifice Hearts must be right/tuned We must give our all

Review What makes the heart so important in worship? What does the Biblical practice of fasting show about the way that servants of God approach His service? What didn’t the Jews of Malachi’s day understand about their worship? Why would humility be a consequence of recognizing God’s presence?

Review What benefit can developing our singing skills have for worship? What does it mean to offer a better sacrifice? What are some ways that you could do a better job of preparing for worship? How should you react to the presence of the Lord? How can you do a better job of attending to the message of our hymns?

There Is A Habitation (660) There is a habitation, built by the living God, for all of every nation, who seek that grand abode. A city with foundations, firm as the eternal throne, no wars nor desolations shall ever move a stone. No night is there no sorrow, no death and no decay, no yesterday no morrow, but one eternal day. Within its pearly portals, angelic armies sing, with glorified immortals, the praises of its King. CHORUS: Oh Zion, lovely Zion, I long thy gates to see; O Zion, lovely Zion, when shall I dwell in thee?