Scripture: Romans 12:1
Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and
sisters, 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.
“COME” the first word - large and in charge.
Matt 4:19 THE DISCIPLES
"Come,
follow me," Jesus
said, "and I will
make you fishers of men."
Matt 11:28 THE BURDENED
"Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matt 14:28-29 PETER
"Lord,
if it's you,"
Peter replied, "tell
me to come to you on the water." "Come,"
he said.
Matt 19:14 THE LITTLE CHILDREN
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the
kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Luke 14:16-17, 23
THOSE INVITED DON’T
COME
Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
'Come, for everything is now ready.'…….They didn’t come: 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and
make them come in, so that my house will be full.”
Luke 19:5, 9
ZACCHAEUS WAS
THRILLED TO COME
When Jesus reached the sycamore tree, he looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come
down immediately. I must stay at your house today." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house,
because this man, too, is a son of Abraham."
John 7:37 THE THIRSTY
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in
a loud voice, "If
anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."
John 11:41, 43 LAZARUS
So they took away the stone. Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out. Jesus
said to them, "Take
off the grave clothes and let him go."
James 4:8a COME NEAR TO GOD
Come near to God and he will come near to you.
Revelation 4:1 COME TO HEAVEN & WORSHIP
After this I looked, and there before me
was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to
me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."
Revelation 22:17a
NO EXCUSE - NOW WE
SAY COME!
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!"
Revelation 22:20 FOR THOSE WHO CAME - JESUS WILL COME!
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
Remember: we put out a year long challenge – Church Unique’s
Milestone # 1. “40 Days of Worship” (share
about results and victory meal)
“NOW”
2 Corinthians 6:1-2 As God's
fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,
"In the time of
my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of
God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
“WORSHIP”
Genesis 28:11-22
When Jacob reached a certain place, he
stopped for the night because the sun had set. (We no longer have to stop because we have
lights and cars - it was a danger to travel at night) Taking one of the
stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top
reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (In Jacob's dream, there is now
access to heaven. Jacob now knew God was closer than ever and there was real
access and interaction between heaven and earth. That interaction is where
Worship takes place. Jesus is not sitting passively saying, ok bring it on -
Jesus is active in our worship - God is acting and speaking and working in our
worship. As we give thanks, praise, and honor to him He is blessing us. Watch
what happens next as Jacob is meditating on the connection between heaven and
earth - see God’s action in worship) 13 There above it (the ladder) stood the Lord, and he said: "I am the Lord , the God of
your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants
the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the
earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to
the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you
back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised
you." (In worship - God speaks - God blesses -
God loves)
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this
place, and I was
not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none
other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." (Jacob’s response was worship - to give honor to the one who has
blessed him)
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under
his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. (That was a spiritual ACT of worship) 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. BETHEL (He called that place “Church” Bethel means = house of God)
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch
over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to
wear so that I return safely to my father's
house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up
as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a
tenth."
God saw Jacob and initiated a relationship by
sending angels going up and down from heaven to get him looking upward. And
indeed, Jacob saw God standing in heaven at the top of the stairway or the
ladder to heaven.
Notice Jacob’s response, he acts in worship. He
turns what was previously used for an ordinary everyday object (a rock for a
pillow) and set it up as a symbol of his worship and adoration for all God has
done. It sounds like a deal - if you do this I will do that that. This
is not the case. He is simply recounting how God had
just acted toward him and he offers all he has present (a rock) as an act of
worship, calls the place church (Bethel = house of God) and gives him an
offering - his tithe - a tenth of all he has.
In a brief story we see the picture of worship
- God acts toward us, we respond and act toward God and those two acts
intersect much like an extension ladder which shows God coming down toward us
and us moving up toward God and the angels of heaven are present helping to
make this interaction happen. This individual act of worship is a preview of
what corporate worship should look like.
SPECIAL
WORSHIP in 2019
No Excuse Sunday / Easter Sunrise Service / Chosen People /
Combined outdoor Worship / WorldWide Communion / Thanksgiving worship-Jane
Brand / Christmas Eve / A Christmas Double Feature Spectacular / Every Sunday /
Personal worship
Without checking in to a notebook, 2020 ought to see us worship
REGULARLY and WITH ABANDON
In 2 Samuel 6 we see where King Daivd didn’t care what others
thought – he danced before the Lord with great abandon and rejoicing,
accompanied by loud shouts and trumpets.
Luke 7:37-38, 44-48, 50
When
a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating
at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she
stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
44
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do
you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for
my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You
did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not
stopped kissing my feet. You did not
put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell
you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been
forgiven little loves little." Then Jesus said to her, "Your
sins are forgiven." "Your
faith has saved you; go in peace."
In 2020 we are
taking a drastic different turn with our new theme, but can never forget that
one of the greatest values of Ashland church is to worship. It is not only that
Jesus deserves our worship, but our lives CANNOT be lived well without putting
worship of Jesus first.
Joni Erickson Tada had a terrible accident
that left her a quadriplegic. In spite of her physical limitations she became
an accomplished author and artist. 35 years ago she married her husband, Ken.
For her wedding she had planned to come down the center aisle in her motorized
wheel chair. Just before her grand entrance she noticed two distressing
problems. First, she had rolled over her beautiful gown and made a big grease
spot and tear in it. Then, the flowers in her lap had slipped and had lodged
between her leg and the chair. She was filled with disappointment, and then
suddenly the doors to the auditorium opened, and she saw her husband to be.
Here was the man who was committing his
love and his life to her. Joni later said, “Once I saw Ken's face, all I could
think of was him. Everything else—the people in the church, the flowers
that were sitting a little askew on my lap, the fact that my dress didn't fall
right because I was sitting in a wheelchair, the grease marks, the rip in my
gown all of it paled in comparison.”
When we see Christ Jesus, He will be all
that matters to us.
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