Illustration results for Worship: Purpose
Staff Picks of Free Sermons and PRO Church Media
Facing Your Giants …
David and Goliath Preaching Bundle »
David and Goliath Video Illustration »
You Are God Alone Worship Video »
A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) God wants worshipers before workers; indeed the only acceptable workers are those who have learned the lost art of worship. . . . The very stones would praise him if the need arose and a thousand legions of angels would leap to do his will.
It has always been clear that the goal of the Eucharist is our own transformation, so that we become "one body and spirit" with Christ.
--Pope Benedict XVI
David Dykes
Studies have shown people who don’t regularly attend church are reluctant to come to a worship service alone. But the same studies reveal over 90 percent of Americans say they want to learn more about the Bible. The best way to reach people for Christ is through relationships.
A parable is told of a community of ducks waddling off to duck church one Sunday to hear their duck preacher. After they waddled into the duck sanctuary, the service began and the duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly.
He pounded the pulpit with his beak and said,
With these wings, there is nowhere we ducks can not go!
There is no God-given task we ducks cannot accomplish!
With these wings we no longer need walk through life.
We can soar high in the sky!
Shouts of Amen!¨ were quacked throughout the duck congregation.
The duck preacher concluded his message by exclaiming,
With our wings we can fly through life!
WE......CAN.....FLY!!!!¨ More ducks quacked out loud AMENS! in response.
Every duck loved the service.
In fact all the ducks that were ...
Music is major influence for "mosaic" generation
On a recent edition of the radio program "For Faith and Family", pollster George Barna discussed the significant cultural influence music exerts on the Mosaic generation (those born between 1984 and 2002): "Music is really interesting because essentially that is the language of our culture. If you need an example of how that works just think about churches. Even in churches this is true. What is the biggest war we have in churches? It doesn’t tend to be theological. It tends to be over what style of music you’re going to use in the worship service. We’ve had all kinds of fights, but music is the way that we suggest to somebody, Hey, I understand where you’re coming from. I speak your language. This is the feel; this is the sound that constitutes who you are and what you’re about."
"One of the ways I would describe it is every generation has to have it’s own private language that people over 30 can’t penetrate. And that’s really what today’s music is doing for young people. They have icons within the culture that we don’t understand - many of whom we don’t appreciate - but they’re important to the Mosaics because it helps them to develop a life philosophy. Many of those individuals become role models for them. It helps them to identify some of their values and lifestyles. And, it also helps develop a sense of community among themselves. So it’s hugely important."
PreachingNow Newsletter, August 6, 2002
10. Is it really possible to introduce pyrotechnics gradually?
9. Do rhinestones and choir gowns ever make a positive statement?
8. Never enlist a Worship Leader with a Marilyn Manson tattoo!
7. While drums can be a welcome addition to any worship service, is it really necessary to have them rise out of the platform?
6. Visual Aids such as LCD projectors and new lighting can add to the impact of any service, but do lava lamps really create the right atmosphere?
5. Is it wise to issue laser pens to all the ushers?
4. The participation of every member in the worship experience is not only biblical, it’s essential. Having said that, never hand out tambourines to the entire congregation!
3. While it’s true that instrumental variety really adds to the worship experience, kazoos should always be considered an acquired taste!
2. Can your preacher really pull off the gold lame suit?
And the number one question to ask before changing your worship style is:
1. Are the changes being made to please man, or encounter God?
GOD COMES FIRST
If you’ve never been, I suggest you go sometime to Jamestown, VA. It is one of the earliest English-speaking settlements in the new world, & it has been carefully restored so that we can see what life was like 350 years ago.
At Jamestown, you’ll discover many interesting things about our country. You’ll learn that when this settlement was first established, most of the people built rather humble huts for their families. But right in the middle of Jamestown they erected an imposing church building as a testimony to all who came, that the people of Jamestown put God first.
They had 2-hour worship services every day of the week, & attendance was mandatory. If you didn’t show up for the daily service, your day’s ration of food would not be given you. Their reasoning was, if you were too sick to go to church, you were too sick to eat.
They had a 5-hour service on Sunday, & you were expected to be there all 5 hours. If you missed church for 3 weeks, they would put you in stocks for 6 weeks out on the church lawn. The stocks are still there for all to see.
Maybe they went a bit too far. But it seems to me the lesson which comes through loud & clear is that in this original settlement, the people wanted to communicate clearly that God came first.
SOURCE: Melvin Newland in "To Reclaim Our Heritage" on SermonCentral.com. http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=32974
Tony Evans says, “If you limit worship to where you are, the minute you leave that place of worship you will leave your attitude of worsh...
REGULAR WASHING PAYS OFF The sign at a drive-in carwash said: REGULAR WASHING PAYS OFF. It’s not only a message to auto owners, it’s also a reminder of an important spiritual lesson. Just as cars require periodic washings to remove harmful dirt and grime, so Christians need continual cleansing to keep their lives bright and useful.
MAGNIFIED GRACE
“God’s grace is magnified my man’s ruin. The more keenly the ruin is felt, the more highly the grace is valued.”
The most joyful converts to Christ you will ever see, are the ones who have come to realize how utterly lost and helpless they were without Him.
SOURCE: C. H. MacKintosh
