Holy is the Lord, God Almighty! The earth is filled with His glory! (Chris Tomlin)

“Not to us, not to us, but to Your name give glory.” (Psalm 115:1)

David was known as a man after God’s own heart.  In Psalm 119:11 David says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart.” David was a true worshipper of the Lord. Before all his subjects, his family, and his kingdom David danced, leaping and whirling for his King in worship not caring what anybody would think or say.  Even when his own wife despised him in her heart, his worship was unquenchable; not stopping for anything or anybody.  David responded to his wife in 2 Samuel 6:21-22 by saying, “Therefore I will play music before the Lord. And I will become even more undignified than this and will be humble in my own sight.” Worship requires authenticity and sometimes an undignified heart.

Paul, as we all know, was a very influential follower of Christ and has contributed to the foundation of our theology and understanding of Christianity. We read his words in Romans 12:1-2 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” One thing we see in Paul’s life is sacrifice. He sacrificed more than most people could even begin to understand; yet, as we see in some translations of Romans 12:1, he sees it as our “reasonable act of worship” to sacrifice. Worship involves sacrifice.

1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Wow, what an amazing verse.  We (Christians) have been chosen by the Lord “for such a time as this” to proclaim praise and worship to Jesus because of the life of freedom that He has given us. We are a chosen generation called to worship and glorify Jesus and to be an example to your fellow brothers and sisters just as David was an example to his kingdom and even his own family.  Remember always, that worship is absolutely nothing about how the music sounds, but is all about the attitude of the heart. “For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (2 Samuel 16:7) May we always glorify Jesus in our worship; “not to us, but to Your name, be the glory.” Worship is a response to what God has done, is doing, and will do in our lives. We should seek to respond to Him in worship with the ‘High Praise’ that is due to His Name.

Worship also requires excellence. 1 Chronicles 25 talks about the musicians and the leaders of worship. In verse 7 it talks about their ability and how they were not just good hearted but talented. “[Those]…who were trained in singing to the LORD, all who were skillful…” They were to be skilled musicians.  Excellence should be something that we each continually strive for our ministry because God is worthy of perfection, yet He accepts our response to Him despite all of our flaws. The most important thing is that your heart is set on worshipping God.

The Bible teaches us to worship the Lord in “spirit and in truth” and to “teach and admonish one another in psalms and in hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). At Bethany we want our worship to reflect the core truths of scripture and recognize that our songs and worship services help to shape the church’s understanding of God.

For His Glory,

Luke Baumgartner
Worship Leader
Bethany Bible Fellowship

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”Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host; Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. AMEN!”