The Change Movement – The Assault on Worship
Categories: Sermon Outlines, Topical Sermon Outlines Tags: Sermons on WorshipINTRODUCTION:
A. Much of the change being promoted among the Lord’s church today is centered around worship
1. These changes include church music, lifting up hands, hand-clapping, drama, female leadership, observing religious holidays, dedicating babies, the Lord’s Supper, Sunday night cluster groups, children’s worship, preaching style and worship environment.
2. Each of these items will be addressed in other lessons
B. One can see that a primary objective of the change agents is to renovate and restructure the worship practices of the church
DISCUSSION:
A. What does the Bible say regarding acceptable worship?
1. The New Testament begins and ends with worship
a. Matthew 4:10
b. Revelation 22:9
2. At least four kinds of worship are alluded to in the New Testament
a. Ignorant worship (Acts 17:23)
b. Vain worship (Mat. 15:9)
c. Will worship (Col. 2:23)
d. Spiritual worship (Jn. 4:24)
3. Inherent in each of these kinds of worship is authority
a. Worship is either right or wrong depending on God’s will — the only right worship is authorized by God
b. Jesus emphasized this John 4:23-24
4. Correct worship possesses the:
a. Proper audience — God
1) True worshipers worship God
2) Ephesians 5:19-20
b. Proper attitude — in spirit
1) Be mentally and emotionally involved
2) Ephesians 5:19 — in your heart
3) Psalm 122:1
4) Worshiping in spirit takes real effort — unfortunately, the current climate in the church tends to treat worship as a time of entertaining the worshiper and catering to the worshiper’s wants
5) As a result many worshipers have lost the deep, reverent mindset to please God and not self
6) This lax attitude is especially evident in the change that has come over many congregations with regard to dress
a) Much of the casual clothing worn in the local church assemblies is a direct manifestation of a casual attitude toward worship
b) Worshipers are wearing casual clothing that they would not think of wearing for a wedding, a funeral, or even jury duty
c) Dress unquestionably reflects attitude and can also create attitude — Just ask the military.
c. Proper actions — in truth
1) Worship must be done:
a) Decently and in order (1 Cor. 14:40)
b) Acceptably (Heb. 12:28)
2) The current assault on worship includes an attempt to dodge the clear import of the expression “in truth”
3) Some are falsely saying that “in truth” in simply a Hebraism meaning to worship sincerely and devotedly — But let’s notice…
B. God’s View on the Matter of Truth
1. God has always required essentially two facets of response to His will: the right action with the right attitude
a. John 4:24
b. Joshua 24:14
c. Ecclesiastes 12:13
d. Acts 10:35
e. Deuteronomy 10:12-13
f. Romans 1:9
2. To emphasize on dimension of obedience over another is to hamper one’s acceptance by God
3. God has not changed in His insistence upon man’s loving obedience to His instructions
a. John 14:15
b. John 15:14
c. 1 John 5:3
4. The Psalmist understood that God’s truth consisted of God’s written word
a. Psalm 119:30, 43, 142, 151, 160
b. Jesus taught the same thing
1) John 17:17
2) John 12:47-48
5. Worshiping God “in truth” is equivalent to “doing truth,” which entails “deeds” or external actions which are prescribed by God
C. Current Worship Tendencies
1. Some churches of Christ are operating on the basis of inappropriate, unbiblical objectives and goals in worship
a. Some churches have “worship committees” or “praise teams” who apparently have no clue as what their real responsibility is: to plan and structure worship so that the focus is on God — not the worshiper
b. In keeping with the tone and tenor of our entertainment crazed culture, some in the church feel that worship ought to be entertaining
c. Can’t we see that entertaining ourselves, satisfying our own needs, reviving our interest to escape our boredom, and attempting to attract others with these man made lure — are all simply unbiblical, cheap, inferior substitutes for simple, meaningful, spiritual worship?
2. Instead of attempting to renovate worship for our own benefit, what we need to do is cultivate our appetites for pure, New Testament worship
a. We need to stick with the simple worship behaviors dictated in Scripture
b. We need to learn to like them because they are good for us
c. If we resist them, and look for new and exciting ways to worship, we are showing a childhood rebellion — this is will worship (Col. 2:23)
3. If worship has become boring and unmeaningful to a member, so much so, that he feels the need to change churches or liven up the worship assembly with theatrics, he has a spiritual, internal problem — a heart problem
a. Repetitiveness and sameness are not inherently bad.
b. God had enjoined repetition and lack of change in many areas and expects us to keep it that way
c. Your mate expects the same!
1) Shame on the man who puts away the wife of his youth because she is getting old and she’s the same women he married 20 or thirty years ago.
2) Likewise, shame on the Christian who puts away the simply worship of the New Testament church because it is the same old things
d. Just because an action is the same and predictable, that action need not necessarily be boring — that depends on the attitude of the individual
e. Manipulating external gadgets and gimmickry will not revive a genuine, heartfelt attitude of worship
CONCLUSION:
A. Worship has come under attack by the change agents
B. We must not fall prey to these voices who wish to resist or soften the instructions of God
C. May God help us to worship Him in accordance with His revealed will!