Psalm 73 is one of my favorites because it’s just so true to life. Here we have a guy named Asaph who was a worship leader in his day. But he starts this song by admitting that he nearly lost his spiritual footing. He was ready to quit. 

Why? Because he saw the inequity of life. He noted how often people who didn’t follow God were successful, healthy, and wealthy, while he gave everything to serve God and His people, yet he struggled to get by. The dissonance was killing him.

“It’s not fair, God!” That’s the gist of the first several verses. “I’ve tried to keep myself pure and do the right things, but what has it gotten me? I’m faced with afflictions and pain all day, every day.” 

But then he came to a turning point. “When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God…” (v. 17)

Worship was the hinge upon which his soul swung from death to life. Worship changed him. 

What worship did for Asaph, it can do for us. 

1. In worship, he received perspective. (vs. 18-19) When we have eternity in view, we recognize that what really matters, that which is truly valuable, is not wealth, beauty, or fame—it’s the Kingdom. 
2. In worship, he was able to diagnose the condition of his heart. (vs. 21-22) In worship, we come face to face with our selfishness and shortsightedness. But we also see how much God loves us and that His ways are best.
3. In worship, he was reminded of the fact that he wasn’t alone. (vs. 23-24) Picture yourself walking through life with God holding your hand like a little child with her father. By drawing close to God in worship, He is able to keep us from making foolish, self-destructive mistakes.

Asaph concludes his song with these beautiful words: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (vs. 25-26)

It’s as if he’s thinking, “What if I hadn’t come to the sanctuary? What if I hadn’t prioritized worship?  I would have gone on in bitterness and envy. I would have settled for short-term gains at the expense of long-term benefits. I would have trashed my life by engaging in self-destructive decisions. I would have walked through life all alone. Thank God for the sanctuary.  Thank God for worship. Because worship has the power to change me.” 

Text: Psalm 73

Originally recorded on January 31, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

What is it that God is calling us to when He says, “Come and worship”? Let’s seek to answer that question by looking first at some… 

Biblical Examples of Worship.

The first example is found in Psalm 95. It gives us not only a call to worship, it also provides a pattern for worship. 

• Celebration (v. 1-5) Notice the phrases “sing for joy,” “shout aloud,” and “let us extol Him.” Worship is a time for God’s people to celebrate their Lord. 
• Adoration (v. 6-7) Here we’re called to “bow down,” to “kneel” before the Lord. It is a quieter, more intimate response.
• Instruction (v. 8-11) The psalmist says, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Part of worship is hearing God’s Word. 

Psalm 96 provides us with a few additional insights. The very first word in this psalm is “sing.” Three times in the first two verses, we are told to “sing to the Lord.” This is one of the most common commands in Scripture. This is why singing is such an integral part of our corporate worship gatherings. 

As you worship the Lord…

• Sing boldly.
• Sing thoughtfully.
• Sing wholeheartedly.
• Sing skillfully.

Something else we see in Psalm 96 is the call to “bring an offering.” (v. 7-9) Giving to God is an act of worship. As such, when we give, we should…

• Be intentional.
• Be thoughtful.
• Be cheerful.

Next, let’s look at some…

Biblical Expressions of Worship.

Here are eight Hebrew words, often translated as “praise,” that may revolutionize your worship.

1.     Halal: to boast; to celebrate; to be vigorously joyful; to be clamorously foolish (Ps. 35:18) 

Halal is the more common word for “praise” in the Psalms. It’s the root from which we get the term “hallelujah.” It’s is an explosion of enthusiasm in the act of praising. 

2.     Tehilla: to sing; to laud (Ps. 33:1) Literally, this is the singing of one’s halals. 

3.     Zamar: to touch the strings; to make music (Ps. 104:33) This is why we use instruments in our worship.

4.     Shabach: to address in a loud tone; to triumph; to glory (Ps. 145:4) This is a loud verbalization of praise—a shout. 

5.     Shachah: to bow down; to pay homage; to prostrate oneself; to have the arrogance knocked out (Ps. 96:9) This refers to lying prostrate, flat on your face before the Lord.

6.     Barak: to kneel down expecting a blessing from God; to bless God as an act of adoration (Ps. 34:1) This is kneeling before God in humility and surrender, but also expectation. 

7.     Yada: to acknowledge God’s character; to make a declaration of worship; to throw out the hand enjoying God (Ps. 63:3-4) This involves lifting our hands to the Lord in worship.

8.     Todah: to extend hands in thanksgiving and acceptance; to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Ps. 116:17) This also involves the lifting of hands to the Lord, but it more specifically has to do with offering a sacrifice of praise.

Text: Psalm 95, 96

Originally recorded on January 24, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

What is worship? Here are a few definitions:

• Worship is the total adoring response of man to the Eternal God. 
• Worship is responding to all that God is with all that I have.
• Worship is an active response to God whereby we declare His worth.

Do you see some common threads? First of all, worship is an active response. There is no such thing as passive worship. Secondly, worship is to God. It’s not “me”-focused. It is ever and always a God-centered activity. 

But what happens when worship deteriorates into something else? And how does that happen?

To help us answer those questions, we’re going to look at one of the darkest chapters in the Old Testament— a time when the worship of God’s people totally unraveled. 

In Exodus 32, Moses had gone up Mt. Sinai to receive the law from God and had been gone for many days. The people started getting restless, so they went to Aaron (Moses’ brother) and asked him to “make us gods” to worship. So, Aaron created a golden calf and invited the people to worship it. The people’s worship of this “god” devolved into drunkenness and revelry. When God saw this, He was angry and ready to destroy them. 

How did this happen? How did their worship so utterly deteriorate and what observations can we make related to our own worship? 

1.     Worship deteriorates when it becomes casual.

These people did not abandon worship or forget God altogether. They simply wanted to make Him more palatable, more controllable. 

You might be wondering, “Did they know any better? What had their encounters with God been like before this?”  Exodus 19 gives us a snapshot. God has given Moses instructions to gather the people to encounter Him. God’s presence was displayed through fire, smoke, thunder, lightning, and the sound of a trumpet. The holiness and fearsomeness of God filled the people with awe. 

Could you imagine anyone in that crowd picking their fingernails or chatting with their neighbor? Would anyone dare critique the presentation? No! They trembled with holy fear because they realized they were in the presence of the Living God!

Friends, when we gather for worship, the same God is here! But all too easily we can lose our sense of awe and trivialize God by making worship casual.

Here are three ways you can begin to challenge the drift to casual worship.

• Come prepared. We prepare for what matters. 
• Come on time. We prioritize what matters.
• Come with a sense of commitment. Commit to worship with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

2.     Worship deterioriates when it becomes consumer-oriented.

The Israelites asked Aaron to “make us gods to go before us.” They focus was on them. 

Consumer-oriented worship has its emphasis on what I want, what I get out of it. It sits back with arms folded and says, “Wow me.”  It critiques worship as one might a show.

But real worship focuses on God and responding to Him as He deserves, not as we prefer.  

3.     Worship deteriorates when it becomes compartmentalized.

That is, it becomes disconnected from life.  In Ex. 32, the people went straight from “worship” to behavior that was disgusting and dishonoring to God. 

If our worship is simply going through motions, God is not impressed. Worship is meaningful to God only to the extent that it is the reflection of the authentic desires of my heart and an extension of my lifestyle on a day by day basis.

Text: Exodus 32, 19

Originally recorded on January 10, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

Worship is basic to everything else in the walk of faith. Seeing God for who He really is and responding to Him as he truly deserves is at the center of everything the church believes, practices, and seeks to accomplish. It is so important, that if it gets off track, it is disastrous for the people of God.

When the people lost their awe of God and let their worship deteriorate, everything else fell apart. They began to compromise and fall into sin. They lost their passion for the lost around them. They stopped giving sacrificially and dissension arose within their ranks.  When worship got fuzzy it led to cold hearts, hard spirits, and the death of love.

The Bible gives us three reasons why worship matters both personally and corporately.

1.     Worship is the dividing line of all humanity. 

Essentially, all human beings can be divided into two groups: those who willingly bow their knee to the true and Living God, and those who do not…and will not. 

This line was first seen back in the book of Genesis with the first two people ever born—Cain and Abel. Abel gave God his first and his best, and God was pleased. But Cain only gave “some” of his crops. His worship was careless and mindless, and God was displeased. In the end, Cain’s hardened heart led him to murder his brother. (Gen. 4:1-12)  

A failure to worship wholeheartedly not only dishonors God, it removes you from God’s blessing, and is the first step toward sin gaining a foothold in your life. 

2.     Worship is the destiny of the redeemed.

We were made to worship. We were saved so that we might “declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Pet. 2:9) And one day, when we see Him face to face, we will worship Him fully, an eternal celebration of the wonders and glories of God.

But we don’t have to wait until then to experience His presence.  You can know the firstfruits of that here and now as you provide Him a throne in your worship.

3.     Worship is the one disctinctive that God cannot give Himself. 

God is completely self-existent. He depends no one and no thing for anything. And yet, there is one thing He cannot give Himself: people who will worship Him. Indeed, He longs for this. 

In John 4:23, Jesus said that the Father is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

Will you be one who says, “I will be that kind of worshipper. I will respond to all that You are with all that I have.”

Text: Genesis 4:1-12; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 19:5-10; John 4:23 

Originally recorded on January 3, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

There are certain passages in this book that are downright stunning to me. For instance, Paul doesn’t just tell the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord,” he tells them to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4). He doesn’t just say, “don’t worry,” he says, “don’t worry about anything” (Phil. 4:6) Now in today’s passage, Paul says, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Phil. 4:12)

Remember, Paul isn’t able to say these things because his life has been easy. Just the opposite! He faced life-threatening circumstances over and over again, all for the sake of Christ. Indeed, at the very moment he penned these words he was chained to a guard in a Roman prison. Even so, Paul had “learned the secret” of being content. 

What can we learn from Paul that can help us learn to be content no matter what comes our way?

The Greek word Paul uses for contentment means “satisfaction with what one has; independence from all things and all people.” It’s the idea of not needing anything, anyone, or any change in the circumstances in order to be at peace.

But how do you get there?  In Paul’s day, as in ours, there were two philosophies that people followed to ease their discontent. Counterfeit contentment, you could say. 

Contentment isn’t a matter of giving in to stoicism. Stoicism believes the goal is to get rid of desire, to eliminate emotion. In other words, to simply not care. 

In today’s parlance, the watchword would be “whatever.” “My job’s been eliminated. Whatever. I don’t care.”

But this is not what Paul is talking about.

Contentment isn’t a matter of turning in to self-sufficiency. This is the philosophy of the Cynics. One of their beliefs is to trust no one but yourself. 

The problem with that is, the only resources you have are the ones you can muster up, and when those run out, you’re out of luck. That’s why Cynics are seldom content; they’re bitter.

So, what’s Paul’s secret? It’s found in verse 13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

This is one of the most popular verses in the Bible, used as motivation by athletes and millions of others facing challenging situations. But we would do well to understand that the original context of these words has to do with learning to be content.  What they remind us is that…

Contentment is a matter of leaning in to divine sovereignty. Paul’s contentment was anchored in His awareness that Christ was enough and that his life was controlled by a sovereign God who worked all things together for our good and His glory.

Here are some actions steps that can help us when discontentment creeps in.

Ponder: thank God for all that you do have. Discontentment is largely triggered by ingratitude. Instead of focusing on what isn’t, thank God for what is. One of the secrets of contentment is gratitude.

Wonder: ask yourself what God might be up to. God is always at work. What might He want you to learn about Him, about you? How might He use these circumstances for the greater progress of the gospel?

Surrender: trust God’s heart rather than your understanding.  There will be times when God’s actions baffle us. In those moments, we much surrender our need to understand the situation and fall back on what you know is true about God – His character and love for you.

Text: Philippians 4:10-13, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28; 12:7-12

Originally recorded on February 1, 2009, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

We have been given the incredible offer by God to not only find forgiveness, but to experience transformation. We have been made different to make a difference.

How is this transformation done? Romans 12:2 gives us a hint. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Transformation starts in the mind. 

Paul teaches the same thing in Philippians 4:8-9. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—THINK about such things.Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice (DO). And the God of peace will be with you.”

THINK—DO. According these verses, the transformed life begins on the inside with what you think. Your outward action – that which you do – is an overflow of that. THINK—DO.

Cognitive psychology has confirmed what the Scriptures have taught and from that study, have identified two “laws.” 

1.     The Law of Cognition: You are what you think. 

Another way to say it is: the way you think creates your attitudes, shapes your emotions, and governs your behavior.

Using trees as an illustration, Jesus taught that if the inner life (what you can’t see) is healthy, the outer display (the fruit—that which you can see) will be healthy also. If the stream of your thoughts is “true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good repute” then you will be able to “do” or “put into practice” that which is delightfully different.

By the same token, if the inner life, the unseen life of a person is unhealthy—if the stream of thoughts is misguided, false, impure or ugly—then that will become evident as well. The state of your inner life will inevitably leak out.

2.     The Law of Exposure:  Your mind will think most about what it is exposed to.

What repeatedly enters your mind eventually shapes your thinking and ultimately expresses itself in your behavior. It’s like creating mental ruts in our brains—pathways worn deep by repeated patterns of thought. 

These ruts can be destructive, like resentment, complaint, negativity, worry, or lust. Or they can be life-giving, “whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely,” etc.

How can you change the ruts you’re in? 

• Catch the negative or untrue thought. 
• Replace it with that which is true and contstructive.
• Guard your mind by being careful about what you expose yourself to.
• Build structures that can help you create new ruts, such as worship, Scripture reading, and community. 

Text: Philippians 4:8-9; Romans 12:2 

Originally recorded on January 25, 2009, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

What are you known for? Your wit, appearance, talent, or success? Perhaps you’re known for your sharp tongue or short fuse. Or maybe it’s for your biblical knowledge and wisdom. 

But none of these things (not even the positive ones) are mentioned by Paul as noteworthy. Rather, in Philippians 4:5, he says, “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

Gentleness. The Greek word is hard to translate but it implies “generosity, goodwill, magnanimity, bigheartedness, forbearance, mercy toward the failures of others, charity toward the faults of others.”

One way to understand what gentleness looks like is to look at the life of Jesus. In Luke 7, we see three examples of gentleness in action. The first encounter is with a Roman centurion – a gentile - who asks Jesus to heal his servant. 

The second encounter occurs when Jesus’ journey is interrupted by a funeral procession. A local widow had lost her only son.   

The third encounter was potentially the most embarrassing for Jesus. While seated at a dinner in the home of a prominent citizen, a woman, known to be a prostitute, comes in, sits next to Jesus, and bursts out crying.

How did Jesus handle each of these encounters? And what can we learn about how to make gentleness known to all?

• Your gentleness becomes evident when you aren’t too narrow to engage those who are different from you.

Jews would never associate with Gentiles, but Jesus went out of His way to help Roman soldier. 

• Your gentleness becomes evident when you aren’t too important to reach out to those who are below you.

It wasn’t even the “important” person who needed help. It was a servant. Yet Jesus healed him. To be gentle is to love and serve the “little” people.

• Your gentleness becomes evident when you aren’t in too much of a hurry to care about those who have needs beyond you.

When Jesus saw the grieving widow, His “heart went out to her.” See, people mattered more to Jesus than His schedule. In fact, the needs of people were not seen as interruptions in His schedule, but part of His schedule. So, Jesus stopped, spoke to the woman and raised her son from the dead.

• Your gentleness becomes evident when you aren’t too proud to embrace those who might be embarrassing to you.

No one was too low in the social pecking order for Jesus to associate with. In fact, knowing how seldom such people were cared for, Jesus seemed to intentionally seek out the last, the least, and the lost, unconcerned about what it did to His reputation.

What do you do when you encounter those whose mere proximity to you would be embarrassing?

None of these people to whom Jesus expressed gentleness ever served to advance His position.  But His action certainly enhanced His profile.  People were filled with awe and praised God.  Moreover, a servant, a widow, and a prostitute were transformed.  

I ask you again: What are you known for? I pray it will increasingly be said that your gentleness is evident to all.

Text: Philippians 4:5; Luke 7

Originally recorded on January 18, 2009, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

In this passage, the Apostle Paul makes one of the most extraordinary statements of this entire letter: “Do not be anxious about anything.” Anything? I can understand saying, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” but “Don’t worry about anything?”

It would be easy to dismiss Paul’s words if he were some lofty, ivory-towered theologian. But remember, Paul was writing this letter from prison! If anybody had reason to worry, it would be him. He literally didn’t know if he would survive from one day to the next. And yet, letting go of worry was how he lived–how he survived.

How is that possible? Let’s see if we can find some answers by looking at three questions: 

• Where does worry come from?
• What does worry cost?
• How is worry defeated?

1.     Where does worry come from?

Your culture and history and biology can set you up to be a worrier. But we all wrestle with worry because we all have problems.

An expert in this field says that worry results primarily from two things: 

• A heightened sense of vulnerability, and
• A diminished sense of power.

We worry because we’re vulnerable and exposed and we know we can’t do much about it. 

Conversely, where there’s a decreased sense of vulnerability and increased sense of power, anxiety will be lessened.

This is why Pauls reminds us to “Rejoice in the Lord.” When you have entered into a relationship with Him, you have no reason to be anxious because Someone real big is with you

2.     What does worry cost?

Worry causes all kinds of physical ailments. But it also leads to a “divided mind.” That’s literally what the Greek word means. Worry multiplies problems actually keeping me from finding a solution. 

3.     How is worry defeated? 

We said earlier that when you increase your sense of power, anxiety is diminished. That’s why Paul tells us, “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything.” 

Pray about the big stuff. Pray about the little stuff. If something is big enough to be in your thoughts, it’s big enough to pray about. And when you do, soon you’ll find a sense of God’s peace settling down over you. 

Text: Philippians 4:4-7 

Originally recorded on January 11, 2009, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

The church at Philippi faced a problem that believers have faced down through the years. How do you pursue the dream of extending God’s Kingdom when you have to do it with actual, real-life people – people who can so easily rub you the wrong way?

Like porcupines, we can be prickly and cause a lot of hurt and harm to others. That’s why porcupines are solitary creatures. They live alone…until it’s time for mating. 

This is the porcupine’s dilemma: How do you get close enough to multiply without getting hurt? 

In nature, porcupines have found a way to avoid the quills and come together in a unique mating dance. All for the sake of reproducing their kind. 

Friends, we face the same dilemma. We struggle to relate to those who rub us the wrong way.  And we’re tempted to either withdraw or lash out.  But if we could see that there’s something bigger at play – the multiplication of disciples – perhaps we could learn to do an awkward dance with one another.

This is what Paul is calling two women to do in this text. Their names are Eudia and Syntyche and Paul pleads with them to get along. These women are leaders in the Philippian church but their break down is so severe, so costly to the community, that Paul calls them out. 

He then asks someone he calls “loyal yokefellow” to intercede. When believers break down, it’s the responsibility of those who know and love them to help them reconcile.

Let’s look at how Paul handles this situation and see what we can learn about handling breakdowns.

1.     Paul doesn’t take sides.

Most likely this was not an issue of right and wrong, but rather an intense differing of opinions. So, Paul doesn’t side with either one. 

2.     Paul doesn’t say that their strong opinions weren’t justified. 

His apparent neutrality probably tells us that he thought both women had legitimate points of view. 

When it comes to the work of the Kingdom, we can be gripped by a “beautiful anger,” a powerful passion for a cause. And that’s great! What’s not great is to condemn others for not sharing it or to say that their passion is unworthy. 

3.     Paul doesn’t say they have to be friends.

Reconciliation doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be best friends. There will be people you just don’t resonate with, and that’s okay. 

However… 

4.     Paul does challenge them that their breakdown is costing the community.

Even the most faithful, mature, and committed people can become so passionate about their points of view that they can poison the very thing they love. 

5.     Paul does ask them to be open to mediation.

Remember that this letter would have been read aloud to this church body. These women would have heard Paul’s request to “get help. Do whatever it takes to resolve this.” 

Follow the pattern Jesus gave us in Matthew 18. When you break down with someone, go to them – just the two of you. If that doesn’t work, get help. Bring in a mediator. 

6.     Paul does call them to remember what they do share together and let that unite them.

These ladies had “contended by his side” (v. 3). They had labored together in this Kingdom mission. And Paul reminds them…and us… that what unites us is greater than what divides us.

Text: Philippians 4:2-3

Originally recorded on January 4, 2009, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

One of Paul’s favorite metaphors for the transformational journey everyday disciples are on was the footrace. Paul saw the life of faith as a race to be run... and run well. 

The goal of this race is to be like Jesus. And while we will never fully achieve it in this life, each of us should keep pressing on toward that goal.  

There are four keys to running your race well. 

1.     Dissatisfaction

A healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo of your discipleship can push you to keep growing, keep learning, keep maturing.  

2.     Devotion: “one thing I do”( v. 13)

Every serious runner knows that if he/she is to have any hope of winning the race they’re committed to, it will take real devotion. They go into training for the race. They seek advice from other runners who they respect. Often they engage a coach to help them.  

The parallels to the spiritual race are quite obvious. If you hope to run well, you will have to go into training and engage in some spiritual disciplines. You will need to find others you can learn from and who can encourage you (community).  And you will probably need a coach (mentor, discipler, accountability partner) who will push you when you feel like coasting.

3.     Direction: “forgetting what is behind” (v. 13)

I can’t tell you how many races have been lost when runners, rather than looking ahead, chose to look behind. When Paul talks of “forgetting what is behind,” he is saying, “I am no longer letting the past influence or control my race.” Stop living in the past and start leaning into the future. 

4.     Determination: “I press on” (vs. 12, 14)

In a long race, it is often the middle miles that the run gets hard. The excitement of the start has faded, and the finish line seems so far away. It’s easy to slow down. It’s tempting to give up. 

It’s the same in race of faith. In those early days of walking with Jesus, you ran with such enthusiasm, willingly making the sacrifice, but now it’s hard. The miles seem to never end, and the encouragement is few and far between. 

Don’t you give up!  Press on, my brothers and sisters! Press on!

Text: Philippians 3:12-16

Originally recorded on November 16, 2008, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN