The Art of Worship. Fred Bittner

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      Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150)

      Praise is important because God is enthroned in our praise. Psalm 22 is another of those psalms where the writer is not feeling like he should be offering praise. In fact, he begins with, “Why have you forgotten me?” This is pretty deep, and it expresses the way that we might feel during certain circumstances of life. But the psalmist knew that God was God whether he felt like it or not, so in verse 3 he says, “Yet, Thou art Holy, O thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” When we struggle and are down we are tempted to turn away from God, but deliberate praise on our part keeps God on the throne of our lives.

      Praise is important because it has positive benefits. “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High: to declare Thy lovingkindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness at night” (Psalm 92:1–2). “Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely” (Psalm 135:3). Science is recognizing the connection between being positive and physical recovery. Laugh therapy is being prescribed for chronic pain. Praise puts us in the frame of mind to receive God’s blessing.

      Praise is important because it reminds us of the statement, “It is not about me.” “We can’t really praise God without being thankful for the thing we are praising him for. And we cannot really be thankful unless we believe that an omnipotent, loving Father is working for our good. Otherwise, we sound like the words from the classic movie Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street, where Natalie Wood’s character, Susan, states, “I believe . . . I believe . . . It’s silly, but I believe.” Merely going through the motions does not make our words praise. Praise must be accompanied by conviction. Praising him, then, involves gratitude and joy that God is keeping his word to work good through everything if we love him.”11 Our praise is not based on where we are now, but on where God is taking us on the other side of the present situation.

      Finally, praise is important because we were created for the very purpose of praising God. “The people whom I formed for Myself, will declare My praise” (Isaiah 43:21). Peter tells us that as chosen people, God’s possession, we are called to declare his praise into the darkness (1 Peter 2:9). This is important because God has declared that he will win the world through us. If we fail to do that which we were created to do, then we are not doing our part in God’s appointed plan.

      So what does praise look like? No prescribed formula makes up praise. Lifting our hands is spoken of often through the Psalms. 1 Timothy 2:8 gives us a New Testament indication that praise includes lifted hands. “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath or dissension.” Clapping in worship was mentioned in Psalm 47.

      Praise was demonstrated most often in the standing position, but it was also done while kneeling and while prostrate, or lying flat on one’s face. Most corporate praise today is done in the standing position, perhaps because it is difficult to provide room for everyone to lie on their faces in church! Kneeling and lying prostrate are important positions often incorporated into smaller or personal worship settings.

      Let us end this section on praise with Hebrews 13:15–16, which says, “Through Him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And to not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Praise, do good, and share. What an interesting formula for happiness.

      Praise shapes our faith, determines our happiness, encourages others, declares our faith, and changes the world. We cannot merely praise and leave out doing good and sharing. Praise is the expression of our faith; doing good and sharing is the result of our faith. They go hand in hand. “For the gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:5a).

      Try These Activities

      • Make a list of the attributes of God and pray through them aloud.

      • Tell someone who does not know Christ about your relationship with Jesus.

      • Make a determined effort to change something you are doing in worship. Break a habit and try something different that has been discussed in this chapter.

      

      Chapter 4: Committing Our Best, Holding Nothing Back

      “Conversion is a complete surrender to Jesus. It’s a willingness to do what he wants you to do.” (Billy Sunday)

      One of the home improvement networks put on an interesting show idea. Two men are granted five minutes to go through someone’s house to determine what kind of people they are, and discover their interests based on the evidence they uncover in the house. They can go through everything—closets, the refrigerator, photo albums, shelves, and garage to discover the real people of the house. Then, without ever meeting the residents, they completely transform the family’s backyard to reflect their perception of the owner’s values and interests. When they are finished, the family is invited into their own backyard to see the results of the grand transformation.

      If someone had access to your house for five minutes and could dig through your stuff, what would they discover about you? Would they know that you are a Christian? Would the evidence reflect a belief in Jesus? This is a powerful question, but it is a perfect introduction to this chapter. Do our lives demonstrate our commitment to Christ?

      We would like to think that we are giving our best for the Lord. After all, he gave his best for us. But when we look at the grand scheme of life, it is easy to see that our “all” is spread over a large battlefield of priorities. Each priority tries to dominate the other priorities to capture our time and attention.

      In the youthful years, getting through school is a priority. Homework takes up some of our free time. Much of our energy is spent growing, although it is not a conscious thing. As a result, sleeping is a huge part of those years. Throw in time with friends, the phone, and a computer, and days are full.

      Then maybe we go to college, and completing an academic major becomes the top priority. If college is away from home, we may experiment with things we would never do while living with our parents. Dating and being social take up the bulk of our free time.

      When college is finished the focus is on starting a successful career and moving up the ladder. Marriage, starting a family, buying a first house, and trying to figure out what to do with the rest our lives occupies every fiber of our being. Sleeping is now impossible because the baby has decided that being awake all night is really fun.

      As time moves on and the children grow up, sports, dances, and school events become a huge part of life. The difference is that these are not our activities but our kids’ activities. Our job is to get them there and stand by ready to cheer if something exciting happens. We act as bus driver, short-order cook, nurse, housekeeping service, and ATM.

      The final fantasy is that, when the kids are gone, we can finally retire. We say, “Then we’ll have the time to do whatever we want.” Wrong! Every retired person seems to have the same complaint: “I have more to do now than when I had a job. How did I fit a job into all of this chaos?”

      So where is a relationship with God in all of this? When he asks for our “first fruits,” we wonder how can we possibly afford it. Becoming a “living sacrifice” can be a part-time job when held up to our busy lives. And yet God asks for these things—and more. He gave everything for us, and he expects more than the token attention that we often give him.

      The key is not necessarily to stop what we are doing. The real key is to change СКАЧАТЬ