Worship and the Healthy Christian Life
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come into His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, he is God! It is He who made us, and we are his. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him. Bless His Name. For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.
Those are the words of Psalm 100; and while they don’t use the word “worship”, they certainly capture the essence of it. Worship is to “ascribe worth” to someone or something. You and I are to ascribe ultimate worth to God – and only to God. Why? Because He is God! Because He is good! Because His covenant love, faithfulness, and truth will endure forever! Because He made us! Because, by His grace in Jesus Christ, we are called to be His people! Because He puts new songs into our mouths – songs full of praise, thankfulness, and joy!
Today as we continue our series on “The Basic Disciplines of a Healthy Christian Life” we’ll be thinking together about worship and what the Bible – the Word of God - says about it.
My guest for today’s Visit to the Pastor’s Study is Pastor Larry Wilson. Pastor Larry has served congregations in Rochester, Minnesota, Terre Haute, Indiana, Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Airdrie, Canada. He has served as General Secretary for the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and is now busily “retired” outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. But my special reason for having Pastor Larry with us today is because of his role in writing the revised Directory for Public Worship for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. To put it simply, he’s our “resident expert” on the subject of worship and our “go to guy” when we have questions about the high calling of worshipping the true and living God – and worshipping him according to His Word. Today, he’ll be helping us to get a better grasp on worship as another basic discipline of a healthy Christian life. Pastor Larry Wilson, welcome to A Visit to the Pastor’s Study….
Here’s a link to the full program:
Yours in the worship of our altogether worthy God,
Pastor Bill