Finding Joy in Worship and God's Nearness
Summary
In our worship gatherings, we create a sacred space to turn our hearts towards God, which fills us with a profound joy that transcends the challenges of life. Worship, especially in community, allows us to rehearse and retell God's goodness through song, prayer, scripture, fellowship, and communion. This collective act of faith ties God's faithfulness across generations to our present realities, affirming His goodness and holiness. A recent example of this was our Celebration Sunday, where despite the mixed emotions following an election, our congregation chose joy, trusting the Holy Spirit's guidance. This day reminded me that the church is fundamentally a place of healing, where people can connect with God and find joy.
Giving is another form of worship and discipleship, a testament to our faith in God's provision. It challenges us to trust God with our resources, believing that He will bless us and use our generosity to bless others. Our collective generosity has enabled transformative work in our community, demonstrating that we are not alone in this mission. As we approach the end of the year, I invite those who haven't yet embraced this joyful act of giving to join us.
Our Advent series, "The God Who Comes Near," focuses on God's nearness through Jesus' birth, which brought peace, joy, hope, and love to a waiting world. This nearness is an act of love and grace, not earned by us but given because of God's faithful character. Zechariah's story in Luke 1 illustrates this joy that comes from God's nearness. Despite his initial doubt, Zechariah's encounter with God's faithfulness led to an outburst of joyful worship. His story teaches us that true joy is birthed from God's nearness and that our worship, especially as men, has transformative power.
Zechariah's song also reveals the joy of seeing the bigger picture. He praises God not just for his personal blessing but for God's work in the world, reminding us that we are part of a larger story. This perspective encourages us to root ourselves in God's Word, which grows our confidence in His ability to work in our lives. As we reflect on God's past faithfulness, we find joy and confidence that overflow into worship.
Key Takeaways:
- Worship is a powerful act of faith that connects us to God's faithfulness across generations, filling us with joy that transcends life's challenges. It is a communal experience that strengthens our focus on God's goodness and holiness. [28:58]
- Giving is an integral part of worship and discipleship, challenging us to trust God with our resources. It is a testament to our faith in God's provision and a means to bless others, demonstrating the power of collective generosity. [47:34]
- God's nearness, as celebrated in Advent, is an act of love and grace, not earned by us but given because of His faithful character. This nearness brings peace, joy, hope, and love to a waiting world, reminding us of God's promises. [50:32]
- Zechariah's story illustrates that true joy is birthed from God's nearness. Despite initial doubt, his encounter with God's faithfulness led to joyful worship, highlighting the transformative power of worship, especially for men. [01:07:14]
- Seeing the bigger picture brings joy, as Zechariah's song shows. He praises God for His work in the world, reminding us that we are part of a larger story. Rooting ourselves in God's Word grows our confidence in His ability to work in our lives. [01:13:21]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:28] - The Power of Worship
- [05:12] - Celebration Sunday
- [10:45] - Giving as Worship
- [15:30] - Advent: The God Who Comes Near
- [20:18] - Zechariah's Joyful Worship
- [25:14] - The Joy of Seeing the Bigger Picture
- [30:09] - The Transformative Power of Men's Worship
- [35:21] - Rooting in God's Word
- [40:11] - Finding Joy in God's Faithfulness
- [45:12] - Invitation to Joyful Giving
- [50:32] - Closing Prayer and Benediction
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
- Luke 1:67-80
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Observation Questions:
1. What specific elements of worship are mentioned in the sermon that help connect us to God's faithfulness? [28:58]
2. How did the congregation respond during Celebration Sunday despite the mixed emotions following an election? [28:58]
3. What was Zechariah's initial reaction to the angel's message, and what was the consequence of his doubt? [01:02:25]
4. How does Zechariah's song reflect his understanding of God's work beyond his personal blessing? [01:13:21]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the sermon describe the role of worship in connecting us to God's faithfulness across generations? [28:58]
2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that giving is a testament to our faith in God's provision? [47:34]
3. How does Zechariah's story illustrate the transformative power of worship, especially for men? [01:07:14]
4. What does the sermon suggest about the importance of seeing the bigger picture in God's work, as demonstrated by Zechariah's song? [01:13:21]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when worship helped you reconnect with God's faithfulness. How did it impact your perspective on life's challenges? [28:58]
2. The sermon emphasizes giving as an act of worship. How can you incorporate this practice into your life, and what steps can you take to trust God with your resources? [47:34]
3. Zechariah's story shows that doubt can coexist with faithfulness. How do you handle moments of doubt in your spiritual journey, and what can you learn from Zechariah's experience? [01:02:25]
4. Consider the role of worship in your life. How can you, especially if you are a man, engage more deeply in worship to experience its transformative power? [01:07:14]
5. Zechariah's song praises God for His work in the world. How can you cultivate a perspective that sees beyond personal blessings to recognize God's larger work? [01:13:21]
6. The sermon encourages rooting ourselves in God's Word to grow our confidence in His ability to work in our lives. What specific steps can you take to deepen your engagement with Scripture this week? [01:19:58]
7. Identify a "joy song" that reminds you of God's faithfulness. How can you use this song to encourage yourself and others in times of doubt or difficulty? [01:23:57]
Devotional
Day 1: Worship as a Bridge Across Generations
Worship is a powerful act of faith that connects us to God's faithfulness across generations, filling us with joy that transcends life's challenges. It is a communal experience that strengthens our focus on God's goodness and holiness. In our worship gatherings, we create a sacred space to turn our hearts towards God, which fills us with a profound joy that transcends the challenges of life. Worship, especially in community, allows us to rehearse and retell God's goodness through song, prayer, scripture, fellowship, and communion. This collective act of faith ties God's faithfulness across generations to our present realities, affirming His goodness and holiness. A recent example of this was our Celebration Sunday, where despite the mixed emotions following an election, our congregation chose joy, trusting the Holy Spirit's guidance. This day reminded us that the church is fundamentally a place of healing, where people can connect with God and find joy. [28:58]
Psalm 145:4-5 (ESV): "One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate."
Reflection: How can you intentionally create a sacred space in your daily life to connect with God's faithfulness and share it with others around you?
Day 2: Generosity as a Testament of Faith
Giving is an integral part of worship and discipleship, challenging us to trust God with our resources. It is a testament to our faith in God's provision and a means to bless others, demonstrating the power of collective generosity. Giving is another form of worship and discipleship, a testament to our faith in God's provision. It challenges us to trust God with our resources, believing that He will bless us and use our generosity to bless others. Our collective generosity has enabled transformative work in our community, demonstrating that we are not alone in this mission. As we approach the end of the year, we are invited to embrace this joyful act of giving. [47:34]
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 (ESV): "He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God."
Reflection: What is one specific way you can practice generosity this week, trusting God to use your resources to bless others?
Day 3: The Nearness of God in Advent
God's nearness, as celebrated in Advent, is an act of love and grace, not earned by us but given because of His faithful character. This nearness brings peace, joy, hope, and love to a waiting world, reminding us of God's promises. Our Advent series, "The God Who Comes Near," focuses on God's nearness through Jesus' birth, which brought peace, joy, hope, and love to a waiting world. This nearness is an act of love and grace, not earned by us but given because of God's faithful character. Zechariah's story in Luke 1 illustrates this joy that comes from God's nearness. Despite his initial doubt, Zechariah's encounter with God's faithfulness led to an outburst of joyful worship. [50:32]
James 4:8 (ESV): "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
Reflection: In what ways can you draw near to God today, allowing His peace, joy, hope, and love to fill your heart?
Day 4: Joy in God's Faithfulness
Zechariah's story illustrates that true joy is birthed from God's nearness. Despite initial doubt, his encounter with God's faithfulness led to joyful worship, highlighting the transformative power of worship, especially for men. Zechariah's song also reveals the joy of seeing the bigger picture. He praises God not just for his personal blessing but for God's work in the world, reminding us that we are part of a larger story. This perspective encourages us to root ourselves in God's Word, which grows our confidence in His ability to work in our lives. As we reflect on God's past faithfulness, we find joy and confidence that overflow into worship. [01:07:14]
Habakkuk 3:17-18 (ESV): "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation."
Reflection: Reflect on a time when you experienced doubt. How did God's faithfulness bring you joy, and how can you use that experience to encourage others?
Day 5: Seeing the Bigger Picture
Seeing the bigger picture brings joy, as Zechariah's song shows. He praises God for His work in the world, reminding us that we are part of a larger story. Rooting ourselves in God's Word grows our confidence in His ability to work in our lives. Zechariah's song also reveals the joy of seeing the bigger picture. He praises God not just for his personal blessing but for God's work in the world, reminding us that we are part of a larger story. This perspective encourages us to root ourselves in God's Word, which grows our confidence in His ability to work in our lives. As we reflect on God's past faithfulness, we find joy and confidence that overflow into worship. [01:13:21]
Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV): "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Reflection: How can you shift your focus from personal challenges to God's larger story, and what steps can you take to root yourself more deeply in His Word?
Quotes
"We will go before us, he will not forsake us, he will not forsake us. Beauty of our worship gatherings is that there is an intentional space created every week for us to come together and turn our hearts and our affections towards God, which produces in us a deep, deep sense of joy." [00:26:53] (14 seconds)
"That's quite an act of worship. That's quite an act of faith for many people because throughout the week and over the course of a given year, we're faced with countless things that would steal our joy and shift our focus away from God. On any given day, you can come up against a situation, big or small, and our human reaction is to focus in such a way on that thing that we're not able to recall God's presence and faithfulness. But what worship does, especially corporate worship, is that we come together and we rehearse and retell the goodness of God. Through song, through prayer, through the reading of the word, through fellowship, and through communion. The effect of all this is a deep and abiding joy, which is not dependent on things around us being perfect. So when we worship, we are tying together the faithfulness of God over generations and connecting that to the realities of today and saying, Lord, you are good and holy and faithful. And together with lifted hands and voices, we want to worship you. That's such a really, really powerful. Experience." [00:27:07] (63 seconds)
"Just one week earlier, Pastor Seth had reminded us from Paul's letter to the Philippian Church that we get to choose joy and that joy is a posture more than simply an emotion. So over the course of that Celebration Sunday, I was able to watch as people trusted the leading of the Holy Spirit, and with each song and with each baptism story, with each person being immersed in the water, and as we celebrated more than 30 people joining our church's covenant members that day, I saw people through tears turning their hearts and affections to God, and it deeply moved me to see that. I was reminded that day again that the church is at its core a healing place, and my evangelist, Pastor Seth, was able to watch as people trusted the leading of the Holy Spirit, and Pastor Seth, was able to watch as people trusted the leading of the Holy Spirit, and my evangelist, instinct kicked in because I began to pray even in that moment that people around the country and around the world would be able to find churches where they could be helped to connect to God and find that same kind of joy." [00:28:58] (56 seconds)
"Giving says that I credit God for what I have, and so I'm willing to give a portion of that with thanksgiving so that God's work in the world can continue through the church. Giving says that I can be open -handed and generous, believing that God, who has blessed me, is not limited and has promised to bless me. Again and again, while also using my generosity to unleash blessings on others in this church, in the community, and even around the world. One of the lasting images that I have is that my generosity links up with the generosity of my sisters and brothers who also call Sanctuary Home, and together we have for almost 22 years been able to do deep transformative healing work in North Minneapolis that will impact generations and the effects of the healing work that will impact their lives." [00:30:22] (50 seconds)
"We ask, Lord, that you would do what only you can do, that you would take this one message as we move into this preaching moment, that you would divide it as many times as needed so that each and every person listening and watching will know that you are speaking directly to them. You are the God who comes near. You meet us where we are. You don't judge us for where we are, but you come to us with love and with patience and with purpose. And so, Father, we thank you today for that reality. In the midst of a world, where there is so much going on, we need the reminder that the God of all creation is with us and for us. So speak, Lord, for your people are listening." [00:47:34] (56 seconds)
"This series is called, The God Who Comes Near is a reminder that the birth of Jesus changed the world forever as Jesus ushered in peace and joy and hope and love into a world that was waiting. that was waiting to be rescued from bondage, a world that was waiting to experience freedom from oppression, a world that was waiting for the fulfillment of a divine promise that one day God would send a Messiah into the world to save God's people. Friends, when we celebrate Advent, we celebrate the fact that God indeed kept his promises to his beloved people." [00:51:59] (50 seconds)
"And so when we say here at Sanctuary, doing Advent, that our God is the God who comes near, we are declaring that the God of the Scriptures is the God who comes near to all of us, Jew and Gentile, black and white and everything in between, poor and wealthy, rich and otherwise, young and old, educated and not. When we say that God comes near, we say that God is an equal opportunity God. He draws near to all who would have him. And Advent reminds us that God comes near to us because of God's character. God comes near to us because he promised he would come. He comes not because we've earned his coming. He comes not because we've demanded God to come. God comes because God is faithful to his word." [00:53:12] (63 seconds)
"God comes to, because he has promised he would come to us, but he comes to us out of love for us. He chooses to come and to be present with his people. He draws near to us because he loves us. We couldn't make ourselves good enough for him to come to us. He comes to us because he loves us. We couldn't do enough good deeds for him to come to us. He comes to us because he loves us. Advent teaches us that God is the divine initiator. He draws near to us, and God's nearness is entirely an act of love and of grace." [00:54:29] (41 seconds)
"This moment reveals something for us here in the household of faith that is possible to be righteous and faithful and blameless and still have questions. Whoever told us that we can't have questions and be considered faithful? Zachariah had done everything it was for him to do. He hears this message and he asks a couple questions and he loses his voice for it. He's a priest. He's a husband. He's a faithful man. And yet here in this moment, Zachariah finds himself in a state of waiting and he's waiting without the availability of words. He's wordless. He's waiting." [01:03:39] (49 seconds)
"Zachariah cries out in a song. He had seen God do some amazing things. He came to him and he said, to a place of realizing that wherever God draws near, joy is right behind. In fact, friends, if you're looking for just a big idea of what we're talking about today, here is the big idea that the nearness of God is the birthplace of true joy. The nearness of God is the birthplace of true joy. And I want to point out two quick things and I'm out of your way. When God comes near, we see the joy of a worshiping father. As God draws near, we see the joy of a worshiping father." [01:06:38] (51 seconds)
"There's something powerful and transformative that happens when men worship. Can I talk to the brothers in the room for a moment? My brother, your worship matters. Your faith matters. It matters. To the health of your family. It matters to the health of our church. It matters to the health of this community and the world around us for the world to see men worshiping God. Your faith matters. I don't want to take anything away from our sisters. If our sisters walked out this church today, this church would be closing down shortly after that. And at the very same time, we are a better church when men worship. We are a better church when men take their faith seriously. We are a better set of families when the men in our families trust God with their lives." [01:08:25] (61 seconds)
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