Pathways to Praise: Prepare, Position, Participate, Proclaim

It's because when we worship this way, it removes distractions. Because when I am singing lyrics and I'm engaging in this way and my ears are filled with noise and my mouth is participating and my eyes are locked, it's like I I I can't help but focusing on what's going on. It forces us into this place of recognition of who he is and who I'm not. Worship changes the temperature of my heart every time, but you gotta participate. Psalm 95 says, oh, come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us make a joyful Some of y'all who don't think you're good singers, a joyful noise, you can join to the rock of our salvation. Let it, let us worship. I love how Nehemiah 12, everyone participates. God calls us to do the same. In Colossians three, it says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, [00:48:59] (61 seconds)  #WorshipChangesHearts

Here's the practical thought, is worship for us an add on, like a squeezed in, or is it the thing? Here's some ideas about how to prepare for Sunday, is to give yourself more time in the morning. And that's only if the powers that be don't steal an hour from us again next week. But give yourself some more time so you're not rushing. Go to bed early. You know the night, each week where people go to bed, the latest is sun Saturday night. And I'll just offer a challenging phrase to you. Don't go to bed earlier for work than you do for worship. It says something about our priorities, doesn't it? Pray on the way. [00:36:17] (49 seconds)  #PrepareForSunday

And and here's the the beauty of this, is that nothing gets me ready to preach more than worshiping through song and singing. And nothing gets me ready for life more than worship. You gotta participate. Watch what happens. I know what happens with a lot of people who don't wanna sing and times when I feel like I'm hesitant to. It's usually because of shame or because of vulnerability or because of some kind of disconnection or something that happened or maybe a bad experience or whatever. But whenever I make the decision to move my lips and participate, You know what happens? All that stuff fades away. And God gives us this beautiful form of worship in the form of music. And yes, know worship is more than music, but because of what happens in Nehemiah 12, this is what we're talking about is kind of musical worship. God gives this to us. [00:47:58] (55 seconds)  #SingToParticipate

And then later on, people started to notice that this is what God was doing. If you look at Nehemiah, chapter six, it says, and when all of our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. This is the impact when we openly praise. Other people know who is our source, who is our foundation, who is the one in whom we trust. Worship isn't just for our own edification. It is a tool that God uses to let other people know, to evangelize. Because who sings in public anymore? Only people who are really, really, really joyful or united for a certain purpose. So for us, pathway to praise is that when we prepare and when we position and when we participate, it puts us in a position where we can proclaim so that others may know. [00:51:06] (61 seconds)  #WorshipAsWitness

And in Nehemiah chapter 12, they went to great lengths to prepare for this service. It wasn't an afterthought. It wasn't a, oh, yeah. We need to do that thing or, hey. Let's get this done before we go to something else. They they gathered Levites. They went out and they pulled people in. They took time. They took intention. They purified their themselves, their hearts. They were ready. They didn't just jump in and hope for the best. The pathway to praise is found in preparation. [00:35:32] (31 seconds)  #PrepareWithPurpose

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the enemy is trying to keep us from the best part of our week. Maybe it's the urgency that we've experienced all week long and the pressure of knowing. We're trying to prioritize God and what he wants for us, but we're still feeling stressed and guilty about fitting it all in, and it comes into this great train a leaves Pittsburgh, train b leaves Philadelphia collision moment on Sunday morning. And here in Nehemiah 12, it comes time to host this dedication service, and we noticed something that we can apply to ourselves as we approach worship services like this is that they prepare. They prepare. Take a look back through these verses to see how they did this. [00:32:51] (43 seconds)  #GuardYourSunday

We just live this way, and it's constant, and it's pervasive. And then you get to Sunday exhausted and emotionally drained and full well knowing that Monday's a coming. And it's become both cliche and a badge of honor to lament just how busy we are in our platitudes and our pleasantries. And yet here we are at worship. The one time a week where most of us can shut out the noise because most bosses don't email on Sunday mornings, so this is like a place of respite. Or maybe Sunday mornings is the place where your laundry isn't currently here staring back at you. [00:28:06] (46 seconds)  #SundayRespite

And there's a lot going on, not just in our broader world, but in our own personal lives. And being at church with others is a gift and a glimpse of heaven where we can be reminded of our peace and our foundation and our hope and reconnect with the one that gives us life when the rest of life drains us dry. So today, instead of a term a sermon, we're just gonna turn down the lights and have a nap time. Like some of you are like, that's what I'm planning on anyways. You don't have to turn down the light. [00:28:52] (33 seconds)  #GlimpseOfHeaven