Living in Joy: Embracing Forgiveness and Purpose

Foreign, I am glad to be in church today. I am always excited to be in the house of the Lord. David said, "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." Thank you for being here today. If you're here for the first time, we hope you've felt right at home and loved on a little bit.

I want to welcome those who are watching us online. We're glad you're tuning in today. One thing before I preach today, Crystal mentioned the midweek prayer service we're doing on Wednesday nights. I would love for you guys to join us. I have a teaching that I think will help you if you struggle with knowing what to say when you pray. I will teach about a model prayer to guide you. It's at 7 o'clock.

We are in a series called "Raise a Hallelujah." We're talking about worship. Last week, we established that worship is a reflection of our relationship with God. We talked about worshipping God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We also talked about worship in spirit and in truth.

Today, we will continue this series by looking at the life of David. David was a passionate worshipper and a man after God's own heart. He was not perfect, but he was able to worship God passionately even in the midst of his mistakes.

There are characteristics in David's life that we can learn from to cultivate passionate worship. David was an exuberant worshipper. He was unrestrained and enthusiastic in his worship. When the Ark of the Lord was brought back to Jerusalem, David danced before the Lord with all his heart. He did not care about others' opinions but focused on worshipping God.

David also had a heart of repentance. He acknowledged his mistakes and repented before God. He prayed a model prayer of repentance in Psalm 51, asking God to create a clean heart in him and not to take His Spirit away from him. Repentance restores intimacy with God and fosters passionate worship.

Lastly, David worshipped God by walking in his purpose. He recognized that he was created on purpose for purpose. David honed his skills as a musician and warrior, even in obscurity. He understood his purpose as a worshipper, king, and warrior, and lived a life that impacted his generation.

To cultivate passionate worship, we need to pray for an undivided heart, go beyond our comfort zones in worship, live a life of daily repentance, and discover our purpose and use our gifts to make an impact.

I encourage you to pray the prayer that David prayed in Psalm 86, "Give me an undivided heart." Worship God with all your heart and be unrestrained in your worship. Repent daily and seek God's forgiveness. Discover your purpose and use your gifts to impact others.