A Good Word Wednesday #28 🛐

Worship: What? When? Where? Why?

Word of the Week: WORSHIP

Wise Words about Worship:

“A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will come out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping, we are becoming.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (Don’t you love the word behooves? It’s a good word. Use it.)

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.” Blaise Pascal

What is worship exactly? In broad terms, it is the honor and reverence given to a god or sacred object. What do you think of when you hear the word worship? A church service? Prayer? Singing? It is all those things and more. In the Christian context, we think of corporate worship that takes place in a building like this:

First Baptist Church, Duncan, OK

This is where I worship with my faith family. It is a beautiful building, but it’s what happens inside those walls that leads me to worship with others. I gather in a small group each Sunday morning to study scripture and pray together. And then we join the larger group in a corporate worship setting. We worship together through singing, praying, giving and hearing scriptures and sermons. This coming Sunday, the topic is “How Worship Shapes Us.” I’m looking forward to that. At the end of our services, Pastor Bryan reminds us, “We have been the church gathered. Now, when you leave, you will be the church scattered as you share the love of Jesus in our community.” I love that. In fact, being on mission and serving people is a form of worship as well.

Another form of worship is done privately. Listed below are a couple of blogs I recommend about how I enjoy worshipping privately. I love to go outside on my deck early in the morning when the weather is warm for a time to be alone and worship. As I am writing this, it is snowing.

I love to watch it. So beautiful and peaceful. It’s a rare and wonderful experience in Oklahoma. So, my private worship during the the winter months, early each morning, is in my comfy chair by the big front window with my coffee, Bible and journal. I’ve listed a few resources below that are enriching my worship lately. What helps you to worship well? What is your favorite worship music?

Wednesday in the Word

“…speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:19-20

1 Chronicles 16:23-31 Verses 23-24 say: Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24

Good Words I Recommend

Good Blogs from Stories for Global Good: A Trinity of Worship and Where I Meet God. These stories will also be included in my soon-to-be-published book, Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life with Your Neighbors and the Nations. Learn more here: Unseen People page on DeAnna's website

A Good Photo: No words with this, but none are needed. It’s a favorite photo taken in Indonesia.

Good Books: The Story of Good This book addresses the questions: Does what we do really matter? Can one person make a difference? This beautiful book is by author Victoria Duerstock.

I’ve recommended this one before: Resilient by John Eldredge. I am mentioning it again because I am using it each day during my personal worship times along with his app The One Minute Pause. I use the one minute pause twice a day and also the 30 Days to Resilient each morning and evening. In fact, I listen to the evening worship time right before I go to sleep. And I listen to it on this:

A Good Product. I can’t say enough good words about this product that my son recommended to me. It helped him reduce stress so I thought I would give it a try. Now, I’m not sure how I’ve lived without this thing. Eye Massager It looks like a product from Star Wars, but it has several massaging cycles that include heat. It also is Bluetooth enabled so I can listen to relaxing music after I listen to my evening Resilient program. Give it a try.

A Good Song. Here I Am to Worship “Here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down, here I am to say that You’re my God…”

NOTE: Some of the links are affiliate links which mean, at NO extra cost to you, making a purchase through these specific links helps support this good work each week. MANY THANKS!!

A FINAL WORD

THANK YOU for being my people. I look forward each week to sharing these good words with you and I love hearing good words from you. Please feel free to share this with others who would like to join our little tribe. They are most welcomed.

One more “W” word of the week comes your way next Wednesday. As always, until next week, share a good word with someone today.

Gratefully yours,