Praise and Worship

(Note from the Author: These are some things I got during July 7's celgroup meeting by Jonathan Beltran)

Praise
1. We should praise God.
"Let the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."(Psalm 19:1, NIV)
"Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him."(Psalm 33:1, NIV)

2. We should praise God at all times.
"I will extol the Lord at all times." (Psalm 34:1)

3. Praise is about the heart.
"I will praise you with all my heart." (Psalm 9:1)
"Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being, praise His holy name." (Psalm 103:1)

Praising is more than singing. More than chants, sounds and movements It's more than just phsysically present in church. It's about our inmost being. Our heart.

Worship
When confronted with this question, what would you answer?
"Did you get anything from the service?"

Two possible answers:
1. "Yes, the pastor delivered the message very well."
2. "No. The message was a bit dry..."

Most people church hop because they always expect to receive something from the worship service. If the pastor is boring or the message is not that good, they would go find a "better" church.

But going to church isn't about receiving. When we go to church, we cannot simply take. We should be the one giving to God. Worship God. We may leave church not receiving much but what's important is what we gave God.

Psalm 96:8 says, "Ascribe the Lord the glory due His name. Bring an offering and come into his courts."

You cannot go to a birthday party without brining a gift. You cannot attend a wedding without giving a gift. You cannot come to worship without giving something to God. You can give your praises, your offering and tithes, your worries, your problems, your talents in singing, dancing, give everything you can to God. But remember that Praise and Worship is about the heart. If our hearts are not right, if our motives are wrong then our praises and worship are meaningless.

Psalm 24:4 says, "He who has clean hands and pure heart may come to the presence of the Lord."

Reflection:
I seriously thought of transfering churches almost a year ago when I first attended my mom's church. I could see their youth are so on fire for God. They are so passionate about God. They dance, they shout their praises to God and I joined them in singing, jumping and raising my hands during worship. For the first time, I really felt I was praising God. I felt what it was like celebrating with God.

I questioned my church...
What's wrong with our church?
Why are our actions controlled?
Why can't we dance during praise and worship?
What's wrong with dancing if that's our way of praising the Lord?
Why are we so conservative?
Why is our youth so passive?
We are an evangelical church but why aren't we evangelizing?

But then I realized that the people - WE are the church. The church is like that because of us. If we want to change the church, make it more productive, then it should come from us. As I reflected about the message during our celgroup meeting, I thought that the speaker was right. I was always thinking of what I got from the service when it was what God got from the service I should be thinking about. I realized that I was wrong to think of transfering churches. My church has given me so much. It was where I really grew spiritually. I can't just leave just because I feel that its boring. God put me in my church for a purpose. Maybe my church needs me more than my mom's church. Wherever I can be of service, it will be my pleasure Lord. =D