WAYS TO WORSHIP
Opening Prayer
I worship You my King. You are worthy of all my praise.
Read Psalm 95
Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[a]
as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
Footnotes:
a Psalm 95:8 Meribah means quarreling.
b Psalm 95:8 Massah means testing.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Sing aloud a praise song or listen to your favorite worship song, and allow your heart to be refreshed by it.Psalm 95 is the first of a series of liturgical psalms, which were used as part of a choral work to celebrate the Lord’s kingship and power as Creator. Initially, it is full of sound: singing, shouting and music (1, 2). God is worshipped as the mighty Creator of a majestic creation (4, 5). When was the last time you were part of joyful, exuberant worship? How did it feel? Are there elements of God’s creation in the natural world that evoke wonder and compel you to worship Him?
Next, triumphant praise turns to supplication and submission (6). The imagery of a shepherd (7) reminds us of Jesus in John 10, and the comfort of His voice, protection and guidance. In what ways has God shepherded you and your community in the last year?
However, the psalm ends on a note of warning (8). Why and how do we harden our hearts against God? What can we learn from this psalm to stop our hearts from going astray (10) and rejecting the care, guidance, and discipline of the Good Shepherd?
Apply
Sketch an image that represents your way of worshipping God. It could be a person with raised hands or a part of creation that inspires you. Get creative! Use the reminder this week to worship God.
Closing prayer
Lord, I sing for joy to You. I shout aloud to the Rock of my salvation. I come before You with thanksgiving (1-2a).
Book and Author Intros
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