Standalone Sermons • Beau Bradberry

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Well, good morning.

Glad that you guys are here.

I would like to correct something.

Joel thinks he misspoke.

I think he spoke truth.

We are having a bacon breakfast.

I think that might be the most encouraging thing we all heard today.

Would love to have you at Easter for our bacon breakfast.

Hey, if you've got your Bibles, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us this

morning.

A little change up.

We're going to be in Hebrews chapter 10.

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

We're actually going to be a little bit of everywhere this morning.

Things, as far as message-wise, are going to look a little bit different for me this morning

as I feel like God's impressed something on my heart that I want to share with you guys.

If you're visiting with us, normally, we've been working through the book of Matthew since

before Christmas.

Normally, that's kind of the rhythm that we get in.

We get into a book of the Bible, and then we work through that book of the Bible.

We're studying the Sermon on the Mount right now.

But occasionally, from time to time, I think this Father's Day, I'll have been the pastor

here for 13 years, and I want to say maybe less than five times, maybe a little bit more

than that, where I feel like that God has got something corporately or individually that

He's doing in my life that corporately that I need to share with you guys.

So today's message is twofold as we're working to glorify God in what we're seeing, what we're

praying, what we're teaching, and all that we do.

But today's message is kind of twofold.

Number one, what I just talked about very specifically, I want to share with you guys a process of what

God's been doing in my heart over about the past year, share some of the details of that

with you guys.

But then also, number two, give some context.

If you've been here for a while, and you've noticed a different change of the flow of the

service and the feel of our worship service, there's a reason for that.

One of the things that healthy churches do is get into good and consistent rhythms in their

worship services.

And so most churches that you go to, for the most part, there'll be parts and pieces that

move and change from week to week, but they get into a good flow.

It helps in worship.

It helps in communication.

So it helps in the congregation knowing what they're expecting over the course of the worship

service.

And if you've noticed that over the last several weeks, maybe a little bit over a month,

the flow of our worship service has changed a little bit.

And that did not happen because I was sitting there in the office and had an idea of like,

well, let's just try this out.

It happened over the course of a little bit over a year.

And it began in my men's group.

God has given me a wonderful group of men, part of our church.

And we gather together Wednesdays to eat lunch at Creekside right down the road.

And we've gone through books of the Bible and we've gone through books together as well.

And one of the books that we've done together is a book called Disciplines of a Godly Man.

We pause real quick.

And if you're a man of our church and you want to come and join us, we'd love to have you join us.

11.30, you can come there.

You can, if you don't know what to order, don't worry.

Mike Vought's order literally every single week.

Mike Vought's one of our elders.

Every single week, Mike Vought orders chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy,

cinnamon apples, and green beans.

Right, Mike?

It's the Mike Vought special.

They're going to have it on the board here in a little while.

For like four years, this is what Mike's been ordering.

And so we were working through this book.

Great book.

Phenomenal book.

If you're a God, let me just tell you, man, like, you need to read this book.

And it's talking through, like, it's just giving a great picture of example of what it means to be a godly man.

Like, sometimes with culture and things divine, what manliness is.

And, man, this guy, Kent Hughes, does a wonderful job.

I believe we even had a nine o'clock group work through this a couple of different times.

And so we're on it.

And he's talking about a lot of different things.

Man, I got so many notes in here.

And he's talking about purity and marriage and fatherhood and friendship.

But then we hit this section where he talked about our soul.

Our soul.

And he's talking to us about the discipline of the mind.

Talks about the discipline of devotion.

The discipline of prayer.

And then the discipline of worship.

Now, I'll be honest with you, leading up to that morning's discussion of the book, I was really curious about our guys, you know, at the table.

I mean, worship, man, like, now we're dealing with some of the artistic stuff and feelings and those kind of things.

And for the most part, like, like, I would not say that overwhelmingly we're the most, like, artistic, in tune with our feelings group of guys sitting at the table.

But, man, it sparked a conversation that we began to have at the table of what it looks like as men to come before the holy God, God of creation, and worship him.

And in that conversation, and in reading of that chapter, God sparked a conversation that he and I have been having.

And it goes beyond, would you stand as we read this?

It goes beyond how many songs are before a message.

It goes beyond how I even preach.

And it resonated by like, but who are you here for?

Who are you here for?

Who are you here for in this world?

And then who are you here for, like, church, right now in this moment?

I want to read a couple of segments to you out of this book.

He says, why do we worship?

Is it for God or man?

The unspoken but increasingly common assumption of today's Christendom is that worship is primarily for us.

To meet our needs.

Worship services driven by this assumption are entertainment focused.

And the worshipers are uncommitted spectators who were silently grading the performance.

From this perspective, preaching becomes a homiletics of consensus.

Preaching to felt needs, man's conscious agenda instead of God's.

Such preaching is topical and never textual.

He continues on, he says, the tail, tail sign of this kind of thinking is the common post-worship question,

what did you think of the service today?

The real question ought to be, what did God think of it and of those who worshipped?

And what did I give to God?

Jump forward.

What about our needs?

When we worship and adore God,

and are singing, prayer, and listening to the Word,

His shalom,

His shalom,

His peace,

will well in our souls,

so that we will leave with a glad sense of personal blessing.

A great lift.

I read this to you today,

not because as I read that,

I thought, man,

the people of Willow Ridge Church really need to hear this.

I read this to you because

on that morning,

when I opened up the book,

and I read that section,

I thought, oh my,

Bo Bradbury really needs this.

What is worship?

And what am I doing?

What am I doing?

And so today,

maybe you're in that journey with me,

and worship becomes something that it's not intended to be.

I began to run through questions every single week.

Did they like what I said?

Was I engaging?

Was I relevant?

Was I capturing their attention within this?

And you and me mainly,

me,

became the object

of who I wanted to delight in

as we do what we do.

Instead of the reminder

of who God has called us to

in worship.

So this morning,

I want us to talk

and to focus

and to pause

about what we do

while we do it

and what God's doing

in my life

and challenging you

to maybe God

is wanting to do

some of these very same things

in yours.

And here's the thing,

up until I read that chapter,

I always said,

I got it.

until God helped take the spiritual blinders off of me

to show who I was

and what I was doing.

A couple misconceptions

that I want us to move past

very early on this morning

about worship.

Number one is this,

worship isn't just the music and singing,

but music and singing

are valuable aspects of worship.

One of the dialogues

that we're working through

and continue trying to remove from this

is we have gathered

for a worship service together.

And from the moment

Pastor Joel

said,

would you stand

as we read God's word?

What we're doing

is we're engaging

in God's word

and worship.

What we're doing

as we pray,

we're engaging

in worship

through prayer.

What we're doing in song

is engaging

in worship

through singing

and music.

And what we're doing now

is we're engaging

in worship

through the preaching

and teaching

of God's word.

What we'll do

is we'll engage

in worship

through response

and we'll engage

in worship

through going.

But all of this

is worship.

Worship is not

the musical performance

and then we put that aside

and then we move

to the intellectual.

Worship

is all of this.

So worship

isn't just the music

and the singing.

But music

and singing

when we'll see this

this morning

are valuable

essential aspects

of worship.

Number two,

worship is both

a daily activity

and lifestyle

but it is also

a place

and a gathering.

It's also a place

and a gathering.

But I have to be

at church to worship.

I worship God

everywhere I go.

Absolutely praise

the Lord.

But all throughout

scripture

we see God

calling his people

not in isolation

but in community

to come together

in a place

and worship him.

So can you

and should you

worship God

Monday through Saturday?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

It's critical.

It's essential

to your walk

with him.

But this is as well.

And he's called

you and I

together

for this.

So I've got

four things

that I believe

that God is teaching

me,

that God is teaching us

and that God

is working on us

as we come

to truly

worship him

in spirit and truth.

In spirit and truth.

So what should it

look like

when we gather

for worship?

Number one.

Number one,

be present.

Be present.

The writer of Hebrews

has been building

on an argument

beginning all the way

much earlier on

but in chapter 10

he declares

about the fullness

and sufficiency

of Christ's sacrifice

for our sin.

So he's saying

listen, listen.

Christ has died

for you.

It's his death.

It's his payment.

This is what it means

for me.

This is what it means

for you.

It's sufficient.

It's full.

It's complete.

Praise God.

And so he says

within this

that number one

we have a confidence

in Christ.

That our confidence

is found

in him

and in him alone.

But then he continues

on and he says

while we have

confidence in Christ

we also have

confession in Christ.

And this confession

is what we make

and here's the thing

as God works

and moves

in the lives

of his people

it's assured.

It's grown

in confidence

through

the fellowship

of the gathering

of believers.

So what God

is doing

for you

and I here

is he's

building

and he's

working

more and more

so

in our lives

to assure us

to grow

our confidence

in him

who through

only how God

could do it

as we gather

with one another.

You see

I can't grow

the way

that I need

to grow

without you

and you

can't grow

the way

that you need

to grow

in your confidence

and assurance

of the work

of Jesus Christ

without one

another.

It's the draw

and it's the picture

of community

and again

when we look at it

and see

an organic community

right

this isn't the only time

that Christians

and believers

come together

but it is a unique

time

that God

calls us

and desires

for us to be

together.

So Hebrews

Hebrews 10:25

chapter 10

verse 25

here's this

not neglecting

to meet

together

get this

very early

on early

church

as is the

habit

of some

but encouraging

one another

in all the more

as you see

the day

drawing near.

You see

the writer

of Hebrews

tells us

that very

early on

in the church

we're already

seeing this

tension

we're already

seeing people

begin to

claim

faith in

Christ

but yet

a disassociation

with the

gathering

of believers

coming together.

And so our

call

is to be

present

to be

present

and you're

like

but we get

that we're

here

we're here

here's what

I want to

press into

this a little

bit

a few years

ago

I don't know

if Erin

she remembers

this but she

and I were

out on a

date

and I

don't

specifically

remember

what was

on my

mind

at the

time

but I

know

that I

was

distracted

I remember

sitting at

the restaurant

I remember

the food

that we

ordered

I don't

remember

what was

capturing

my thought

life in

that moment

but I

know that

I was

stressed

and a lot

of what

I was

stressed

about

I'd

internalized

and I

had not

shared

with her

and as

a result

of my

distracted

mind

the

conversation

was

struggling

and

just

complete

candidness

with you

guys

the

date

felt more

like an

appointment

than it

did a

romantic

dinner out

with my

wife

after some

time of

awkward

surface level

conversations

I remember

she looked

at me

and these

words came

out of her

mouth

what's

wrong

you're

not

here

with me

you see

I was

there

I was

in

the same

restaurant

I was

sitting

at the

table

physically

I was

with my

wife

but

emotionally

mentally

and

spiritually

I was

distant

from her

and in

that

gracious

reminder

what she's

doing is

I need

you here

with me

my

concern

is

for us

with

worship

is that

we can

check a

box

that I

went

to

worship

today

but yet

worship

demands

all that

I am

mentally

physically

emotionally

and

spiritually

worship

requires

more

than just

being

here

worship

requires

that we

are

present

and that

we're

present

before

the

Lord

you see

there's

lots

of ways

that we

can

forsake

something

we can

come

together

and

physically

be here

for the

gathering

but yet

forsake

the

gathering

with our

heart

our mind

our emotions

and our

being

we can

physically

be here

and run

the

gauntlet

of

worship

but

completely

miss

on

being

present

before

the

Lord

so what

does it

mean

to be

present

before

him

number

one

that I

am

here

that I

am

here

to set

worship

in your

life

and in

mine

as a

priority

to be

here

to commit

to

when we

set

our

calendars

when we

set

our

schedules

when we

set

the

agendas

of our

life

that

the

gathering

together

that we

hold

as

sacred

that we

hold

it

as

dear

that we

hold

it

as

essential

that we

hold

it

not

as a

recommendation

but a

priority

of our

life

that you

and I

that we

are here

am I

standing

here

communicating

as a

Pharisee

that says

you can

never

be

away

absolutely

not

and all

throughout

this

message

please let

me tell

you a couple

things

number one

do not

hear me

as a

Pharisee

it's

not

how I'm

getting

this

right

and how

you need

to be

like me

it's

the truth

that we

can see

from God's

word

of God

calling us

into a

deeper

relationship

with one

another

that benefits

as we're

unified

under the

cross

of Jesus

Christ

and so

we set

as a

priority

to be

here

number

two

number

two

not only

am I

here

but I'm

on time

I'm

on time

when we

are on

time

here's what

I believe

that we're

saying

that we

are setting

worship

as valuable

it's

worth it

enough

for me

to make

the other

sacrifices

of my

life

so that

I

can be

here

so that

I don't

miss

so that

I'm not

excluded

from

so that

I'm

here

and I'm

on time

can I

tell you

one of the

greatest

things

that I

love

about

our

church

is

the

gathering

as we

come

together

before

we

start

with

worship

just

today

how

God

has

used

you

in

my

life

through

prayer

requests

and

encouragements

and

affirmations

and in

stories

of what

all this

has happened

this morning

of what

God

is doing

and so

he draws

me

closer

to him

and I

miss

out

on those

if I

come rolling

in at

1022

so that

we're

here

and we

try to

help

with this

as

Joel

told you

again

nine o'clock

discipleship

we have

the fellowship

that happens

at 950

before worship

happens

these aren't

activities

and programs

that we

created

so we

can prove

to you

the worth

and that

we're

working

really hard

at this

church

and that

we're

doing

this

so that

God

continues

to draw

us

and bring

us

together

so that

we value

and make

sure that

we have

things

for kids

for youth

for all

of the

adults

for every

age dynamic

that God

has for us

that I am

here

that I am

on time

but then the

third

and I think

this can be

the greatest

distraction

for me

and for you

as well

is that

not only

am I here

not only

am I on time

but I am

focused

I'm focused

you see

this week

and the weeks

previous

have enough

of the things

where they're

fighting for my

heart

and my soul

that when I

come before

God

to gather

with his

people

to worship

the king

of kings

and lord

of lords

am I

focused

with my

mindset

set on

him

and him

alone

so I would

encourage you

to make

sure that

as you're

coming

that you're

preparing

your heart

for worship

so that

you can

be

focused

on

God

and for

the

things

that

God

has

for you

one

thing

for me

and this

is just a

practical

play

and a

practical

piece

of what

God

was

working

and doing

in my

life

at the

time

so I

just want

to share

this

and again

if this

is you

then that's

fine

I'm just

going to

share

man

this is

what

God

is

working

with

me

is

beginning

to think

through

works

but God

begins

to show

me

and teach

me

but I

was listening

not long

after this

I'm sitting

here and I'm

listening to

not listening

I'm rolling

through some

reels

man

it's

brain rot

101

right

and I'm

just scrolling

I'm scrolling

and a

thing popped

up

and it said

something to

the effect

of why

you should

have a

paper

Bible

now I'm

a big

fan of

paper

Bibles

bring my

paper

Bible

up here

read

paper

Bible

but at

that time

I was a

really big

fan of

technology

Bibles

and if

you're a

technology

Bible

guy or

gal

this isn't

a criticism

of you

this was a

display

of my

heart

earlier on

in that

week

Josh

who does

a wonderful

job every

time he

preaches

and teaches

in God's

word

he's gonna

be preaching

again here

on May

the third

Josh

Nix

our young

adult

minister

and Josh

had been

preaching

earlier

that Sunday

and I was

sitting right

there

right there

where I

always sit

before

sitting right

there

and I'm

reading on

my Bible

actually I was

on my

iPad

I was reading

on my

iPad

following

Josh

along in

God's

word

and a

notification

popped up

shirt oh

gosh

absolutely

it popped

up

I didn't

hear a

single thing

he said

for the

next 10

minutes

not one

here's what

this guy

said in the

video

that that

convicted me

and that

that pointed

me back

and man

like I

know I

got my

iPad up

here

I'm

teaching

from it

it's

on airplane

mode

I promise

you

come up

and look

at it

here's

what he

said

my

Bible

has

never

given

me

a

notification

that

didn't

come

from

the

Lord

let me

tell you

my

Bible

has

never

notified

me

that I

need

to

change

my

fantasy

football

team

my

Bible

has

never

notified

me

of who

my

friend

requests

are

on

Facebook

my

Bible

has

never

notified

me

that

someone

has

gone

live

on

Instagram

my

Bible

has

never

notified

me

of

any

of

those

things

and

in

that

moment

it's

like

okay

Lord

like

I

hear

like

what

you're

trying

to

get

me

to

do

is

to

understand

that

even

in

the

simple

things

of

life

I

can

allow

them

to

draw

my

attention

away

here's

what I

do

want

to

say

about

technology

that

email

is

not

that

important

and

I

guarantee

you

that

game

isn't

either

but

this

is

but

this

is

but

this

is

the

world

does

enough

to

distract

it

please

leave

the

things

that

distract

outside

as we

come

in here

to

focus

to

focus

on

essential

for

what

God

has

for

us

number

two

number

two

God

working

again

this

is

me

this

is

me

hope

that

God's

teaching

you

guys

something

through

this

as well

number

two

be

thankful

be

present

be

thankful

all right

over 400

times in

the Bible

over 400

we're 400

times in the

Bible

the Bible

tells us

of God's

people

singing

to him

over 400

times

if we see

400 examples

of something

it's probably

important

we also see

within the Bible

over 50

times

over 50

times

God

gives

as a

command

to his

people

to sing

to sing

400

times

as an

example

50

times

it's a

command

one of

the early

skills

that we

learn

in studying

the Bible

is that

if God

repeats

himself

pay

extra

close

attention

50

times

sing

sing

sing

sing

sing

while

worship

is more

than singing

songs

singing

songs

is an

essential

aspect

of worship

I'm not

going to read

all 50

nor am I

going to read

all 400

but I do

want to read

Psalm 105

Psalms 105:1–2

verses 1

to 2

oh give

thanks to

the Lord

call upon

his name

make known

his deeds

among the

peoples

sing

to him

sing

praises

to him

tell

of his

wondrous

works

God's

word

says

hey

people

sing

sing

sing

it

matters

to God

would it

matter

to us

but

I'm not

a singer

well

great

neither

am I

and God

has you

and I

covered

I want to

do another

verse to you

Psalm 95

2

let us

come

into his

presence

with

thanksgiving

all of us

non-singers

get ready to

say amen

let us

make a

joyful noise

to him

with songs

of praise

I'm just

going to

tell you

if you

are sitting

around me

on a

Sunday

morning

you

are

hearing

a

joyful

noise

I'm

off key

I know

it

sometimes

I sing

the wrong

words

I'm

definitely

not on

tempo

and sometimes

I like

to clap

and I get

off beat

with that

as well

at the

previous

church

that I

served

at

our

worship

leader

his name

was

Mark

Brown

he stood

right here

right where

Berger

stands

and I

stood

right in

front of

him

and I

would stand

there

man

we would

get into

the worship

and I

would stand

up there

and I

would clap

and I was

clapping

I was

clapping

and after

about 12

Sundays

of me

sitting right

there

and clapping

as he

went through

he came

up to me

Mark is a

dear friend

of mine

I love

Mark

he's like

a brother

to me

can I

have a

conversation

with you

real quick

and I

said yeah

man sure

what's up

he's like

so you're

he says

some of

my band

is having

trouble

keeping on

tempo

and buddy

your clapping

is not

helping

alright

so

but God

says like

make a

joyful noise

come together

that we

should sing

that we

should be

thankful

that it's

the overflow

of our

heart

of what

God

is doing

that we're

singing

praises

and adoration

to him

and so

the reality

is it

doesn't

matter

what's

around

us

let's

be honest

with each

other

okay

like

this is

blunt

honesty

of what

we're

doing

within

worship

your worship

should not

be dictated

if you like

the song

or not

they're songs

we do

they're not

my thing

I'm not

listening to

them in my

car

but they're

about God

so it's a

song of

praise

the

performance

of the

team

should not

dictate

my worship

of God

they'll hit

a wrong

note

they'll get

off beat

sometimes

but praise

God

it's not

about their

performance

that draws

me to this

throne of

grace

that God

looks at

his people

and says

sing

he says

sing

he says

sing

why does

God care

why does

God care

if we sing

there are

three reasons

three reasons

number one

singing unifies

believers

singing unifies

believers

I'm going to tell

you guys

there's something

beautiful that

happens when I

stand right

over here on

these steps

and you guys

are doing the

last chorus

of the song

and I hear

your voices

and in

unison

singing about

the greatness

and the

sufficiency

of the blood

of Christ

and can I

tell you

that as

standing here

I don't hear

a sour note

from you

it's the

beauty of

God's people

and can you

imagine

what it

sounds like

to him

as the

world

looks to

divide us

when we

come together

and sing

we're unified

before the

king of

kings

and lord

of lords

and if you

don't like

singing

if you don't

like singing

then folks

eternity is going

to be difficult

for you

number two

number two

singing

expresses

adoration

singing

expresses

adoration

I don't know

why God

wired us

this way

he just

wired us

this way

that when

we sing

even

secular

songs

what are

they dealing

with

the emotion

and maybe

their perceived

truth

of the

situation

so that

when we

can come

before God

and we

can sing

that God

always was

always has

been

and will

always be

a healer

for our

souls

and that's

found

in him

and in him

alone

there's no

one else

in this world

that deserves

that praise

singing

expresses

adoration

number three

singing

affirms

the word

of God

singing

affirms

the word

of God

Joel Berger

does a lot

of

a lot

of really

good things

at our

church

one of the

things that

he's been

entrusted

with

that he

guards

tightly

is to

make sure

that the

songs that

we sing

declare the

truth of

God's word

because in

actuality

you and I

have a hard

time

memorizing

dialogue

and epistles

and narratives

and prophecies

but we can