Made for Worship

Hey, good morning, and welcome to Church Online.

Church of the Grove Online.

We are here, and we're so glad that you're here.

What a great day to be here and to be present with the Lord.

And so we're excited about what God's gonna do today.

My name is Brandon.

And I am Cody.

Yes, I think.

Yes, yes, yes, you are.

You are.

Yes.

I mean here to encourage you and reaffirm all the encouragement I get.

Yes, and hopefully today is encouraging to you as well.

Man, if you've been tracking with us, you know that we are in a series called Behold right now.

That is so good.

And uh we just really encourage you to go back and watch if you've missed any of those Sundays.

But we're talking about what it means to uh fix our eyes on the Lord and to fix our attention and our affection on the Lord.

And when we do that, over the course of our life, he shapes us into more like his son Jesus.

And so um we're talking about what worship uh the role that worship plays in our discipleship towards Jesus and so it's been a great series.

And today is gonna be really awesome.

We're gonna hear from uh some of the worship leaders uh are around our house uh talking with our pastors about what it means to uh corporately gather together and the importance of uh why we uh do corporate worship together.

So that's gonna be really cool.

I'm excited about that.

A little biased because worship well, but you know, hey, it's gonna be fun.

So uh be ready for that.

But before we get there, a couple things to know.

Yeah, we gotta download that app because uh summer jams happened.

Summer jam.

Yeah, you gotta register for that.

Yes, I think.

I don't think you can just show up and expecting to jam with us.

You gotta register.

But probably.

Let's register.

Yes.

So that we can be prepared for you.

So that you can have the best time.

And not just your kids can have the best time.

And not just kids, but adults can register.

Can they get registered volunteer to help and lend a helping hand because you know that's what it's all about, folks.

It's all about lending a helping hand.

You got time?

Let's use that for the kingdom.

Let's do it.

Right?

Don't make me preach.

Because I don't really don't because I'm not.

Okay.

Uh but anyway, so download the app because it's uh it's important and we have a lot of things going on even outside of summer gym.

I mean, we got fish for kids to be starting up in the summer.

There's just so many things that we have going on, uh, and so many ways that you can be involved during the week in our community.

And the app's gonna be the best place for you to find out what those things are and how you can help, maybe how you can give towards those, you can give uh your resources, your time.

Um, and uh we would love for you to be able to join uh with us on that.

Yeah.

That sounded like a real sentence.

That's great.

Okay, cool.

Um anyway, so download that because it's great, and um, I think that's it for my time.

Yes, right.

Uh yeah, we are punted by summer channels and one of the things that um same uh one of the things that uh you know we we've been in this initiative called Four Generations, uh talking about how we want to be a church that sows seeds of faith for the next generation.

Yeah.

Um because we believe that that is man, that's what God calls us to as his people is to reinvest the gospel in the next generation.

And Summer Jam is just a really great way to do that.

So uh if you don't know what it is, you can go on the app or the website, check it out.

But it's our weekend um where we get to invest into kiddos' lives and pour the gospel into them.

Uh so that's gonna be happening simultaneously at both of our campuses, so circle and water grove.

And we do desperately need you guys to partner with us on that um because it takes an army to pull that off at both locations.

And so if you want to volunteer uh and pour into the life of kids, man, sign up on the app.

And if you have kiddos and you want to uh reach them with a gospel, man, this is a great weekend uh for that.

So make sure you sign in once we are part.

Uh and like I said earlier, we're talking about worship today.

And speaking of worship, everybody why don't we do that?

That sounds like a natural segue.

Yeah.

See what I did there?

I have a turn take it.

Yes, you did, you did it.

Yeah.

So we're gonna worship together a little bit, and then we'll hear uh the message um and a conversation around worship, corporate worship, and we'll be back on the other side to close this out.

The funny story about worship.

Yeah.

Um, you know, the Beatles song come together, you know how the intro, like it's like dum doom doom.

You're gonna have to have a shh, like the voice.

Yeah.

So foster loved that song.

But for the longest time, he would call it whooship.

And when he was little, he would just be like, I want to listen to whooship.

And we would play worship, and he was like, nah, that's not it, and we couldn't figure it out.

And then finally, he said, Yeah, you know, you know, so we figured out that's funny.

So I just wasted 30 seconds for your time.

Let's funny short.

Let's whooship.

Let's whooship.

Let's do it.

So now I want to buy me your way.

It's the only way for me.

It's a narrow road that leads to light, but I wanna be on it.

It's a narrow road that first is fine.

Take you a tool.

But I want to be on it.

Thank you, I should have said to the love, never give up.

You've said your grace is always in love.

Said your heart, never forget or take me.

You stay upstairs, you call me yours.

You said my future of your never fail to I know that you never dare be up, never give up, stay up, stick it up, stick to the stair.

And they have four beautiful girls are like a boy thing and see them grow up and like a man in your brother who live in our community but we're gonna be here and his wife and uh beef for you.

and and and and uh and and and you know loves loves people well it is a blessing we're we're in the series and and and hannah's we're we're we're we're gonna you're gonna see what we're doing here we're tag teaming in but let me just kind of cut tell you what we've been talking about just real briefly we've been in the series called Behold and it's this idea of of of really diving in moving forward going into the deep waters of discipleship we talked about discipleship begins with beholding what does that mean it means to to set our gaze upon the face of Jesus to set our our attention our mind's attention and our heart's affection on the character and the nature of God knowing knowing who he is getting to know him at a deeper level and we said that discipleship should reflect in delight and joy joy and satisfaction not that every day is going to be um you know uh a perfect day for you but in the mid even in the midst of of just difficult things in life you know walking with Jesus transcends uh giving us a joy and a delight uh even through the midst of difficulty and so and and we're we talked last week about these practices having disciplines and practices not not to earn God's favor but but to die deeper and to know God more deeply we talked about prayer and scripture last week and and this has been kind of the anchor verse in our series 2 Corinthians 318 and it says and we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another for this comes from the Lord who is spirit and so um and so the the Bible's clear we don't follow Jesus by ourselves but we follow Jesus with um and within a community within a community and so today we're gonna talk about worship we're gonna talk about worship and we we've gone through um some difficult years um just to go back a little bit 2020 this thing called a pandemic hit us it it it it shifted our culture and and I just read a book recently that that is probably one of the first post pandemic uh research projects um and it's it's titled the dechurching of the church and it's talking about it's talking about church people not not unchurched people but church people who who who went stayed home during the pandemic and haven't come back and um and and we've experienced some of that and then uh and so uh and then as a church we we've really really taken a step to learning how to and and and and practice the way of following Jesus and and in a in a sense we we want to step out of the shallow pool into the deep end and so um we don't want to miss out miss what God has for us and so um I'm gonna I'm I'm gonna I want I'm gonna ask Hannah some questions and and let her talk a little bit um uh Hannah look here here's a question why is it so important to consider the community and corporate aspect we're talking about worship more today worship and and not personal worship we've been talking about personal discipleship the last few weeks but why is it so important to consider the community and corporate aspects of worship yeah um corporate worship is so important I think more than we actually realize um one because we're coming together as the bride of Christ um to meet with God not just about him everything that we do but we're coming to meet together with God and his presence we see gatherings of communities and worshipers all throughout scripture um so it's it's biblical it's biblical for the the gathering of the saints to come together and to worship um through song together and uh I want to read Ephesians 5 to you it's 515 through 20 and uh it says this so be careful how you live don't live like fools but like those who are wise make the most of every opportunity in these evil days don't act thoughtlessly but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life instead be filled with the Holy Spirit singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the Lord in your hearts and give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so um I know of of a few people who are like you know why why why do I have to come to church why do I why do I need to be there?

Why do we need to worship and sing songs?

Well it's very very simple but very very powerful that's what the Lord asks us to do it is biblical and it it's powerful let me let me ask you just a personal question.

So how how I I know you've got to prepare you've got to prepare you've got to you've got to know the songs I mean the technical aspect and practice and and you're leading a team at the same time but just as from the standpoint of of just preparing your heart tell me a little bit about how you prepare for a for a for a Sunday where you're gonna come before our church congregation and lead us in worship.

Yeah um this one's this one's vulnerable for me to share with you guys um it's very simple really and I think sometimes we think it it's more than it has to be um but throughout my week I'm spending time with Jesus and um that's through prayer that's through my own personal worship that's through walking through what I'm feeling being vulnerable before him and really kind of shaping my emotions and what I'm walking through that that day or that week and honing it into what is actual truth and who is God.

Who is he and what does that mean in my circumstance so personal periods of time in prayer and worship daily walking through the set is huge.

Even when we we go to prepare songs and and pray through songs that's another thing because you want to make sure that it's theologically sound.

You want to make sure that what you're singing is honoring to the Lord and that can be really tricky in nowadays time because there's a there's a lot out there that necessarily isn't biblical.

And so walking through the set praying through that asking the Holy Spirit to speak even even to us corporately not just to myself but just pleading and interceding for him to come and to speak to you all as well as we as we sing and as we worship through song.

And then I just try to yield to whatever he says and sometimes that's really really hard there have been times that I have not if I'm being transparent because it seemed weird or awkward or wasn't quite sure if I heard him right but yielding to the spirit and so an example of that is actually this morning why we're doing things backwards.

We were walking through this set last night and it just didn't feel peaceful to to start with worship when we're talking about worship but to have opportunity at the end to do worship.

And so we shifted that this morning because we felt like that was where the Holy Spirit was leading and so that's that's a great example of just trying to be yielded to whatever he wants.

Yeah that was that that was a cool Hannah texted me she said hey just thinking praying and and she said what do you think about us talking and sharing about about worship and then let's less finish this the service with worship and I was like oh that's a that that's that's that's brilliant that's so and I and I and more that not brilliant but spirit led um and that that was so good.

Well and I I'll speak to that too it it wasn't actually my idea from the get go it was actually my husband's um so men just a little little tag there it's important that you are in tune with the spirit and yielded to the spirit as well because we were walking through the set last night trying to to think about transitions and maybe what the Lord would would want for us.

And he was like have you thought about doing worship on the back half you know to me it makes a little bit more sense and so kudos to Matt as well I give him the credit and the Lord because I wasn't necessarily thinking that way until he brought that to light.

So that's important to note as well.

Thank you Matt sorry for giving her credit for but no y'all y'all are a team y'all are a team um all right here here's here's another question so so I'm I'm part of the congregation so how how would you as a worship leader like for us for that group that group that group that group how how would you like for us to prepare during the week to come together as a body as you said we're the bride of Christ um there's other other metaphors but but but as a church family how how would how would I mean I and I'm gonna be honest with you I I don't know and this is a confession uh sometimes I'm not thinking about how how I'm coming to respond I'm thinking about the sermon but but but man I think most of us don't think that way how can we be intentional about preparing to come and and and encounter the presence of God.

Yeah um first I want to know that it's it's it's not my preference for what you do and how you prepare um that doesn't matter that's not biblical for me to say I want you to prepare in this way what I would like to do is encourage you that scripture is clear on how to prepare um so worship is not it's not about my personal preference it's honestly not about your personal preference um it is biblical to pray it is biblical to read the Bible it is biblical to set aside time every single day to go and to pray to the Father we see that in the life of Jesus and so I would just encourage you that if those things are not what you're currently doing are not necessarily utmost priority to you to do that because that will change that will change the atmosphere of this room when you come in because all of our hearts are synced and aligned and united with the Father and his word and his spirit and so when we're all doing that together powerful powerful um so I would just encourage you that and then I would also encourage you I know Sundays are crazy the mornings in my house look like everyone's up by six and that is not always pretty um I have four children we have four girls if you don't know that and it can get kind of crazy um and I can be a little bit grumpy sometimes Matt can be a little bit grumpy sometimes and um it's worship is kind of probably the last thing that a lot of people think about or how I can respond.

So I would just challenge you to be thinking about that too even as you're getting ready in the morning on Sundays as you're getting everybody in the car you're getting shoes on your kids' feet like all the hard things maybe even just saying and thinking through okay Lord what do you have for me today?

You know what is it in worship that maybe you want to speak to me ready my heart ready my heart because I want to receive what you have I don't want to waste the moments that were here because they're only once a week typically so I don't want to waste I don't want to waste the time or your time or my brothers and sisters time.

What do you have for us?

What do you want to speak to me?

And so just carrying that heart posture of being open kind of like a hands up I'm coming empty handed I'm coming ready for whatever you have so that's how I would encourage you to to prepare for Sunday mornings.

Awesome awesome let's talk about why why worship it is important.

I mean why what what is what what is some of the scriptures we we have why why worship why why why music why why singing right let we come together why what what do some of the scriptures say about that and and and why we worship and and why we sing songs.

Yeah um worship ultimately the goal is to bring glory to God um that's our that's our entire heartbeat when we come in the morning is okay Lord how can we honor you?

How can we bless you even down to the songs what is it that you want to hear you know what do you want your bride to sing back to you and uh all throughout Psalms all throughout Old Testament and New Testament you see people coming and worshiping the Lord and uh Psalm 86 says this all the nations you have made shall come and worship before you O Lord they shall glorify your name for you are great and do wondrous things you alone are God and that's really just one example of very very many of why worship is important.

And um you see all throughout scripture you know people worshiping with tambourine they're singing songs to the Lord with the harp and the lyre and um especially Psalm you read about David and and how he creates songs for the congregations to sing.

And um so and David was a man after God's own heart.

So if David's doing it I kind of want to like follow suit even if if Jesus wasn't enough like um I want I want to do that and I want to to honor the Lord through music as best I can because he created it and he gifted people in that way that's good that's good.

Let's talk about the uh how we're made for worship um I mean I it I it it I I think I think we see this sometimes in our in our just the the natural part of our life I'm I I think probably as parents and the and and we are we are overwhelmed you know with the with the with the birth of a child and or or or a child that's brought into our life maybe even you know uh through adoption but just the the the way that we look at our kids we're just we're just enamored with them um I think uh in the way that we respond sometimes uh in celebration of of of things going on in life celebration of um of of a marriage celebration I mean what do we do when we I mean we we and we dance and we and and we we have a party right and so we're we're I think it I I think we're just naturally made to respond you know for for worship but how's that how how how let's talk about that a little bit um how we're made for worship and maybe even even move into how our emotions play do play a role now we you know the the Baptist automatically you you you Baptist out there you for former Baptist or current recovering that's me that's me you know and and uh you know I I I've been in a a bunch of worlds uh in ecumenically but um we we were taught something that emotions were were bad don't don't don't be led by your emotions don't don't don't don't get emotional you know in church man we you know we're stoic i mean all the deacons i i I remember I literally remember when I first came to Christ and and I and I went to a church specific church and I'm I asked my brother why all the men out front were mad you know why are they frowning and he said well the the the deacon meeting maybe didn't go so well the night before or whatever I don't know but but how how about you know the you know we're made for worship and how our emotions play a role.

Yeah um and I kind of just want to speak into the difference between worship and music um because here on Sundays and and if you're a believer worship and music is one and the same somewhat but there's a little bit of a difference.

So we were created for God's glory and worship can mean many many things worship is a part of of how God created us to magnify the name of the Lord to sing back his praises and his character but there's actually been scientific studies done and I want to share this quote with you just about how music not necessarily worship but music in general has an effect on us.

It's very long so bear with us.

The neuroscience shows that when we sing our neurotransmitters connect in new and different ways firing up the right temporal lobe of our brain we don't typically use this part we are mainly a left brain dominant society so anything that forces us to use our right side is worth doing.

But singing is one of the only things we do that forces both sides of our brain to work in tandem.

So it fires up the right side of our brain releasing endorphins that make us smarter healthier happier more creative and you know what's really great about all this when we do it with other people the effects are amplified.

Recent studies measured the level of oxytocin the hormone responsible for pleasure love bonding in a group of people before and after singing sessions and the levels increase significantly after singing sessions.

It literally at a biological level is an anti-stress antidepressant and it also releases dopamine.

Further international research shows the benefits of singing learning a language and other skills for healing strokes speech abnormalities and depression also is a form of therapy for dementia dementia Alzheimer's according to other publications and that's by Tanya DeJang but like science even proves that music has an effect on our brain it has an effect on our emotion it has an effect on how we think how we feel and so I want to talk about just a little bit the difference between worship and music.

Music is wonderful and every single song that has been written has been written to stir your emotions to make you feel something whether it's sadness or happiness or sorrow or expectancy or whatever it is every single song that you've ever heard moves you to feel something.

And the difference between worship and music is that we use music and worship to honor the Lord.

And so this is why it's so so so important that what you're listening to throughout the week music wise is stewarded will because it moves you whether you realize it or not and what I want to do what we want to do as the bride of Christ is only be moved toward the Lord only be moved all of our affection all of our attention we want it all to go to him and so I would just encourage you to be mindful even through the week what you're putting in your body what you're putting in your mind because it has the ability to help you release things but we want to release those things to the Lord so that's so good.

That's so good.

You know Matthew 22 great we call it the great commandment you must love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul and all your mind this is the first and greatest commandment.

And so I let me let me just speak let me speak to the emotion part is is is emotions are not bad when it comes to loving Jesus.

They're not because we we we show emotions in a lot of different areas in life we show emotions um you know when uh when our kids do something whether whether it's you know they're they're dancing or performing or or playing and we show emotions um you know I I I'm I'm a sports fan.

I'm a big sports fan but but I want you to I don't I don't talk a lot about sports.

I used to bring up sports in church but I got a little bit tired of people barking And and whooping.

Whooping?

Is that not?

Yeah.

Whatever.

Hooping.

Hooping.

Whooping and hollering.

Hooping and hollering.

Hooping.

You need a whooping.

I got time.

I'm just being real.

I'm being honest.

You know, I we you know, as a as a like a football fan, I have a team that that is it remains nameless right now because I know how all of you are gonna act.

You can't because you can't control your emotions.

They won two national championships, and I didn't mention a word about it in the middle of all that.

You know why?

Because I got tired of people hooping and hollering and and then coming in when we have the best worship leaders, I mean, who who not, and when I say best, I mean they're talented, but their their hearts are are leading us to focus our minds' attention and our hearts' affection on the Lord, and and here we are.

We come in here with our arms across.

And I don't know what that does to you.

No comment.

No comment.

But uh so we you know that I feel like we've got to sometimes we've gotta we are emotional people.

God created us that way.

We've got to direct our emotions, and it's not wrong to have emotions, I think, in in some of those other areas of life, but when we're emotional in those areas and then we come and we're stoic, and we and I can't tell whether you love Jesus or not, then there's there's a problem.

Okay, let's see.

I I'm a preacher, I can I can get on to them.

Um all right, uh talk about um how a little bit about singing um and how it it kind of bypasses this natural resistance we have sometimes.

You know, we're talking about emotions a little bit in Colossians 3.16.

Yeah, so Colossians 3.16 says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God, similar to what Ephesians says.

And um, yeah, songs have a way of getting within you and sticking in your mind.

I bet all of us in here can at least repeat three songs that we've heard our entire lives, and we can have each of those songs tied to a memory or a moment or a person.

And um, this is why you can oh, I already said that.

We memorize songs so easily.

Uh, what if we memorize songs that declare the truth of God?

You know, the world is so full of things that are not of Him.

And um it is super easy to be thwarted in a different direction or to not be surrendered fully in your emotions and your thoughts.

And I struggle with this too.

I'm not I'm not preaching to you, I'm I'm sharing because this is where I've been and where where my battle lies a lot of the time, um, that we have to surrender our emotions, we have to surrender our thoughts, we have to surrender what we're putting in to live holy and blameless lives, because all it takes is one word or one idea from a song or one moment to change our mind to where it's not surrendered under the word of God and under the Lord.

Um so I just want to encourage you, even now, who are you singing to?

When you're in the car during the day, when you're you know going about your day at work, when you have music playing, who are you singing to?

Who are you singing for?

What's it about?

Is it holy?

Is it blameless?

Is it true?

Um, what are you singing about?

What heart posture are you singing from, even music has always been a part of my life, um, and I credit my dad for that.

He taught us a lot of what we know, uh, which is really beautiful.

Um, but there are songs that I can relate to that are, you know, super loud and super rock, and I'm like, yes, I'm channeling my anger, you know, I can I can feel this in my soul.

But that's not necessarily right.

You know, if it's not if it's not speaking to the Lord's goodness and it's not helping you to process what you're feeling with him, I would I would challenge you just to really think about that.

Even what we're we're letting our children listen to, uh, we have to be really careful because our children are so susceptible to the things of the world, and we sometimes think nothing of it.

Oh, it's just a song.

Oh, it's just a story.

Okay, but is it pointing them back to Jesus?

Is it giving him glory?

Is it bringing him honor?

So just even thinking about your heart posture as you listen to songs, you know, is it is this song trying to deter me away from what actual truth is?

That's good.

That's good.

Um how about how about worship as as as warfare?

What role does worship and singing play in spiritual warfare?

And and and I and I asked that question, you know, almost feeling the need to just remind all of us that we are in a battle.

We are in a battle.

We are in a war.

And that started that war started in the Garden of Eden with rebellion against the holy God.

And so humanity said, hey, we're not gonna obey, and and they suffered the consequences in every sense.

You know, um uh Satan was banished from heaven with one-third of the angelic host down to earth, and and and we're we are in a battle, and that that battle seems to have intensified, it's intensified over the course of the last uh few years with the pandemic and and and the battle is over our hearts, it's over the hearts and the minds of people.

And so the enemy, um, and so how uh man, worship is a is such a tool to to play in the in this spiritual war that we're we're in.

Yeah, I think there are there are a lot of unseen things.

The Bible speaks to that, that our war is not against flesh and blood, but against the unseen things, the principalities, um, that we don't necessarily see day in and day out.

And so, you know, worship or war even started prior to the garden.

Uh it started with the fallen angels.

And um, worship and singing is scripture and prayer, essentially.

And uh, we're fighting the enemy with the very things that God gave us to equip us for battle.

And um, I want to share this.

This is kind of the story of the enemy and his fall.

The very beginning of the rebellion against God started when worship went wrong.

Satan, the archangel who was in charge of worship in heaven, decided to try and steal it for himself.

This quote uh from Zach Hicks is super powerful.

It says, Worship is the front lines of humanity's struggle against the devil.

Because worship is the front lines of the enemy's rebellion against God.

And uh I think we don't relate the two a lot, and you may not have known that.

I I didn't know that for many years.

Um but we are using the very tool that the enemy was given originally to fight him, which is insane to me.

It's it's amazing.

And so when we come here on a s on a Sunday morning or we get together for a worship night, in my mind, all of us, because we are the body of Christ and we are the armor bearers, we are we are fighting in his name, we're coming together, and the worship is a war cry.

It's our war cry back to heaven, and it lets the enemy know hey, we're not we're not here to play around.

We're not here.

We are gonna stand on the firm foundation, which is Christ, and we're gonna do that together.

And there's nothing that you can do because Jesus has already won.

And so we're coming together, and worship becomes our battle cry.

And when we are united in spirit and in truth, because we have all been seeking the Lord through throughout the week and on our own, I mean powerful.

Powerful.

You think about the story of Paul and Silas.

If you haven't read it, find it in the Bible, it's amazing.

But their chains literally fell off in prison because they started to worship.

What that's huge.

That's huge.

So so maybe you've come in this morning with fear, you've come with anxiety.

We have the power through Jesus and what he's given us, he's equipped us with to say chains fall in the name of Jesus, and they will.

So I think we come around sometimes walking feeling powerless and feeling discouraged, and I'm the same, I can do that.

It's easy for the enemy to get me, which is why I have to be so consistent with my time with the Lord so that I can fight.

And um yeah, worship, worship is powerful.

I think God loves to hear us sing.

And and despite despite whether or not you can sing on key.

And and so uh God loves our singing.

He listen, he loves it.

And and and when when you guys, and uh, I know sometimes it's it's those songs that you know, that you know, and you you're able to really belt it out.

But God loves to hear us sing.

Just a few scriptures here.

Zephaniah 3.17 says, For the Lord your God is living among you.

He is a mighty Savior, he will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he can calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

There's times that that I know our team, you know, sometimes that they're they're singing over us, almost in a sense, bringing the Lord's, the Lord's presence and his voice singing over us.

It says he will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Uh Psalm 22, 3 says, God inhabits the praises of his people.

And you go to Revelation, I mean, we um, you know, it it talks about some odd things, odd images, but but they're powerful.

Revelation 4.

Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out, day after day, night after night, they kept on singing.

It makes me think of Isaiah chapter 6 and Isaiah's vision that God gave him.

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

And but but it but it goes on to say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.

And so um, I mean, we have probably more scriptures than time.

And so um, what is the point of expressing ourselves in worship?

Um there's just the last thing for you, Hannah.

Um the these uh there's commands, that some of these are commands, um, but they're very they're they're they talk about our physical expression.

Uh lifting hands, bowing down, clapping, shouting, and uh I'll go back some some somewhere along the line, somebody told you that, you know, we don't clap in church.

I'm telling I I know.

I I know I know I I know I know that's the case.

Somebody told you to suppress your emotions.

Don't get don't get too carried away like those people down the street.

Well, you know what?

I want to be those people down the street, and I want us to get carried away with Jesus.

And and so um, but but talk to speaking of that for a second.

Yeah, um I mean all throughout scripture, especially in Psalms, you you hear over and over again, be glad, lift your hands, lift your voices, make a joyful noise, shout unto God, bow down in reverence towards him.

And um, I was reading earlier this week in the Word, and it was when Jesus healed um the paralytic, I believe.

And after he healed him, his first response was to fall down and worship, to fall down and worship.

And I think for me, I didn't have a hard life.

Um I came to know the Lord at an early age, and so sometimes I think it's really hard for me to remember because I didn't walk through a whole lot to remember the actual depth of what Jesus did for me and how he made a way.

I'm about to get emotional, so you guys just bear with me.

Um he made a way, and that's enough for me to do anything, for me to cry and worship, for me to dance or to shout, um, to be undignified like David, um, because he's worthy of everything that I have.

Every note, every chord, every word, every yielding moment to the spirit.

He is worth every single thing.

And um, I think that the the enemy wants us to hide that, to suppress that sometimes, out of fear of what people may think, or out of religion, even, if you've been taught that that's not okay or that's weird.

There are so many more things in scripture that are much more weirder than us lifting our hands and and singing out loud.

Um so yeah, I mean it's it's biblical, and I would just challenge you, you know, if you're feeling something, if the Lord is speaking to you, be in that moment with him.

Don't let it, don't let it pass you by.

That's a moment that the Lord can heal your heart, that he can express to you, hey, pray for this person right now and worship, and that person could be healed or set free because of your obedience and because he wants to meet you there in that moment.

Um so I would just I would challenge you just to be free.

Be free in that.

There's freedom to worship him how he how he wants you to, or how the Holy Spirit leads you to respond, even.

Yeah, Psalm 32 says 11 says, Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Psalm 47, one, clap your hands, all you people.

Shout to God with loud songs of joy.

You know why we play loud music?

Because of that verse.

Amen.

Yeah.

And so um come let us bow down and worship.

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

That's why we would come.

That's there, there's something about coming to the altar.

And I know we don't practice, we're not necessarily a church that always is inviting people, but I want you to want us to be a church with the freedom for you to come and to bow or bow at your chair.

Um uh I will praise you, Psalm 63, 4.

I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

And so um I I I I um we can go ahead, Hannah, and get ready to for to close out.

We're gonna close out with with um practicing what we're preaching, right?

That's a literal opportunity for us.

And so um, you know, I my story is so different than Hannah's.

And so as an 18-year-old, um, I didn't I didn't know the Lord.

And so I I I came to Christ, my my an older brother, my older brother who's now in heaven, he he stayed after me.

He stayed after me.

And I came to Christ, and I came to Christ in a church where worship was there there was a lot of freedom, and and and worship was very expressive.

And and I, so I didn't have I didn't have physical, I didn't have biological parents to model to me what it meant to worship.

I had spiritual parents, I had spiritual parents who adopted me, and I would sit with them, and I would stand with them, and I would watch them worship.

And and I'm telling you, there's more caught than taught.

And so we we sometimes have our older kids come in for the portion of worship early in the service to come in.

And and we're, you know, that's intentional, is to try to give them a taste of what it's like to be in big church and and to watch the grown-ups worship.

My question is, are you are are we modeling what what biblical worship is based on what we've talked about today, which is not our it's not something we all came up with.

We just said, hey, let's go to the scriptures.

Let's go to the scriptures.

And so I'm gonna ask you to stand and um I'm gonna pray, and our team is gonna lead us in a time of corporate family worship.

Uh yeah, if I can get a couple guys help, maybe Jonah with the table and chairs.

Um let's pray, let's pray together.

Let's just pray.

Father, we come right now, just saying that this is your time.

This is your time.

It's not my time.

It's not, it's not, it's not about um uh uh it's not about a team playing instruments.

It is about, it is all about Jesus.

It is your time, and we give it to you, and we come to you.

God, we come to you.

We know that this morning we are fighting, and we are literally in a war.

We know that worship can be our war cry, and we want to break down the strongholds of the enemy and the devil and darkness.

And so right now, God, we come to say that this is your time and it's all about you.

And we lift up the name of Jesus.

We come, whether it's clapping our hands, shouting our voices, lifting a hand, uh bowing down before the Lord, Lord, let us not, let us do anything except be um indifferent.

Indifferent.

God, let's fight that spirit of indifference.

We are here to come and lift your name up and to worship you.

It's in Christ's name we pray.

Hey, thank you so much for uh worshiping or worshiping worshiping together with us.

Um right now.

Um Jesus.

Yeah, it's fine.

It's okay.

It works.

Um we do hope you are encouraged and challenged around God's word and just this conversation of uh the importance of the uh the significance of the family coming together and worshiping uh corporately together.

Man, God has designed us.

We were created, we were made to worship.

You and I were, and so uh the importance of what happens when we uh come together.

Yeah, um, man, we just can't overstate that enough.

And so we are grateful for online and things that we can do like this, but we do challenge you, man.

Maybe the next step for you is to come and be part of a corporate gathering in a room and just see what happens uh when uh you experience a room like that with God's people worshiping together.

I was even uh reading an article the other day, or at least with a TED Talk actually, uh, and this this lady who has a um basically an organization that.

It does group sing therapy so that people can reap the benefits of what uh what happens when we sing together in a crowd.

Um she talked about how uh chemically what it releases in our body is like all of the anti-stress hormones and all of the happiness hormones.

And so um, even on a physiological level, like it's just science is catching up to what God has already ordained and designed that you were made for worship.

And when you do, uh then it it affects you, it changes you not only physiologically, but it it shapes us and our discipleship too, to become more like Jesus.

And so um think about that uh over this next week and think about how you can reorient your life around worship, both uh privately but also corporately together.

And if there's any other next steps that you need to take, we'd love to have you do that.

So if you would text start to follow, uh all one word to follow to 9700.

We want to give you some resources for your journey and help you become more like Jesus because we believe that's what that's what it's all about.

A minute ago when you said you were listening to TED Talk, I thought I was trying to figure out who we knew the listening Ted Talk.

Oh, because I I missed it.

That's okay, but uh but I caught up.

I caught up, I figured out.

Uh, anyways, we're so glad that you hung out with us this morning.

Again, there's so many places that you could be, so many things that you could be watching right now or doing, and the fact that you're here, we're we're grateful for your time.

Uh we would encourage you to come be with us, just as Brennan said, not only to reap some anti-stress benefits by singing along with the crowd, but just come hang out with us and um just be in the room with us.

There's something about that, and uh, we would just love to meet you and shake your hand.

Um if there's anything that we can do for you this week, let us know.

Don't forget, download the app, sign up for Summer Jam, sign up to kiddos, sign up to help.

Um it's a great, great weekend um that happens on both campuses at the same time, and it's just so much fun.

So encourage you, please, please, please do that.

Um, and let us know if there's anything we can do to help you out.

Love you guys, and we'll see you next week.