The Heart of Worship

Nikolle Bauder • April 21, 2021

Summary of sermon on Matthew 15:1-19 from Pastor Lance Shumake..

Every so often, Jesus gives us a warning that causes us to sit up straight and examine ourselves.

Such a time occurs in our text this week, Matthew 15:1-9, where Jesus calls out the Pharisees and scribes for being “hypocrites!” and honoring God only with their lips, and not their hearts. He tells them their worship is in vain.


On Sunday, Pastor Shu called to mind the story of the Prodigal Son.


The father in the story has two sons, (1) the son who ran far from his father, who pursued his flesh and all the ways of the world, who eventually realized the road he was on was a dead end, so he went back to his Father. And (2) the son who remained with his father the entire time, but could not forgive his father for letting his brother back into the family at the end of the story.


The picture painted here gives us two examples of how your heart can be far from God: 


(1) You can be far away and chasing your own fleshly desires; or 


(2) you can be right where you’re supposed to be… attending church, serving, singing the songs… but subtly believing that God owes you something. This person might think, “If I do enough good things, God is going to owe me some blessings and a good life.” 


When our hearts are far from God…


...we become more concerned with traditions than honoring God’s word.


...we tend to be judgemental toward others.


...we focus on ourselves more than God.


...we worship in vain.

The truth is, Jesus is after our HEARTS. We are called to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.” This starts with the heart; our core; our emotional being.


A song that we worship with together on Sunday mornings calls us to sing, “from the moment that I wake up, until I lay down my head. I will sing the goodness of God.”


Another to sing, “I won't bow to idols, I'll stand strong and worship You

And if it puts me in the fire, I'll rejoice 'cause You're there too

I won't be formed by feelings, I hold fast to what is true

If the cross brings transformation then I'll be crucified with You”


When we sing these words on Sunday mornings, we must ask… do we mean them with our hearts?


Amos 5:21-24 tells us, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”


Jesus wants our worship to be genuine. He wants it to be from the heart.


Thankfully, He did not leave us hanging on what this looks like. The Psalms overflow with true, heart-felt worship and we can learn a lot from what they tell us.


First, that genuine worship  is grounded in God’s word. Worship comes from understanding who God is, what He has done for us, what He’s doing, and what He is calling us to. When we are centered on the Word of God, His truth informs our hearts and the worship that pours out.


Genuine worship looks like...


—grieving over our sin


“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” - Psalm 51:17


—longing for God


“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” - Psalm 63:1


—being in awe of God


“Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” - Psalm 33:8


—giving thanks to God


“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” - Psalm 100:4


—rejoicing in God


“Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” - Psalm 32:11


—hoping in the Lord


“My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.” - Psalm 119:81



Genuine worship is a response to God.


When we think about the truth of who God is and what He has done for us, and we let this truth inform our hearts, it overflows into a life of genuine awe and worship.


When we are focused on the truth of the gospel and how God forgives us, pursues us, and loves us, our hearts follow. 


Our whole beings rejoice! 


And we get to worship God in response… with our songs, with our service, with our attendance, and with our lives!

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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