Preparing the Way of the Lord!
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the opportunity to worship You today and every day, and for being worthy of my worship and praise! I pray that You will glorify Yourself in my life today by filling me with Your Holy Spirit and empowering every thought, word and action of this day to draw others to You. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen
God’s Word Today
(Since the focus of worship Dec. 12, is the Children’s Program “Cradle to Crowns,” the Scripture readings this week will come from the program. We will expand on each of the Scriptures and invest a couple days to examining each!
Isaiah 9:6-7
6For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this!
Psalm 149:1-4
1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.
2 O Israel, rejoice in your Maker. O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King.
3 Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.
4 For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.
Revelation 4:9-11
9Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.”
Reflecting on God's Word
When do you find yourself the most ready to praise the Lord?
A Deeper Exploration of God's Word
How does the psalmist call us to praise God? (149:1-2)
What titles does the psalmist give God in this reading? (149:1-2)
Understanding God's Word
What do we learn about God from this Scripture?
What do we learn about true worship from this reading?
Applying God's Word to Our Lives
What does today’s Scripture call you to do, that you have not been doing in your life?
Thoughts...Sing to The Lord a New Song!
We find many exhortations to sing songs of praise to the Lord in the Bible and some of the call us to sing “new” songs to the Lord? Why? First, we’re called to sing songs of praise to the Lord, because only He is worthy of worship, and singing has always been one of humanity’s chief means of worship. We’re called to sing new songs, because the nature of God makes it impossible to exhaust our expression of praises to Him. Over the past several decades the “contemporary” Christian music movement has swept across America, and much of the world. While the style of the music is new—the writing of new songs to the Lord is as old as the psalmists! They were writing new songs in their day, as folks do in ours, because they wanted to offer God everything He deserved, starting with passionate worship. May we sing in our hearts today, to glorify God who is present with us through Jesus. Who knows? Maybe God will fill us with a new song, that we can use to offer Him the fullness of our worship!