The 500th Anniversary of the New Testament in the Language of the People 1522 – 2022
The Bible in 3-D
Hymn – Here I am to Worship (Tim Hughes and Joel Engle, 2005)
Why do we Worship?
John 4: 21-24 21“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa9oCBTe5Qk
Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness,
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You,
Hope of a life spent with You.
So here I am to worship;
Here I am to bow down;
Here I am to say that
You’re my God.
And You’re altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.
King of all days, oh, so highly exalted,
Glorious in heaven above,
Humbly You came
To the earth You created,
All for love’s sake became poor.
So here I am to worship;
Here I am to bow down;
Here I am to say that
You’re my God.
And You’re altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.
Here I am to worship;
Here I am to bow down;
Here I am to say that
You’re my God.
And You’re altogether lovely,
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me.
And I’ll never know
How much it cost
To see my sin
Upon that cross.
Refrain
“I’d been reading about the cross and thinking through Jesus’ amazing sacrifice,” Tim Hughes says he was reading about the cross and thinking of Jesus’ amazing sacrifice. of the lyrical theme. “Sometimes when God meets with us we don’t quite know how to respond properly. It’s often too much for us to take in. Hopefully in a small way the chorus captures that: ‘Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you’re my God. You’re altogether lovely, worthy, wonderful.'”
“The main motivation behind the song was simply trying to capture a response to Jesus giving up his throne in Heaven to walk upon the earth and ultimately to die upon a cross,” he confirms. “For me personally, it’s been very exciting and a real privilege to see how God has used the song.” https://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/song-story-here-i-am-to-worship-1227531.html
Think of worship as a time when God speaks with us. Focus on Absolution (Forgiveness) instead of Confession, the meaning of God’s presence in the Creed, God speaking His Word through the Bible, God’s grace in Holy Communion, and God’s hug in the Benediction (“The Lord bless you and keep you.” The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace.”) We worship the things we love. For some it is material things. For those of us who have faith, we love Jesus Christ! Worship is our response to God’s love and amazing grace.
Martin Luther explains the importance of worship:
“To gather with God’s people in united adoration of the Father is as necessary to the Christian life as prayer.”
“Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.”
“The God whom we worship is not a weak and incompetent God. He is able to beat back gigantic waves of opposition and to bring low prodigious mountains of evil. The ringing testimony of the Christian faith is that God is able.”
“The worship of God….should be free at table, in private rooms, downstairs, upstairs, at home, abroad, in all places, by all peoples, at all times.”
Comments: hbitten@reverendluther.org
Bible 500 