The worship of a follower of Jesus
by Pastor Glenn Crouch
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I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart (Psalm 138:1a).
Read Psalm 138
Do you find some places more worshipful than others? Out in the bush? Looking up at the night sky? Walking along the beach? Watching the skies afire with lightning? Think of a place like that as you read this psalm. Better yet, if you can, go to a place like that and read this psalm. It is good to worship our Lord – yes, you can do that wherever you are. Remember Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail (Acts 16).
There is also something wonderful about worshipping with fellow followers of Jesus and knowing that we are coming together in God’s presence. In our gathering, we join in with those already with our Lord Jesus – and all of heaven – in worshipping our Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For those who originally sang this psalm, it is about going to the temple. For us, it may be a Sunday worship time or some other gathering where we come together to hear his word, sing his praises and receive forgiveness. I think our worship goes to the next level when we can gather around his table and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus, where we receive all he has done for us.
As we come and worship our Lord and God, we realise how much more praise he deserves. As the Spirit within us joins in the worship, we are refreshed – we are renewed. This is what truly amazes me: We come to bring our praise and thanks for all that he has done for us, and in doing that, we receive far more than we give! How great is our God!
A good exercise is to take a psalm (such as today’s) – or a passage from it – and turn it into your prayer. Give it a try!
Great and merciful God, grant me the words so I can praise you – not only on Sundays but every day. Renew in me the joy of your salvation. Above all, I want to thank you for my Lord Jesus. Thank you for his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension and promised return. O, my Father, how great you are! Amen.
Glenn is the pastor of St John’s Lutheran Church in Esperance and looks after St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Kalgoorlie–Boulder, Western Australia. Glenn and Karen have been married since 1985. They have two grown sons and are enjoying regular video chats with their first grandchild.
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