Changed as We Adore the Lord
Sermon Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Charles Drew
Sermon Series: How Praying Changes Us
Psalm 96 (ESV)
1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Luke 19:37-42 (ESV)
37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
Sermon Outline
1. We adore God because it is inevitable
I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. (Luke 19.40)
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Mt. 12:34)
2. We adore God because it changes us for the better
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life (Pv. 15:4)
3. We adore God because he is wonderful
He loves us so much that he became our Redeemer
Prayer of Confession
Majestic and loving God, you are good, faithful, unchanging, gracious, forgiving, and holy. You are worthy of all our attention, gratitude, trust, and praise; and it is only a matter of time before the whole creation will joyfully acknowledge you. We confess that we do not adore you as we should. We confess that we are too readily preoccupied with our own concerns, fears, cravings, and agendas. We confess that we do not pray enough, and when we do, our prayers tend to be too full of our own needs and not full enough of your worthiness. Spirit of Christ, thank you that you are alive in us, teaching us to pray. Lord Jesus, thank you that you died for us, bearing the punishment for our selfishness. Blessed Father, thank you for sending the Spirit and the Son to us. Lord God, thank you that we will soon put everything in and around us right. Alleluia. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
Read Psalm 96 and Luke 19:37-42 aloud.
How many verbs are there in Psalm 96? What are they urging us to do? List the reasons the psalm gives us for doing so (there are at least seven).
What does Psalm 96 have in common with Luke 19:40a?
Of the five principal forms of prayer (lamentation, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication—think LACTS) adoration is that most difficult because it has nothing to do with us (we tend to be into ourselves). Adoration is the practice by which we forget ourselves and simply celebrate God, telling him about himself and revelling in the telling.
Analyze your practice of adoration: how many minutes did you devote to it over the past week; what inhibits the practice for you; what enhances the practice?Reflect on the following statement:
“We may need to repent of filling our mouths with unbelieving and cynical words. To put the matter more positively, we may need to remember Pvbs 15.4: A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, where we are told that healthy speech (which includes praise) brings us back to the Garden Eden. We may need to take to heart the repeated urgings of Psalm 96: Sing…sing…sing…. We may need to surrender our habits of speech to the rule of Jesus Christ by choosing to make praise more routinely a part of how we approach him. Do this, and conviction and joy will rise. Adoration will usher us into Reality—for when we adore God, we meet him. Adoration will do us good. It will change us.”Spend five minutes simply adoring God—simply telling him about himself. Take care not to let your prayers “morph” away from adoration. Don’t, for example, pray this way: “Lord we worship you for your great power and love…help us to celebrate your power and love more” (starting with “help” you have morphed into supplication).
Begin by reading aloud Romans 11:33-36:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.