NWLC Notes: Day 1

NWLC General Session - Monday evening July 21, 2008 at 7:00pm. Worship was led by Sarah Kelly, Jonathan Noel, Matt Redman, and Paul Baloche. Pastor Skip Heitzig spoke on worship:

1. Worship is a RESPONSE to God - We love Him because He first loved us.
2. Worship is a PROPER response to God - Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)
3. Worship is a proper response to God THAT COMES FROM THE HEART - God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
4. Worship is a proper response to God that comes from the heart WHERE WE PUT GOD ABOVE EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
5. Worship is defined in relationship. It means looking at who He is AND who we are.
   He is the creator ... We are the created
   He is the Sustainer ... We are the sustained
   He is the redeemer ... We are the redeemed
   He is the Master ... We are the slaves
6. 45 years ago, A.W. Tozer wrote that "worship is the missing jewel of the evangelical church." In many churches, it is still the missing jewell.
7. We often rate or critique our "worship experience," but we need to remember that worship is about ascribing "worth" to God. It's not about how you felt about it. Did you give Him worth? Is what you gave to God in worship (as a congregation, as an individual) worthy of God? Our worship should say "I'm preoccupied with God."
8. Worship IS emotional. Why do we feel that our enthusiasm for God must be carefully contained?
9. If God has given you a beautiful voice, then make it your instrument of praise. If God has not given you a beautiful voice, then give it back to Him (in praise) :-) No matter what, the voice that God gave you IS an adequate instrument of worship.
10. Remember in our worship, that God is not impressed with "secret admirers."