God's top 10 list of True Worship

True worship?

Lights... Camera... Action...

I remember being caught in the trap that worship was a 45 minute light and sound show.

Now I could probably use a swing back in that direction. Corporate “worship” (aka singing worship songs) is far from worship.

There’s some health to that and some sickness.

With that said, here is a lost of what God says true worship is: (Isaiah 58)

        1.) Free those who are wrongly imprisoned
        2.) Lighten the burden of those who work for you
        3.) Let the oppressed go free (remove the yoke)
        4.) Remove the chains of blind people
        5.) Share your food with the hungry and shelter the homeless
        6.) Give clothes to those who need them
        7.) Do not hide from relatives who need your help
        8.) Stop pointing fingers and spreading viscous rumors
        9.) Help those in trouble
        10.)Keep the Sabbath Day (do not pursue your own gain for one day per week)
        

Wow! Sitting in a nice building with lights and sound and fog machines and cool guitars sounds great!

This stuff is hard.

I just returned from my annual trek from the Alaskan Bush and this is the scripture that God worked in me.

I made a table that looked like this...

Worship                                 Home                        Work                Community

Underneath each of these I listed what each of the top 10 “worship styles” looks like in my life regarding what I do at home, at work and in my faith community and my geographic community. It was an eye opening exercise. Try it, you’ll have a very different perspective of worship, I promise!

What I found was that each of these required a death to self and some form of discipline.

Corporate experiences is certainly an important part of worship, but we miss the fullness of worship when we fail to put it in the context of giving ourselves away for others.



6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
9 Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
10 Feed the hungry,
and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
giving you water when you are dry
and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like an ever-flowing spring.
12 Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
and a restorer of homes.

13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath
and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14 Then the Lord will be your delight.
I will give you great honor
and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”