In our last visit we began a chapter study of Psalm 96. We identified a title and key verse, stated the significant truth, listed some cross references and shared a challenge.
Now we need to organize the material into an outline. The title: Responsible Freedom in Worship Evangelism. The main points are:
1. The reasons why all creation should worship God. Reasons for worship are many. Begin with the natural universe, verses 11-13, then consider the attributes and actions of God mentioned throughout the Psalm.
2. The responsibility to encourage all creation to worship God. Our responsibility is twofold: to worship God ourselves and to encourage all people to worship Him.
3. The response God is looking for in our worship. The response God is looking for in our worship includes understanding the uniqueness of God and then sing songs of praise to Him.
The action words in this Psalm are sing, proclaim, declare, ascribe, worship, tremble, and say. These are verbal, emotional and physical ways of letting God know that you acknowledge His greatness and glory. You do it privately, spontaneously, publicly and demonstratively.
On further reflection, I realized, often my worship is not characterized by these qualities. It should not surprise me if the people around me are not motivated to follow me in my worship because that ring of authenticity is sometimes lacking. I need to ask God to inspire within me authenticity in my worship, and then trust God to inspire others into authentic worship.
