The Heart of WorshipMuskoka Lakes Ministry of Knox, Port Carling & Zion, Torrance
Sunday August 22, 2021
Message: The Heart of Worship
Reverend Glynis Faith
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Announcements
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* Monday evening 7pm via Zoom ~ ‘The Story’ study group meets
* Thursday evening 7:30 pm via Zoom ~ the Bible study group meets
* KNOX – there is a ‘coffee hour’ signup sheet downstairs on the side door where coffee is served after the service. Please consider if you are able to help out, and if so, please sign up for a week that works for you.
* Rev. Faith will be taking holidays Aug 30 – Sept 19. Should a pastoral need arise during this time, please contact your elder.
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Prayer of Adoration & Confession
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Lord God, your power is displayed throughout the universe from the strength of the tiny ant to the graceful movement of the great blue whale as it glides through the oceans. How awesome it is to observe and wonder at all You have made.

The birds sing your praises, the rustling leaves whisper Your name, the waters splash across the rocks as it travels down the brook singing ‘How great is my God.’

Truly, O Lord, You are great and awesome and worthy of our praise.

All praise, all glory, all honour belongs rightfully to you – To You and You alone belongs our worship, yet we confess we don’t always give priority to worshipping You. There are many things that vie for our attention, our time, our energy, and we can put worship aside for awhile. Sometimes we go through the motions of worship, failing to realize that motions without sincerity are void. Lord, forgive us for our empty worship. Forgive us when we fail to praise Your Name. Forgive us when we soak in the beauty and joys of nature and fail to consider the sovereign hand that provided us such a gift. Forgive us Lord, and help us to get back into the heart of worship – true worship – worship focussed on You. This we pray in Jesus’ Name. AMEN

WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Friends, Jesus came to show us the Glory of God and to teach us how to worship God in spirit and in truth. He also came to died for our sins, that all who confess their sins will be washed clean – forgiven. Thanks be to God, in Jesus we find forgiveness. AMEN
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Prayer of Intercession
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Loving God, bless us with hearts that pray continuously and actions that respond to the needs You bring before us.
Hear the prayers we bring before You now, Lord.
- We lift up the health concerns of our family, friends and neighbours. Just as You know each of their names, You also know each of their needs. We pray for these needs now.
- In the midst of an ongoing pandemic, Lord, we lift up the needs of all people to You. This is one of those situations where we can see how connected we are, not just with the neighbours who live close to us, but to our global neighbours – our brothers and sisters around the world. At times like this we are reminded of the importance of making sure EVERYONE has access to vaccines, protective equipment and medical supplies. Lord, give us hearts that care beyond our borders.
- We hold up our prayers for the people of Afghanistan and for all people who flee from war. We pray for people living in oppressive situations and for those who fear for their life and the lives of their family.
- We offer our prayers for the people of Haiti. We pray for their immediate needs, and we pray for their future as they once again begin to rebuild.
- As we pray into the needs of our family, friends and neighbours near and far, we also pray for an outpouring of Your Spirit. May people far and wide be filled with a hunger for Your Word. May the world thirst for Living Water. May the prayer of Your people turn from addressing our wants to seeking Your will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, All these things we pray in the life saving and life-giving name of Jesus. AMEN
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“ The Heart of Worship ”
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Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.
In the past several weeks, as we have been journeying through the Old Testament, we saw the kingdom of Israel divided in two, we have seen only a handful of kings faithful to God, and far too many kings who led the people astray.
Both kingdoms followed God’s Laws outwardly – for the most part, anyway, but they fully missed the intent of God’s Laws, which is to draw people into a righteous relationship with God and with one another – the laws are about relationships “to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God”. .
The northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians, followed many years later by the defeat of the southern kingdom at the hands of the Babylonians. Jerusalem lay in ruins and the people lived in exile.
60+ years later it is the Babylonians who have been defeated and Cyrus, the king of Persia is at the helm. This is where our reading is situated, as Cyrus sees the kingdom filled with exiles from various lands – lands that are not being used to their potential and people who are not able to freely worship their gods.
Now, if you were to let people go back to their homeland and rebuild, then you could begin taxing the people for the privilege of going home and for any profits made on commerce. And you could give them freedom to worship whatever gods they want, so long as they remember to pray to their gods for you. The land remains part of your empire, but the exiles rebuild it, pay you taxes AND keep you in the prayer of their religious ceremonies.
50,000 Israelite exiles accepted king Cyrus’ offer and began the trek back to Jerusalem in 537 B.C.
It could not have been easy to return to a land that had been utterly destroyed. Those who knew Jerusalem before the exile were now old, others knew their homeland by the stories passed down from generation to generation. The people had made their homes in Babylon, they had jobs and friends and were part of the community – PTA, coaching little league, the quilters guild and various committees. Yet something drew a remnant of them to go back, and it certainly wasn’t a new condo with a view or a corner office overlooking the city. What drew them back, I wonder?
Let me share with you selected verses from Ezra 3 to see if we can get an idea of what drew the exiles back to Jerusalem:
3 1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.
3 Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and evening sacrifices. 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles . . .
8 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem,… the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work… on the house of God. ///
The people assembled, they built the alter, they sacrificed to God, they celebrated one of feasts God had instructed them to celebrate and they began the construction of the Temple.
The Temple had been the center of Jewish worship – the dwelling place of God’s visible presence. Sacrifices and religious feasts took place in the Temple, thus, many of the things that signified them as the people of God had been absent from their lives for 70 years. You may remember that when Daniel prayed to God, he faced east, facing towards where the Temple had stood. For the people of God, the Temple represented God’s presence amongst them.
Now, knowing its importance, one would think the people would work diligently until the Temple was completed, but that is not what happened. Their neighbours did not welcome the reconstruction, so they harassed the people until they gave up and went about building up their own homes. 16 years passed and they only thing completed on the Temple was the foundation and the alter.
Enter the prophet Haggai with a message from God
Haggai 1 3 Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”
5 Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 6 You have planted much, but harvested little, You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. 8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the LORD. 9 “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.
The Temple – the center of their worship life – the symbol of God’s presence, left in ruins as the people ‘get on with their lives.’ The God who brought their ancestors up out of slavery and brought them into the Promised Land becomes secondary in their plans – in their daily lives. And God says, ‘wake up people – when will you return to the heart of worship?’
So, what is the heart of worship? Well, it is a popular worship song written by Matt Redman. Matt’s music launched him to fame rather quickly, and one day he realized that he had somehow let the worship become more about him than God. The more he focussed on the fame and the praise, the further he drifted from the One who the music was intended for. He stepped away from his music for a period of time to quite literally find his way back into the heart of worship, and it was during this time that he wrote the song. If you haven’t heard it, Google the words or the YouTube video, because the words can serve as a reminder to us all.
So, what is the heart of worship???
It is worship that is centered on God!!!
Worship, by definition is an act or expression of reverence directed towards someone or something. In the Christian faith, our worship is directed towards God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
True Christian worship begins with taking the time to get to know God through His Word – through Creation – in prayer and meditation and through fellowship with other believers. True worship is to love God with your mind, body and soul. It is to put God above and before all other things; so, you can see how leaving the Temple in ruins for 16 years while everyone put their energy and resources into their own homes might not qualify as worship.
Worship begins in our heart and takes expression in our actions, such as coming together to worship, meditation, singing, speaking, calling out amen, through sincere prayer, clapping our hands, reading and listening to God’s Word and through the act of returning to God our time, finances and talents.
Worship also takes expression in service, modelled for us through the life of Jesus, who fed the hungry, healed the sick, took time for all people and expressed deep compassion for the lost, oppressed, marginalized and poor. He taught His disciples to serve, an act of worship they passed on to the early church and down through the ages to us.
To worship God is to align yourself with God’s will.
Prior to Jesus’ birth, worship remained centered on the Temple, sacrifice and festivals.
Jesus followed the pattern of his ancestors worship, but also brought worship out to the people – on the mountain – at the well - along the shore – amongst the sick and those cast off by society - in the houses of those who welcomed Him and His disciples in.
Jesus taught that worship begins with abiding by the two greatest commandments – first, to love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul – that is God’s will and doing so places you into the heart of worship. And second, to love your neighbour as yourself. Loving others as God loves you is a visible sign of where your heart of worship is.
Through His death, Jesus made the ultimate and final sacrifice for our sin – no alter is needed. Through His resurrection we have the hope of eternity in the presence of God – God resides in the hearts of all who welcome Him in. Through Jesus the Temple of God lives in all who call upon Him as Lord. Through Christ’s church here on earth we continue to gather collectively as His people to praise and worship the Giver of Life – The Father who loves us, the Son who redeems us and the Spirit who sustains us.
Friends, I encourage you to make God your number one priority in everything you do, for that is where the true heart of worship begins.
Please pray with me: God of all power, we give You our heart. You alone are worthy of our praise. You have given us life! You have redeemed us! You never leave us! We are Your children. We love You! We are aware of how easily we can slip from the heart of worship, so we pray for the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us along life’s journey and redirect us when our heart wanders. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we bless You and praise You. AMEN
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#332 How Great Thou Art
Words: Carl Gustav Boberg; translation Stuart K. Hine (1899-1989) Music: Swedish folk melody; harmony, Stuart K. Hine (1899-1989)
Words: English translation, Manna music Inc., 1955, 1981. All rights reserved. Used by permission (ASCAP), Ojibway, copyright © Stanley Williams.
Music: harmony, copyright © Manna Music Inc.,1955, 1981. All rights reserved. Used by permission (ASCAP).
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O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on a cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And there proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
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Commission & Benediction
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God is the heart of worship, so as you leave here today, take God with you.
And as you do . . .

May His love, grace and peace go with you. AMEN