Protecting Our Culture Of Worship
Pastor Erickson preaches from Psalm 47 and from David's answer to Michal in 2 Samuel 6, explaining why the church claps, shouts and dances before the Lord and why that culture of worship must be protected. He calls worshipers, singers and parents to worship the same way in private as in public, to avoid raising performers instead of worshipers, and to let God check their motives.
The message in 6 points
A culture worth protecting
He reads psalms about lifting hands, dancing and instruments, and David's answer to Michal in 2 Samuel 6. He says the church has a culture of worship that is not found everywhere, and that it must be guarded and handed down from generation to generation.
57:30The same worship everywhere
He remembers Bible school, where he saw admired worship leaders stop worshiping once they left the platform. He resolved that his worship would be the same on the platform or in the pew, before a thousand people or twenty.
1:03:34Clap your hands and shout
Psalm 47:1 was written to the temple worship leaders. He explains clapping and shouting as declarations of victory, not filler between songs or emotional hype, and points to Israel shouting at Jericho before the walls fell, as faith in advance.
1:12:09Worship changes the atmosphere
Using research on crowd noise and home field advantage, he argues that sound matters. When the church worships it takes dominion of the air, and evil cannot fill the space where God's presence dwells, as in Ephesians 6 and Judah singing before the battle in 2 Chronicles 20.
1:20:37Dancing is embodied redemption
From Psalm 149 he says dancing is the body joining the soul in celebrating deliverance. People dance and run because they remember what God has brought them out of.
1:29:19Worship in private
He tells how God asked him in his office when he last sang to God without a microphone. He warns parents against raising performers for the camera and against a spirit of entitlement, and calls the church to let God check its motives at the altar.
1:34:38
In his words
“Genuine worship isn't reserved for a spotlight. It's a heart posture that stays consistent in the pews, in the balcony, or anywhere else in the sanctuary.”
“Worship is spiritual authority. Worship transforms the atmosphere.”
“The only way we're going to keep this worship culture going is if we can worship him [in] private like we do in public.”
Taken word for word from the video, with punctuation added. Words in [brackets] were fixed so the line reads clearly.
Scripture
He reads
Psalms 134:2
2Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD.
King James Version.
Psalms 149:3
3Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
King James Version.
Psalms 150:4
4Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
King James Version.
2 Samuel 6:20-22
20Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! 21And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. 22And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
King James Version.
Psalms 47:1
1O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
King James Version.
Joshua 6:16
16And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city.
King James Version.
Ephesians 6:12
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
King James Version.
2 Chronicles 20:21-22
21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. 22And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
King James Version.
He also points to
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