Worship: It's That Important (Part 1)

Hey All...so, I was given an opportunity to lead our entire worship gatherings this past Sunday, and I thought I'd share with you, as I best I can, what we did. I was asked to teach about how Nags Head Church does personal and corporate worship. I'm going to split this up into several sections (cause I know how hard it is for me to read long posts), and I'll try to include as much video and music and other elements that we used during the gathering as well as some of my own post-Sunday thoughts (in parenthesis) so you can get an idea of the big picture. This is the first time I've ever taught on Sunday morning, and the response was very good, and I had a great time sharing my heart and passion for worship with our church body. Thanks!



Good morning...my name is Nathan, and I want to welcome to you Nags Head Church. So, we’re a church that likes to do things differently, and this morning is going to be no different…

For starters, you’ll notice that your notes are completely blank. There are a few things that we are really hoping that we’ll get a good handle on this morning, but we’re also not going to force feed you anything. It’s up to you, as always, to decide how much and in which ways you want to participate with us this morning.

And, as always, we are here to worship, and our invitation to you is to worship with us as much or as little as you wish. The choice is yours.

(I had my bro-in-law, Ramon, read this next section, our "call to worship" as well as all of the big Scripture passages I used...One of the speakers at the Willow Creek Arts Conference this past summer did something similar to this, and it really gave the Scriptures a narrative feel, which was very cool and fresh, and it helped me to somehow focus more on what was trying to be communicated...so, I thought I'd try it out. I think it worked really well, and it gave me a few breaks to grab a drink of water and catch my breath.)

(begin Ramon)

Psalm 19
1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display His craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make Him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.

Psalm 15
1 Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter Your presence on Your holy hill?
2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
3 Those who refuse to gossip
or harm their neighbors
or speak evil of their friends.

Psalm 22
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise You among Your assembled people.

23 Praise the Lord, all you who fear Him! Honor Him, all you descendants of
Jacob! Show Him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!

For we have been created by the Creator to worship Him and encourage one another!
Before the beginning of the world, He knew that we would gather together on this day to worship Him.
He created us for this very moment. He has filled our hearts with wonder so that we will always remember that He is the One Who brought us to life.
So, let us sing and pray and live and worship together.
God, we give this worship to You for all that You are, for all that You have done, and are doing and will continue to do for us.
May You be pleased with all that we think and say and do today in this place.

(end Ramon)

Song - "Made To Worship" by Chris Tomlin (Check out our video below of this song from earlier in the summer)
Song - "Sing A Song" by Third Day



(Tonight, I'll post Part 2)

Nate

PS. Check out Every Part of This Series:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7