The trumpeters and singers joined I N U N I S O N in unison, as with one voice, to ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ give praise and thanks to the LORD. -2 Chronicles 5:13 A devotional series for the choir, the worship leader, and anyone desiring to experience or lead in a deeper worship experience. [See the end of this file for more information on the complete series.] The In Unison series is written by David S. Lampel. #11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ B E C A U S E H E D E S E R V E S I T Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; Sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. -Psalm 66:1-2 NASB Why is it not all right to worship God--and anyone else of our choosing? Why is it not all right for us to say: "Yes, I worship Jehovah God, but I also worship Buddha, the mighty oak, and my `57 Chevy."? Why should the God of heaven be so exclusive with our praise? Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. -Exodus 34:13-14 NIV At the same time we might ask: "Why is it so important to worship Him in the first place?" And why is our position as worship leaders so important to the process? What's the big deal? _________________________ "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." -Revelation 4:11 NIV The answer is the same to both questions:Why do we worship God alone? Because He is worthy.Why is it so important to worship Him? Because He is worthy. The Father deserves our praise--He has it coming to Him. More than that, it is the godhead alone that deserves this unique worship. Let them know that you, whose name is the Lord--that you alone are the Most High over all the earth. -Psalm 83:18 NIV _________________________ It is something of pristine eloquence and beauty to enter the sanctuary of the Lord--be it the sanctuary of the corporate church or the sanctuary of our heart--to kneel before Him in utter humility, and to bring honor and glory to the Father simply because He deserves it. We are to carry no agendas to the altar--no hidden, ulterior motives. We are to enter into worship without thought of self; our petitions are to remain stuffed into our back pocket. We are to offer up our words of praise for one reason only: He deserves them. God alone is worthy of our praise and adoration. And the words we offer are to bear no weight of self; they are to describe and proclaim only His holiness and worth-ship. _________________________ Worship is for the Lord and no one else, and the leading of others to the throne is a high and holy occupation. If God welcomes those who worship Him--if He actually seeks out those who worship Him in Spirit and truth--then what must He think of those who encourage His worship, who draw those worshipers to Him? _________________________ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,In the city of our God, His holy mountain. -Psalm 48:1 NASB "There is none great in the church but the Lord. Jesus is `the great Shepherd,' he is `a Saviour, and a great one,' our great God and Saviour, our great High Priest; his Father has divided him a portion with the great, and his name shall be great unto the ends of the earth. "According to his nature should his worship be; it cannot be too constant, too laudatory, too earnest, too reverential, too sublime. There is none like the Lord, and there should be no praises like his praises." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, from his Treasury of David.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Supplement to #11 On the worthiness of God the Father and Jesus Christ: I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. -2 Sam 22:4 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. -1 Chron 16:25 Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. -Psalm 48:1 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. -Psalm 145:3 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. [66] What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered. [67] Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him [68] and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?" -Matthew 26:65-68 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. -Hebrews 3:3 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." [1] Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. [2] And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" [3] But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. [4] I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. [5] Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." [6] Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. [7] He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. [8] And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. [9] And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. [10] You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." [11] Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. [12] In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" [13] Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" [14] The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped. -Rev 4:11-5:14 _________________________ "The gifted writer S.D. Gordon tells of an elderly Christian whose advancing years had taken their toll on her memory. As her health faded the time came when she could recite but a single verse--2 Timothy 1:12: `. . . I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.' Even these words slowly slipped from her memory until only a few days of her life remained and friends would hear her repeat just seven words: `That which I have committed unto Him.' "Finally, as the hour of the woman's death neared and her memory was all but gone, she voiced a single word repeatedly. It was all she could remember--'Him, Him, Him!' "Said Gordon, `She had lost the whole Bible, except for that one powerful word. But she had the whole Bible in that one word--Him!' "Here, beloved, is the key to any meaningful study of praise. Effective praise has its focus on our Lord alone. The more we are able to focus our praises exclusively on the nature and character of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the more power we will experience as the result of that praise." (Dick Eastman, A Celebration of Praise (Baker, 1984), p17) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright Information --------------------- All original material in IN UNISON is Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel. This data file is the sole property of David S. Lampel. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel."). This data file may not be used without the permission of David S. Lampel for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content. With the appropriate copyright notice, this file may be used to enhance or supplement personal or church devotions, newsletters, journals, or spoken messages. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the New International Version. NIV quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission. NASB quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In Unison was originally written for Music Ministers and Choir Directors to use in conjunction with their weekly rehearsals. It was syndicated in printed form, camera-ready for inclusion in choir newsletters or to be read to the choir as a devotional. It has also been used by Pastors and lay-leaders in many capacities. In Unison is evangelical, and speaks from the position that the choir does not perform for its own pleasure--nor for the pleasure of the congregation--but is, instead, a "prompter" leading and demonstrating the corporate worship for the pleasure of God. Each choir member--as well as every other leader standing on the platform--is responsible to do everything to point the congregation upward to God. In Unison also encourages individual and corporate excellence, based on the premise that after His sacrifice for us, our Lord deserves nothing less. Most issues of In Unison consist of two parts: * The main article has been written to be the "public" portion--either re-printed for each choir member or read to them during a devotional time. * The Supplemental material (accompanying most issues) has been included for the director or leader to use as background to further his or her own study. There is a total of 19 issues making up the complete In Unison series, representing by the following outline: 1. With One Voice 11. Because He Deserves It 2. Up Words 12. A Longing to Be Near Him 3. Loving One Another 13. Excellence: Beginning 4. Demonstrating Praise 14. Excellence: The Debt 5. The Spirit and the Flesh 15. Excellence: For the Prize 6. Three Little Words 16. Excellence: Why? 7. Obeying Our Parent 17. To Be Like Him 8. A Fragrant Offering 18. In Spirit and Truth 9. Worship the King 19. Honesty 10. His Wish, Our Desire ------------------------------------------------------------------- In Unison is distributed free-of-charge, without obligation, in service to our Lord and to His glory. Reader opinions are always welcome, as are insights into the published material. Send all comments to the address below. We always appreciate hearing when someone has been edified by this work. ------------------------------------------------------------------- To receive the complete series via e-mail, inquire with questions, or comment on the material send your request to: "dlampel@dlampel.com" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ David S. Lampel "For from Him and through Him Winterset, IA USA and to Him are all things. dlampel@dlampel.com To Him be the glory forever. Amen." (Rom 11:36) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/in.unison: inu-011.txt