Worship - Being One With God

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders

Hebrews 8:6-12 (The Message)
 ^6-13But Jesus' priestly work far surpasses what these other priests do, since he's working from a far better plan. If the first plan—the old covenant—had worked out, a second wouldn't have been needed. But we know the first was found wanting, because God said,

   Heads up! The days are coming
      when I'll set up a new plan
      for dealing with Israel and Judah.
   I'll throw out the old plan
      I set up with their ancestors
      when I led them by the hand out of Egypt.
   They didn't keep their part of the bargain,
      so I looked away and let it go.
   This new plan I'm making with Israel
      isn't going to be written on paper,
      isn't going to be chiseled in stone;
   This time I'm writing out the plan in them,
      carving it on the lining of their hearts.
   I'll be their God,
      they'll be my people.
   They won't go to school to learn about me,
      or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons.
   They'll all get to know me firsthand,
      the little and the big, the small and the great.
   They'll get to know me by being kindly forgiven,
      with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.
By coming up with a new plan, a new covenant between God and his people, God put the old plan on the shelf. And there it stays, gathering dust.

For Reflection
The central focus of worship is the feeling of being one with God.  The new plan about which Isiah speaks breaks the tradition of treating humanity as a corporate entity and focuses on the individual; moving from a corporate relationship to God to a personal relationship.  The Christ event confirms this shift in focus.    Many have felt from time to time the fleeting presence of God.  Such experiences confirm the movement of the Spirit in our lives. The function of the Church, then, is not to stand as a gatekeeper between God and humans, but rather to facilitate the path for a personal relationship with the living God.

  Worship can take place any where, any time.  We worship alone and in the company of others.  Think of a time when you have felt the presence of God.  Do you think you could sustain that feeling and confidence in God's presence for more than that short peak experience?

Pray
deeply and often.  Pray that you will become more open to the guiding force that is God.  Pray to strengthen your relationship to God.  Pray that you will seek the hand of God in your life.