Forum Comments from Pure Praise Study

TheWorshipCommunity.com is going together through Pure Praise: A Heart-focused Bible Study on Worship. You can still jump into their amazing discussions of what they are learning during each day’s devotional study. Go here to read the forums and get involved.

Here are a few quotes from the forum discussion during Week 1:

First off, I love where this study is going. It is really making me think about some things.

Wow -this is really good. I desire Him because He first desired me! He delights in us. There is nothing we can do or say that will ever change that.

The “Daily Surrender” portion was GRUELING for me today as I had to be honest about some of the rotten places in my heart.

I think I am getting more out of this study than I ever have in any other Bible study. Thanks everyone!!! And Thank God!!!

I thought I knew what worship is but apparently I have a lot to learn throughout the rest of this study. Today’s reading along with the past two days has already broadened my definition of worship.

My posture is to be one of submission and obedience, rather than strategy and organization. That is how God gets the glory for it all. He will build His church, He will fight the enemies off, He will order things as He sees fit. VERY good first day.

That Ephesians passage highlighted to me once again what I got out of the study from last night, and what I think God is trying to “de-program” from my brain – simply that it is HIM who works in and through me for HIS pleasure. All of my striving and working, trying to be innovative and interesting, trying to develop my own skills, and the like are not what pleases HIM, they are what make me feel justified and successful.

Knowing that I first created in His image and then on top of all that, I was created to give Him praise. How awesome is that! I too like how the author used the example of a Father watching over his children and being pleased by them, without them even doing anything to please him.

What an indictment! — the part about inward worship, where it says, “God is searching the earth not to support those who sing the best or shout the loudest. Rather, He seeks for those, ‘whose hearts are fully committed to Him.’ As worshippers and worship leaders, that must be our foremost goal. Without that commitment, all other expressions of worship are actually sickening to God,” really hit home.

I can’t count the times I have stood in front of my church to lead in vertical worship, when there was little or no inward worship going on in my life. And it made God sick! If we want God to be pleased with our worship, then we must do it on His terms, by His standards, not our own.

…the statement that really hit me from day 3 study…”the importance of this inward direction of worship cannot be overemphasized.” That is a VERY bold statement and one that i would tend to agree with…it’s not something i’ve really heard put that way before…usually the focus in on the upward piece to it all…good stuff so far!!!

Every day in this study it feels like God decided He was going to nail down some major issues in my heart! It’s pretty intense!

I am grateful to God for inspiring Dwayne Moore to write “Pure Praise,” for leading The Worship Community to organize this group study, and for prompting all of you to contribute your insights, scriptures, prayers, praises, and tears. The book alone would have been profitable to me, but the added blogs and fellowship with new friends is making the study life-changing.