Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The importance of worship Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA November 16, 2003 Main Scripture texts: Psalm 100; Psalm 150. One Bible dictionary defines "worship" as "the human response to the perceived presence of the divine." What is one of the titles of Jesus we use often at this time of year? "Emmanuel" -- which means God with us. God has declared His presence with us! He is always present, but we must perceive His presence so that we can experience Him. Those who perceive His presence have the responsibility of helping others perceive it too, so that all can experience His presence and be changed by it. This is what corporate worship is supposed to be about, and it part of the reason why our mission at Gateway is: "Helping people experience God." Let's look at three of the Basic Elements of Worship God established it in Israel: 1) A special place; 2) Festivals, celebrations and rites; 3) the Priesthood. A Special Place. This started out as the Tabernacle and later gave way to the Temple. In out day, the local church is our special place for worship. Festivals, celebrations and rites were established to help the people remember and pass on to subsequent generations the mighty acts of God in Israel's history. In the Christian faith we have weekly worship (Sabbath) plus Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Holy Communion and baptism are also regular reminders of the great gifts God has offered us in Christ. The Festivals and celebrations are tools to help remember and share the truth of God. Priesthood. God was so serious about worship that one whole tribe, Levi, was set aside to maintain all the accouterments of worship. Their work was critical in that it maintained the holiness of the Temple so people could make their sacrifices for sin and so the glory of God could dwell in Israel. Today we honored our "Levites," the ones who provide leadership in music and singing, because we want them to know how much we appreciate what they do and to remind ourselves of how important their work is. Often we've have failed to recognize the importance and power of worship. In 2 Chronicles 5:11-14, we see that it was not the priests but the Levites that ushered in the presence of God. In 2 Chronicles 20:20-22, it was the Levites that ushered in the presence of God that defeated their enemies without a fight. All the great evangelists had their equally great Levites. John Wesley had his brother Charles; D.L. Moody had Ira Sankey; Billy Sunday had Homer Rodeheaver.; Billy Graham has George Beverly Shea. The great commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul strength and mind. Preaching, for the most part, appeals to the mind. It motivates and instructs us to use our strength to serve God. But it is the arts, especially music, that appeals to the heart and to the soul. Anointed musical worship is critical to preparing the heart to hear the preached word. Our "Levites" help us focus our attention toward God, they usher us into His presence so we are changed. Supporting texts: Exodus 19:3-6 | 1 Peter 2:9 | Genesis 28:10-22 | Leviticus 26:11-12 | 2 Chronicles 5:11-14 | 2 Chronicles 20:20-22 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 031116a: The Importance of Worship. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us