Celebration, Criticism and the Sacrifice of Worship: July 15, 2018

Sermon Notes

TEXT: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19

1David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. 2 He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.  

12 Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.  16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.  17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

TITLE: Celebration, Criticism and the Sacrifice of Worship

1.  Celebration: The Worship of God is Experiential in Mind and Heart
2. A Critical Spirit: It Blinds Some People from Seeing the Presence of God
3. Sacrifice: We Continue to Give to God (in the church of God and out)

Quotes for Encouragement

“We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal.” ― J.I. Packer (1926-) Christian Thinker and Leader

“Worship, in a very real sense of the word, opens a doorway to the power of His presence, confounding dark powers and overthrowing sin’s destructive operations.” ― Jack Hayford (1934-) Christian Pastor

“God alone is God, and he alone merits first place—beyond every other love, every other anxiety, every other fear that consumes us.” ― Craig S. Keener (1960-) Christian Scholar

“God is gracious beyond the power of language to describe.” ― Francis Asbury (1745-1816) American Methodist Founder