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The Evangelistic Power of Worship As a Witness

I'm often asked, "How can a service be both a worship service and place for seekers to experience Jesus?" At Saddleback we believe you can have both without compromising either. When we speak of worship, we are talking about something only believers can do. Worship is from believers to God. We magnify God’s name in worship by expressing our love and commitment to him. Unbelievers simply cannot do this. Here is the simple definition of worship that we operate on at Saddleback: "Worship is expressing our love to God for who he is, what he’s said, and what he’s doing." We believe there are many appropriate ways to express our love to God: by praying, singing, obeying, trusting, giving, testifying, listening, and responding to his Word, thanking, and many other expressions. God - not man - is the focus and center of our worship. God is the consumer of worship Although unbelievers cannot truly worship, they can watch believers worship. They can observe the joy that we feel. They can see how we value God’s Word and how we respond to it. They can hear how the Bible answers the problems and questions of life. They can notice how worship encourages, strengthens, and changes us. They can sense when God is supernaturally moving in a service, although they won’t be able to explain it. When unbelievers watch genuine worship, it becomes a powerful witness. In Acts 2 - on the day of Pentecost - God’s presence was so evident in the disciples’ worship service that it attracted the attention of unbelievers throughout the entire city! Acts 2:6 says, "... a crowd came together.” We know it was a big crowd because 3,000 people were saved that day. Why were those 3,000 people converted? Because they felt God’s presence and they understood the message. I believe both of these elements are essential for worship to be a witness. God’s presence must be sensed in the service. More people are won to Christ by feeling God’s presence than by all of our apologetic arguments combined. Few people, if any, are converted to Christ on purely intellectual grounds. It is the sense of God’s presence that melts hearts and explodes mental barriers. Worship without this yields few evangelistic results. I believe there is an intimate connection between worship and evangelism. In the first place, the goal of evangelism is to produces worshipers of God. The Bible tells us that "the Father seeks worshipers” (John 4:23). When we recruit worshipers, that’s called evangelism. On the other hand, worship provides the motivation for evangelism. It produces a desire in us to tell others about Christ. The result of Isaiah’s powerful worship experience (Isaiah 6:1-8) was Isaiah saying, "Here am I, send me!” True worship causes us to witness. In genuine worship God’s presence is felt, God’s pardon is offered, God’s purposes are revealed, and God’s power is displayed. That sounds to me like an ideal context for evangelism! I’ve noticed that when unbelievers watch believers relate to God in an intelligent, sincere manner it creates a desire to know God, too. Worship with sensitivity We must be willing to adjust our worship practices when unbelievers are present. God tells us to be sensitive to the hang-ups of unbelievers in our services! Being sensitive to the seekers present in our worship is a biblical command. I didn’t think up this concept; Paul did! Making worship understandable Making a service “comfortable” for the unchurched doesn’t mean changing your theology. It means changing the environment of the service - such as changing the way you greet visitors, the style of music you use, the Bible translation you preach from, and the kind of announcements you make in the service. The message is not always comfortable. In fact, sometimes God’s truth is very uncomfortable! Still we must teach “the whole counsel of God.” Being sensitive to seekers in attendance does not limit what you say but it will affect how you say it. We must make both the worship and the message understandable. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit miraculously translated the message into words each person understood. The crowd of unbelievers said, “We hear them telling in our own languages about the great things God has done!” Acts 2:11 (NCV) This caused them to be converted.  Even though God’s presence was evident in the service, they wouldn’t have known what to do if they hadn’t been able to understand the message. The unchurched are not asking for a watered-down message. The unchurched expect to hear the Bible when they come to church. They just want to hear how it relates to their lives. They can handle a clear, biblical message when it is delivered in terms they understand and in a tone that shows you respect and care about them. They are looking for solutions, not a scolding. A clear message coupled with genuine worship will not only attract unbelievers, it will open their hearts to the power of the gospel. As they feel God’s presence and understand the message they will walk away changed.

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Keep Going—in God’s Power

Keep Going—in God’s Power

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Loving and Serving God with Your Heart

Loving and Serving God with Your Heart

“Jesus answered, ‘The most important command is this: “Listen, people of Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’’’” Mark 12:29–30 (NCV)Pastor, you know this verse. You’ve preached it. You’ve quoted it. But take a moment to hear it again—fresh for you.Jesus isn’t calling you to love God from a distance. He’s calling you to love him deeply, fully, emotionally—with everything you've got.It’s easy in ministry to lead with your mind and your strength. You study hard. You preach faithfully. You shepherd diligently. But God wants more than your intellect and effort. He desires your heart—your emotions—engaged in loving him.That’s not always easy. Sundays can leave you emotionally wrung out. You may wake up Monday feeling numb, discouraged, or simply tired. But don’t mistake that as failure. You were made in God’s image—and that includes your emotional capacity.God is an emotional God. Scripture shows him rejoicing, grieving, expressing anger at sin, and showing deep compassion. You feel because God feels. Emotions are not a flaw in your design; they’re a feature of your calling.But like every good thing, they need shepherding. As a pastor, you face two temptations with emotions:One is emotionalism—letting feelings drive your decisions and ministry.The other is stoicism—shutting your emotions off entirely, pretending they don’t matter.Neither reflects the heart of God. He looks deeply into your mind and your heart (Psalm 7:9). He created both. And he wants both involved in how you love and serve him.So this Monday, don’t rush past your emotions. Sit with them. Bring them to Jesus. Worship him not just with your words or your work, but with your heart.Let this be a week where you love God—not just with your sermons, your schedule, or your strategies, but with all your heart.
Living a Lifestyle of Worship

Living a Lifestyle of Worship

Pastor, your life was designed to bring pleasure to God. That’s your first and highest calling—and that’s what true worship is all about.When you fully grasp this truth, it reshapes your identity and ministry. You matter deeply to God. Your life is not random. Your very existence brings God joy. The Bible says, “Because of his love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children—this was his pleasure and purpose” (Ephesians 1:4-5 GNT).If you want to live a life that matters, build it on this foundation: Worship is more than a Sunday activity; it’s a way of life. In fact, these four key truths can help you embrace worship as a daily lifestyle:1. Worship brings pleasure to God.Worship isn’t about you. It’s not primarily about what you feel or receive. Worship is about giving back to God. The Bible says, “The LORD enjoys people who worship him and trust in his faithful love” (Psalm 147:11 ERV).That means every time you bring pleasure to God, you’re worshiping him. 2. Worship is more than music.We’ve all heard someone say, “I loved the worship today,” meaning they enjoyed the music at church. But worship is much more than music—and it’s not limited to one style or tempo. There’s no such thing as “Christian music,” only Christian lyrics. God enjoys variety. Fast or slow, loud or soft, classical or contemporary—if it’s offered to him with sincerity, it’s worship.And remember that worship isn’t limited to music. Every part of a church service is an act of worship: praying, Scripture reading, singing, confession, silence, being still, listening to a sermon, taking notes, giving an offering, baptism, communion, signing a commitment card, and even greeting other worshipers.3. Worship isn’t for your benefit.Worship isn’t about what you get out of it—it’s about what you give to God. Sometimes we say, “I didn’t get anything out of worship today.” But worship isn’t a consumer experience. It’s not a concert or a class.It’s an offering.Yes, God often blesses us through worship—but the purpose isn’t our blessing. It’s his pleasure. That’s the real measure of meaningful worship.4. Worship is a 24/7 lifestyle.Worship isn’t something you turn on during a Sunday service and off the rest of the week. The Bible says, “Worship him continually” (Psalm 105:4 GNT), and “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).You can worship while doing laundry, preparing a sermon, counseling a family, or driving home after a long day.How?By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people” (Colossians 3:23 GNT). That’s the secret to a lifestyle of worship.When you dedicate your everyday tasks to God and stay aware of his presence, work becomes worship. That includes sermon prep, staff meetings, pastoral visits, and even answering emails. When done for God’s glory, they all become acts of worship.What about you?Pastor, are you living a lifestyle of worship? Is your ministry flowing out of a deep desire to bring God pleasure?Don’t limit worship to a service or a song. Make it the rhythm of your life. You were planned for God’s pleasure—so live each moment to honor him.This article is adapted from Day 8 of The Purpose Driven Life.
Trust God for a Miracle This Week

Trust God for a Miracle This Week

“Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith” (Mark 11:22-24 CEV).Faith opens the door to miracles. If you study the Bible and history, you find that every time God moves on Earth and does a miracle, it’s because somebody believed. Jesus said in Mark 11:22-24, “Have faith in God! If you have faith in God and don’t doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith” (CEV). Faith can move mountains! God has set up the universe in a hierarchy of laws, and the law of faith is actually a higher law than the laws of nature. That’s where miracles come in. Because when faith is used, the law of faith goes into practice, and the law of faith can actually do more than the laws of physics. Does God still perform miracles today? Of course he does. Every time you stretch your faith, God does miracles — every single time. My question for you is this: What’s the mountain in your ministry that needs to be moved? What’s something about your church you’ve already decided will never change? That’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. How do you know it won’t change? Maybe God wants your faith to supersede the law of nature. He has in the past, and he is doing it today all around the world. God is in the mountain-moving business. Do not doubt or underestimate what he wants to do in your ministry. Matthew 13:58 says, “[Jesus] did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (NIV). You might say, “I don’t see many miracles in my life.” How would you answer this question: Are you seeing with eyes of fear, or are you seeing with eyes of faith? Faith opens the door to miracles. 
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