SDA Sabbath School Lessons
February 24, 1996

Read for this week's study:

• Exodus 4:29-31
• Exodus 5
• Isaiah 6
• John 4:1-38

Memory text: John 4:34

Key thought:

Worship is a heart response to God's presence. Worship expresses our adoration, reverence, praise for God, and commitment to him. Like faith, it is a product of grace. Worship extends beyond the formal service of the church each weekend. It defines how we are to live in a world entrapped by evil and shaped by a secular culture that has as its goal selfish exploitation and self-aggrandizement. Worship enriches our persoonal spiritual lives and provides motivation for corporate action.

Worship and praise.

We will use the inductive method to explore this theological and practical topic. We will review the method and seek insight into the meaning and purpose of worship.

Throughout the Bible the restoration of worship is presented as the first step in returning to God. While the Isrealites were still in Egypt, God restored their sense of national identity through the reestablishment of worship practices. In a meeting between Moses, Aaron, and the elders of Isreal, Moses outlined the process wherby God would help His people leave Egypt. In that first meeting, worship was reinstituted. (See Exodus 4:29-31.)

Outline:

• Sunday Feb. 18: The purpose of worship. (Isaiah 6)
  • Write a paraphrase of Isaiah 6:1-13m or outline it in detail as you explore Isaiah's experience with God.
    1. Focus on the purpose of the chapter.
    2. What is the writer saying?
    3. Who are the characters involved?
    4. What is the context of Isaiah's experience of worship?
    5. Why did he have his unique worship experience?
    6. What was Isaiah's response to the vision of God that he received?
• Monday Feb. 19:Observing the text. (Isaiah 6:1-13)
  • Observation: (What does the chapter say?)
    1. What was the attitude of the prophet to the vision of God? (verse 5)
    2. What does God"s throne room look like? (verses 1,4)
    3. How are the angles described? (verses 2, 6)
    4. What was the angel's message to Isaiah? (verses 3, 7)
    5. How did Isaiah respond? (verse 8)
    6. What was the essence of God's message for Isaiah? (verses 7,8,10)
    7. What was the message Isaiah was to share with God's people? (verses 9,10)
    8. What were God's stipulations for Isaiah about the message of warning? (verses 11-13)
• Tuesday Feb. 20: Information about worship. (Isaiah 6)
  • Interpretation: (What does the chapter mean?)
    1. It was an encounter with the Holy God (verse 1). In personal and corporate worship, do we sense the presence of God? Too often we expect a feeling to be present, some emotional or sensory experience to validate our need for God or to prove that we have been saved.
    2. Isaiah's worship experience was designed to meet his needs and to direct him to greater challenges (versess 1, 7, 8). Worship at its best is a chance to meet God and to find direction for our lives.
• Wednesday Feb. 21: Applications of worship. (Isaiah 6; John 4:1-38)
  • What does it mean to worship in Spirit and in truth? (John 4:24). Did Isaiah worship in this way?
  • Application: (What does Isaiah 6 mean?)
    1. We need to see God in His glory and holiness. (Isaiah 6:1)
    2. We need to understand that God rules over everything, even our whole lives. (Isaiah 6:3)
    3. We recognize our sinfulness in the presence of God and our utter helplessness. (Isaiah 6:5)
    4. God forgives our sins when we meet with Him in worship. (Isaiah 6:7)
    5. We need to be ready to be used by God because He needs our service. (Isaiah 6:8)
  • How can our worship in public and private be enriched as a result of our study of these passages?
• Thursday Feb. 22: Conclusions about worship. (2 Sam. 6:5, 14; Isaiah 6; Matt. 6:5-18)
  • Private worship: Jesus indicates that private worship is very personal (Matt. 6:5-18). It is not to bolster private egos or to separate people who are more spiritual from those who are less spiritual. Prayer is to be uniquely individualistic.
  • Public worship: The Old Testament pictures public worship using many Middle Eastern forms. We see David singing before the Lord (2 Sam. 22:2, 3). Again we see David bringing the ark back to Jerusalem with great celebration (2 Sam. 6:5, 14).
  • What conclusions can you draw from Isaiah about the type of worship that is Spirit-filled and truth-directed?
• Friday Feb. 23: Review and further study. Psalm 89 about praise; Psalm 66 about joy; Psalm 102 about prayer.
  • When Jesus was visiting with the woman at the well outside Sychar, He endeavored to have her focus on true worship of God, not on controversial issues. How does this story help us to understand aspects of our wordhip service and how to identify those elements that benefit individuals in our congregations?
  • Discussion Questions:
    1. Is religion confined to external forms and ceremonies? Explain.
    2. If you could plan the "ideal" worship service for your church, what would you include? Why?
    3. How would you change your private worship practices, in light of what you have studied in Isaiah and John?
    4. What do you think of this quotation? "Wherever a soul reaches out after God, there the Spirit's working is manifest, and God will reveal Himself to that soul. For such worshipers He is seeking. He waits to receive them, and to make them His sons and daughters."--The Desire of Ages, p. 189

Summary

Through the inductive method of Bible study, we learned this week that Isaiah's experience (Isaiah 6) provides a wonderful example of the worship experiences that God's people might have. The condition is that they come to Him with open hearts and a willingness to listen to His voice. By beholding the glory of the Holy One, Isaiah found purpose for his life and motivation to respond to God's call. True worship provides the basis of understanding our relationship with God and our mission in the world.