THE LIVING WORD TRANSCRIPT<br> <br>

Program Air Date - 11-10-02<br> <br>



LESSON TITLE:  AUTHORITY IN RELIGION: “BIBLE AUTHORITY IN WORSHIP”

<br> <br>



WELCOME<br> <br>

Good morning!  Thank you for joining us today for God’s Living Word. I hope 

everyone had a great week, and I hope your weekend was a profitable one also.  

Here we are on another glorious Lord’s Day morning.  What a wonderful 

opportunity we have again today to join together in the worship of our Redeemer.  I 

hope you are ready to begin this new week with a day of service and offering to your 

God.  <br> <br>

As always, it is our commitment through this program to proclaim the simple truth 

of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - which is confirmed for us in the Bible.  I hope you 

all have your Bible’s handy and I hope you are ready to worship God together as we 

sing praises to His name and study from His wondrous word.  Now let’s begin by talking 

to our Father in prayer! <br> <br>

(Prayer)<br> <br>



At this time, we want to sing our first song of the morning.   Won’t you all join in 

with the congregation at this time as we praise God together with the hymn, “Is It For 

Me, Dear Savior.”  <br> <br>

(SONG # 1)

<br> <br>

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS<br> <br>

As followers of God, whether we accept our duty or not, I think we all realize the 

obligation we have to preach the Gospel of Christ to this lost and dying world.  We 

accomplish this in many different ways, but mainly we prove our obedience through the 

things that we do and say.  As long as we are proclaiming His will to other, we are 

pleasing in His sight.

However, I think we also fail to realize the great responsibility that comes with 

carrying out this command of our Lord.   Not only are we to proclaim the message, but 

we must further realize that it must be according to His Will, and not our own. <br> <br> The 

point is, it does make a difference what we do and what we say.  It does make a 

difference how we say it and how we present ourselves.  Why?  Because God said He 

has but one Gospel for us to make know to this world.   Paul said, “I marvel that you are 

turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different 

gospel,  which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert 

the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel 

to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed,”  Galatians 1:6-8.<br> <br>

Even Jesus as He came to this earth proclaimed that He did not come to 

accomplish His own Will.  Rather, Christ always gave the credit, honor, and glory to His 

Father for all that He did and said.  He stated over and over in the gospel accounts that 

the origin of every word He said came directly from the Father in Heaven.  What a 

wonderful example this is to us today.

Finally, notice what James said in chapter 3, and verse 1 of his book.  “My 

brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter 

judgment.”  Why does it matter what we teach and how we teach it, because we will be 

judged according to the job we do.  

You see, there is more to this work that is before us than just getting out and 

doing something.  We must make sure the things we do and say are according to God, 

so that they properly instruct and edify the hearers.  Let’s all do our part in studying 

God’s Word, so that we may know what we are to teach in order that we will be found 

faithful in His sight.<br> <br>

This morning, we are excited to have as a guest speaker brother Bill McFarland.  

Brother McFarland is the minister for the North National Church of Christ here is 

Springfield, Missouri.  This brother is well known in this area, and is a fine gospel 

preacher who stands in the Word of God.  We certainly appreciate him and are glad he 

agreed to be with us today.   

In our study of the morning, we will be continuing our discussion on, “Authority in 

Religion.”  Our specific topic of the day will deal with, “Bible Authority in Worship.”  So 

please continue with us this morning and after our next song together brother 

McFarland will return with this lesson from God’s Word.  It’s now time to join in our 

second hymn of the morning, the name of the song, “Just Over In The Glory Land.” 

<br> <br>

 (SONG # 2)

<br> <br>

LESSON<br> <br>

Speaker:  Bill McFarland<br> <br>



Good morning everybody.  It’s been well said that worship is the soul of religion.  Most 

of us immediately think of worshipping God when we give any thought to spirtitual life 

or to trying to live in obedience to the Lord.  The New Testament begins by telling us of 

the ministry of Jesus and as He faced the tempter and as He dealt with the same kinds 

of temptations that challenge all of us in our relationship to God.  The tempter tried to 

offer Him the opportunity to bow down and worship him in exchange for all of the 

kingdoms of the world.  The Lord answered though that “it is written, you shall worship 

the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”  And then at the end of the New 

Testament, as John describes what he saw and what he heard, it says that he fell down 

at the feet of the angel who showed him all of these things and he began to worship 

him.  The angel however, told him not to do it.  He said, “I’m a fellow servant with you 

and with the prophets and with those who keep the Words of this book.”  And he said 

simply, “Worship God.”  That instruction then, to worship God, to serve Him and to 

honor Him is the burden of the message of the Holy Testament and certainly of all of 

the scriptures that called to worship God and has the authority behind it which also 

applies to how we go about worshipping God.  If you think about what worship is, I think 

the simplest description would simply be to give God what is due Him.  

<br> <br>

In Psalm 29 for example, the Psalm begins by telling us “Give unto the Lord, oh you 

mighty, give unto the Lord, glory and strength.  Give unto the Lord the glory due His 

name.  Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

When we worship then, we are making an effort to recognize God and to give Him the 

place that belongs to Him.  Worship involves giving God the thanks which is due Him 

for all of His gifts.  Worship involves giving God the praise which is due Him for His 

holiness and His greatness and His wisdom and His love.  Worship involves adoring 

God, returning the great and matchless kindness that He has bestowed on all of us.  

Worship involves humbling ourselves before God because of His awesome greatness 

and goodness.  Worship involves at times expressing our submission, even our 

confession of our weaknesses and of our deep needs for Him.  Worship involves simply 

orienting our whole lives and our thinking and our being to God and to who He is.  This 

kind of worship is not merely an emotional response nor display of emotions though it 

may involve every aspect of our being as human beings.  

<br> <br>

In Revelations chapter 15 for example as we see the song of Moses and as we see the 

worship of heaven, the Bible says that they were saying, “Great and marvelous are thy 

works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways thy king of the saints.  Who shall 

not fear thee oh Lord and glorify thy name for thou only art holy for all nations shall 

come and worship before thee for thy judgments made manifest.”

<br> <br>

Notice that worship involved the objective recounting of the attributes of God and of the 

actions of God and then responding to those things in our lives.  The call to worship is 

the consistent theme of scripture.  The nature of worship is for us to recognize who God 

is and what He has done and then for us to respond appropriately to that.  

<br> <br>

It is interesting to notice how the nature of worship even defines what it is to live as a 

Christian.  In the Epistle to the Hebrews, the writer deals with weary Christians and with 

people who are needing to understand the necessity of enduring and patiently going on 

and living for the Lord.  There are two statements that come fairly close together which 

help us to understand something of why worship requires the authority of God.  At the 

end of Hebrews chapter 12, first off, there is a statement in verse 28 in which the writer 

says, “Therefore receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved.  Let us have grace 

whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”  Notice that in 

this passage worship involves an attitude of reverence, an attitude which recognizes 

God’s greatness and which then humbly responds to that with service or with 

reverence.  It involves by the nature of it a tone of godly fear which wants to offer what 

is acceptable to God.  That attitude would naturally call for God to show us the way and 

would involve a willingness for Him to have His way and not merely for us to have our 

way.<br> <br>



A few verses later in Hebrews 13 and verse 15, the writer makes another statement 

about worship.  This time emphasizing love.  He says, “By Him, therefore let us offer 

the sacrifice of praise to God continually.”  That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to 

His name.  Where that other verse talked about reverence and godly fear and awe, this 

passage shows the praise that is offered to God because of gratitude, the love that 

wants more than anything for God to be honored.  This aspect of worship would also 

naturally call for God’s authority in our lives.  Jesus made the point that “if you love me, 

you’ll keep my commandments.”  

John says in 1 John 5 and verse 3 that “the love of God is to keep His commandment,” 

without that being a greaseless burden in our lives.  

<br> <br>

The very spirit of worship then causes us to want to recognize the Lord’s authority in 

what we’re offering to Him.  Awe causes us to submit to Him.  Love causes us to want 

to obey Him as we offer our gifts up to Him.  Think about those two aspects of worship 

as they apply to what you and I are to offer to God.  What if those things are missing?  

We engage in religious activity, but it’s not governed by the authority of the Lord.  

<br> <br>

There was a time in the Old Testament in 1 Kings chapter 12 where Jereboam leads 

the ten northern tribes, the people known at that time as Israel.  Jereboam though he 

had been given that position by the God of heaven became concerned about keeping a 

following.  He became concerned about people going back to Jerusalem to worship and 

then turning their loyalty to Rehoboam instead of to him. Now as a lesson for us, we 

want to observe the danger of beginning to use worship for some other purpose than to 

honor and obey God.  When we begin to try to use it to keep a following for ourselves 

or to suit ourselves, we open a door that leads to danger.  In Jereboam’s case, what he 

decided to do was to develop a worship based on his own desires instead of God’s.  He 

decided, “I will build two calves of gold and I’ll tell the people ‘these are your gods. 

Worship them.’”  Then he set those two idols up, one at Dan and one at Bethel, and 

made it possible for people to have a different place to go to worship rather than to go 

to Jerusalem at the temple.  Then he arranged for a different time for that worship.  The 

8th month instead of the time that God’s law had required.  Then he arranged for a 

different priesthood, people from all of the tribes rather than the Levites which again the 

Law of Moses had called for.  And in so doing, he made it possible for the people to 

have a more convenient situation and for him to have a following.  The problem was all 

of that  was out of his own heart and out of his own mind and it became a sin to him 

and to Israel that developed and lead to terrible consequences.  

<br> <br>

The New Testament has Jesus saying in John chapter 4 in a conversation with a 

woman at the well in Samaria something about worship which is very much like that.  

The woman noted that her people, the Samaritans worshipped at this mountain while 

the Jews worshipped at Jerusalem.   She wanted to know about that and Jesus 

answered her straightforwardly.  “Woman, believe me.  The hour comes when you shall 

neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father.  You worship, you 

know not what.  We know what  we worship for salvation is of the Jews.’  Now notice 

that He honestly dealt with the situation.  There was a truth about worship.  There was 

something that suited God and honored and He recognized that.  

<br> <br>

Verse 23 continues, “But the hour cometh and now it is when the true worshippers shall 

worship the Father and in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. 

God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”  

<br> <br>

Now notice in the case of Jeroboam in the Old Testament, worship required the 

intention to honor God and then submission to His Will.  Notice in this passage in the 

New Testament, worship requires the intention to honor God, that is the “in spirit” part 

of this, and then acceptance and submission to His Will.  That is the truth part of this.  

Worship has always required both attitude and action.  Worship requires the 

reverence, a sense of awe, and the love or the sense of gratitude that we’ve mentioned 

earlier.  Reverence then requires action to express those attitudes and that action 

needs to also be in keeping with God’s Will.  

<br> <br>

In the New Testament, we find instructions about worshipping God as Christians as the 

church of the Lord in this world today.  We find for example that worship involves the 

assembly of the church.  There are some things that you and I can do in our daily lives 

to express our devotion to God.  We offer thanks for His good gifts.  We meditate about 

His Word and what His Word has to say.  We may encourage each other with an 

instruction from His Word or some thought about it.  But there is the call in the New 

Testament for the church to come together to honor the Lord and to offer up gifts to 

Him.  

<br> <br>

The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14 in the New Testament describes the assembling 

of the church and he lays down principles to guide us.  He says in verse 26 that “all 

things are to be done to edify the church, the building up of those that we meet with for 

worship.”  He says in verses 14 and 15 that “whatever is done needs to be done with 

both the spirit and the understanding.”  That is, it requires thoughtfulness and 

intelligence and understanding as well as the attitudes that we’ve described earlier, 

and then Paul points out that in order for the church to be edified, for things to be 

understandable, they’re to be done decently and in order.  In other words, there needs 

to be a conduct of the assembly that fits with the offering of worship to God.  

<br> <br>

Now with that in mind, what kinds of things are done to express this devotion to God?  

The New Testament shows us the church gathering to observe the Lord’s Supper 

among the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.  Acts 20 and verse 7 would be a good 

example as well as 1 Corinthians 11 verses 23 and following.  When they met, they 

also sang.  In Colossians 3 and verse 16, with grace in their hearts they sang to the 

Lord with their gratitude and the teaching and instructing each other as they did it.  

<br> <br>

Prayer was a part of worship, an expression of it according to Acts 2 and verse 42.  

Teaching of the Lord’s Word was an another aspect of it that always took place and 

then on the 1st day of the week, the free giving of the people as a part of their devotion 

to God.  

<br> <br>

You and I can worship in those same ways even today.  

<br> <br>

(SONG # 3 - “Farther Along”)<br> <br>



CLOSING COMMENTS<br> <br>

	What a wondrous time we have had together in participating in the things of 

God.  I hope we all have been encouraged through our time spent together.  Please 

remember, you are invited to join us every Sunday morning at 7:30, as we commit 

ourselves to this service of God.<br> <br>

	Now let me ask if you have any questions or comments about today’s lesson?  

Maybe, you would like a free transcript or a free cassette tape of this program?  

Possibly, we could assist you with free Bible materials or free Bible correspondence 

courses?  No matter what your need is, please contact us at the following address:  <br> <br>



The Living Word

2540 N. Kansas Expressway 

Springfield, Mo.  65803

<br> <br>

Many of these materials are also available on our website.  

That address is: www.thelivingwordprogram.com

<br> <br>

Or if you prefer, you may call us at:

(417)869-2284  <br> <br>



Isn’t it wonderful to know what God’s Will is for us as we approach His throne in 

Worship?  May we always do what is well pleasing to our creator and acceptable in His 

sight. <br> <br>

 (Program closing)