Worth-ship

Nick said I should tend to this blog again. I told him I didn't think anybody was reading it, so I stopped. He said he would read it. Writing is an effort for me. To practice writing was one of the reasons I started this blog; look back to post number one. I grew weary, however, for Nick, I'll try it again, but I am going to begin easy by copying another blogger's post that I read recently and really appreciated. By posting it here, it will be handy for when I want to reference it again. So this is for Nick and for me. By the way, this copied post is actually his copy of another's post. By way of Michael Duduit, Rick Ezell writes about worship. Ezell says he got the idea from George Barna. A good thing gets around.

What is worship?

In a recent issue of his One Minute Uplift newsletter, pastor Rick Ezell writes: "George Barna surveyed thousands of churchgoing Christians. The question was asked: 'Have you ever experienced God in a worship service?' Only one-third said they regularly experience God in church worship.

"It is safe to say that true, life-changing encounters with the living God are missing from many of our churches. We desperately need a life-changing glimpse of the greatness, the awesomeness, the wonder, the power,the mercy, the goodness and the lovingkindness of the God we serve.

"The word worship conjures up all kinds of images in people's minds. Simply said: Worship is declaring the worth of God. The word worship comes from the Old English word that means "worthship." So with that definition in mind, we don't worship God for what we get out of it, but to give God the honor that is due Him, recognizing His worth, His value, His place in our church and His claim on our lives.

"Worship, therefore, is not a weekly pep talk to rally the troops and win the contest. Worship is not a motivational seminar to make us feel good about ourselves. Worship is not the Christian alternative to a Saturday night rock concert or a Beethoven symphony. Worship occurs when people encounter the God who loves them and desires a relationship with them. Worship is a meeting between God and His people. Worship does not lead to an encounter with God. It is an encounter with God."

May you have the opportunity for authentic worship in the days ahead.

Did anybody gain anything from this?

P.S.: Help me. It has been a while. I can't get this post to separate paragraphs except for the block quote, which is too separated. Tabs and returns don't work. Any suggestions? The first paragraph is actually supposed to be three paragraphs.