A few thoughts on worship

Right now in the Rejoice Worship Ministry, we're spending some time in our devotion times talking about worship. Here are a few of the simple thoughts that have been shared or will be shared:
-we long for and were created for transcendence, something bigger than us
hundreds of thousands of folks chose to spend time and money to stand in the freezing cold to watch a man put his hand on the Bible and repeat some vows. I'm not trying to diminish Obama or any other president's getting sworn in. It is an important, historical moment. I do think though that it is a picture of our longing for transcendence. We want to be part of something bigger than me, something we can tell my kids and grand kids we were part of...
-we worship in the context of story
The simplified version of this story goes like this:
We each have a personal hell, something we need salvation from.
We each look to someone or something as our personal savior from our personal hell.
We place value (worship) the thing or person that saves us from our hell.
Look at commercials:
1. You have acne which keeps you from______________(personal hell)
2. Use proactive solution to save you from that personal hell so that you can ________ (savior)
3. Spend money and time on proactive solution (worship)
(note-Marc Driscoll taught on this idea at the Continuous Worship conference 07)
-worship is about what we value
-what we value shapes the way we live
If you want a great picture of this, watch the movie/documentary "Trekkies".
If you come into my house, you get an idea of the things I value. If you look at my bank statements, you can get an idea of the things I value. If you watched how I spent my time, you'd get an idea about what I value.
-because we're made in God's image, we are continuously outpouring
read Harold Best's book "Unceasing Worship" for a great study of this
-Who/what we worship shapes who we are ("We Become What We Worship" -G.K. Beale)

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
-Romans 12:1-2 (the message)

These are just a few of the thoughts we've talked about or will be talking about. Feel free to share any thoughts or input you may have.