Apr. 12, 2026

If you've ever wondered why we gather and worship, Pastor Dave Seratt's honest message on Psalm 95 will reignite your heart and remind you that the God who holds the earth in His hand is also, personally, your God.

Pastor Dave's sermon begins at 18:04 min into the video. The music “The Heart Of Worship", "Hymn of Heaven", "There Is A Redeemer", and “His Mercy Is More” are licensed under CCLI Copyright #2723035 and Streaming Media #22024223 licenses.

Opening - Pastor Dave opened a brand-new three-week series on worship, anchoring it in Psalm 95 — a passionate, ancient call for God's people to come together and honor Him. The heartbeat of the message was simple and direct: our primary purpose in gathering is to worship God, and sometimes we forget that.

1. Worship Is More Than a Feeling — It's a Commandment - Pastor Dave set the foundation in Deuteronomy 6, reminding us that worship isn't optional. God commanded His people — and by extension, us — to love Him with all our heart, soul, and strength. He pointed out that Jesus Himself quoted Deut. 6:13 when the devil tempted Him, saying, "It is written that you shall worship and serve God alone." That settled it for Pastor Dave: both the Old and New Testaments compel us to turn toward God, see His greatness, and respond with honor and reverence.

He was careful to define worship, too. It means to bow, to honor, to revere. It's not just an outward expression — it's an inner heart attitude. As he put it, "Your actions are right, but your heart is far from Me" is a warning that echoes all through Scripture.

2. Worship Together — Not Just on the Mountain - Pastor Dave had a gentle word for those who say, "I worship God on my fishing boat." He smiled and said he does the same thing — but then he leaned in: "It's not one or the other." Worshiping in God's creation is good and right, but it doesn't answer the call to gather together as a community. Psalm 95 says "Oh come, let us" — and that "let us" is an invitation to worship in community, not just in private.

3. How We Worship — Singing, Shouting, and Thanksgiving - Pastor Dave walked through the specific expressions of worship in Psalm 95 and Ephesians 5:18–20. God's people are singing people, he said — every church he's ever known sings when they gather. The Psalms were literally Israel's hymn book. He broke down three types of songs from Ephesians: psalms (poems set to music), hymns (songs declaring God's character), and spiritual songs (Spirit-sourced melodies of praise).

On the topic of musical preference, he was refreshingly honest: "Some Sundays I love every song we sing. Some Sundays I like the songs we sing." But then he offered the real measuring stick — if a song honors God, declares His glory, and gives Him praise, he said, "Even if it's not my favorite tune, I'll endeavor to sing that. Why? Because it's not about me — it's about Him."

He also called for some passion. Recalling how congregations sometimes sing How Great Is Our God without any energy, he said with a grin, "We should sing it — how great is our God! That's joyful." Shouting joyfully, he explained, means a triumphant, heartfelt declaration — not volume for its own sake, but exuberance rooted in gratitude.

Thanksgiving rounded out the trio. Giving thanks means acknowledging that God — not ourselves — is the source of every blessing. He asked the congregation to think back over just that morning: "Every one of you, your eyes opened this morning. That was God's gift."

4. Why We Worship — Because of Who He Is - Pastor Dave closed the teaching by pointing back to the "why" in Psalm 95. We worship because He is the great God above all gods, the Creator and Sustainer of everything — the deep places of the earth, the sea, the dry land. And then, more personally: "He is our God." He noted that God is our Maker twice over — He gave us physical life and spiritual life. As Pastor Dave said quietly, "We belong to God twice."

Closing - The service closed with a congregational declaration from Rev. 4:11:

"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."

Pastor Dave's challenge was clear: God is worthy of every expression of worship we could ever give — our voices, our posture, our hearts, our whole lives. Don't hold back.