WHAT IS WORSHIP?
Expressing our love and gratitude to God for who He is, what He's done, what He's said, and what He's promised to do!
Jesus: "The most important command of all is this one: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind, and all your strength! Mark 12:29-30
WHY DO WE EXPRESS OUR LOVE TO GOD?
1. BECAUSE WE WERE MADE TO BE LOVED BY GOD
"We love because God first loved us!" 1 John 4:19 (NCV)
"Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure." Ephesians 1:4-5 (NLT)
Action Plan: Check out Doable Discipleship's episode with Temree Abajian to hear her talk about how she worships through the highs and lows of life. Click here to watch or listen.
2. BECAUSE EVERYTHING COMES FROM GOD
David: "These gifts did not really come from me and my people. Everything comes from you; we can only give you back what you have given us!" 1 Chronicles 29:14
3. BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND LIFE THROUGH WORSHIP
David: "I tried to understand it all, but it was too hard for me to see until I went to the Temple of God. Then I understood what was happening . . ." Ps. 73:16-17
4. BECAUSE GOD STREGTHENS US THROUGH WORSHIP
"You, Lord, keep my lamp burning and turn darkness to light. You help me defeat the enemies of my life. Your way is perfect, Lord, and your word is correct. You are a shield for those who run to you for help . . . You give me strength and you guide me right!" Psalm 18:28-32 (CEV)
WHAT KIND OF WORSHIP DOES GOD LOVE?
WHOLEHEARTED WORSHIP!
"Hezekiah dedicated his life to serving God. Everything he did in worship in God's temple, he did wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful and prospered." 2 Chronicles 31:21 (GW)
GOD HATES Insincere, heartless worship
GOD: "These people say they are mine, but they honor me only with their lips! Their hearts are far away from me! And their worship of me amounts to nothing more than human traditions that they have memorized and say by rote!" Isaiah 29:13
Jesus: "True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth! That's the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23 (NIV)
HOW TO TELL GOD YOU LOVE HIM (WAYS TO WORSHIP)
NOTE: WATCHING WORSHIP IS NOT WORSHIP!!!
1. BY LISTENING AND RESPONDING TO GOD'S WORD.
"Gather ALL the people together: men, women, children, and immigrants living in your towns so everyone can listen and learn to respect the Lord and carefully obey everything in his Word." Deut. 31:12 (NCV)
Jesus: "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed IF you DO them!" John 13:17 (NIV)
Taking notes is part of worship!
Action Plan: Keep your notes from the weekend in a binder or file. This week, go back and look at some of your older notes you may have kept and remind yourself of a lesson you had previously learned.
2. BY SINGING TO HIM WITH OUR WHOLE HEARTS.
"Celebrate God! Sing together – everyone! All of you with honest hearts, raise the roof!" Psalm 32:11(Mes)
Action Plan: Do you sing out loud or are you silent because you don't think you can sing? Start singing! You are worshiping God.
3. BY TALKING TO GOD TOGETHER IN PRAYER
"They all joined together constantly in prayer." Acts 1:14 (NIV)
"We must help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you." Romans 1:12 (NCV)
Action Plan: Make it a point to start praying more often with your family and friends.
4. BY SHARING THE LORD'S SUPPER TOGETHER.
"Jesus said,"This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. So do this often in remembrance of me." 1 Cor. 11:25 (NLT)
5. BY RECOMMITTING OUR LIVES TO GOD
"Because of God's great mercy to you, offer your lives as living sacrifices to Him, dedicated to serving him in a holy and pleasing way – this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1
6. BY GIVING BACK SOME OF WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US.
"On every Lord's Day each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week and give it back as your offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord helped you earn." 1 Corinthians 16:2 (LB)
7. BY BEING BAPTIZED PUBLICLY DECLARE OUR FAITH.
"Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ." Col. 2:12 (Mes)
"In Christ's Body you are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Ephesians 2:22 (NIV)
THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK
READ The Purpose Driven Church, Chapters 12 to 16
WATCH the daily online 2 min devotionals for tips for enjoying worshiping
CLASS:Click hereto sign up for CLASS this weekend at a campus near you.
Doable Discipleship: This week's episode of Doable Discipleship takes an honest look at conflict resolution. New episodes release every Tuesday. To watch or listen,click here
Talk It Over: Have you ever discussed the weekend message in your small group? Talk It Over provides weekly small group discussion questions as a way to bring the weekend message into your small group. To view this week's Talk It Over,click here.
