Our Lives As An Act Of Worship

“For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.” – Philippians 1:20.

Jesus does not ask us to die for Him, but to lay down our lives as an act of worship. Peter said to the Lord, “…“I’m ready to die for you.” and he meant it (John 13:37).  Peter had a sense for the heroic. Today we are asked to lay down our life day in and day out for God.  In other words, dying to self and living for Christ.  Is Christ your life? Is He your daily passion? Is He your hope for the future?   

So what does living our life in Christ mean? It means to worship and advance Christ in everything we do. In Philippians 1:20, we see that Paul’s attention was focused on one thing and one thing only.  While in prison, unsure of what his sentence might be, he maintained that laser focus. He expected that Christ would be exalted in everything he did. His one focus was glorifying Christ in everything. And he meant everything. In fact, he taught this in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” That is how we can use our lives as an act of worship.

One of the ways that people see Christ is by looking at the lives of those who are truly living for Him. Because fair or not, the world judges Christ by His followers. Our life is about magnifying Christ’s name and helping people come to know Him more. When a Christian is really alive to Christ, they have a passion and a purpose in their daily lives. They are daily demonstrating His goodness and grace. Their lives are a daily act of worship.   

Certainly, we see this with Christ and His life on the earth—His desire was to glorify God. Not only was He consumed with doing God’s will, but He also only said God’s words:”I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.” (John 12:49). The works that He did were the Father’s (John 10:37). He came to give glory to the Father.

The way that you live, let that be worship. Cherish God in all His works and all His ways. Reckon the old self dead and offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice.  Worship Him with your life.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Read Romans 12: 1-2: What does verse 2 of the passage add to your understanding of true worship?
  2. In your own words, what is the difference between attending worship and living in worship?
  3. What can we do this week to live our lives as an act of worship?   

Is Reverence Relevant Today?

“It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.” – Isaiah 6:1-4.

When Isaiah comes into the presence of the Lord, it is obvious how he feels about the Lord. He saw the Lord sitting on a lofty throne and his response was one of absolute conviction and a sense of the awesomeness of God. The seraphims in verse 3 were saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s armies.” The Bible says that the primary reason we come together is to worship God, to experience the presence of God, to acknowledge the authority of God. We come together to encounter the living God. We come together in reverence.

The word reverence is used throughout the Bible beginning in Leviticus: “Keep my Sabbath days of rest, and show reverence toward my sanctuary. I am the Lord,” (Leviticus 19:30) and ending in Hebrews 12:28: “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.  To reverence God means to show loving respect for Him and His Word. You do not show reverence for God when you approach God lightly or when worship is hollow.

God is holy and He deserves your reverence. Proverbs tells us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. This type of fear is not being scared, or fearful of what will happen, nor is it distrust or terror of God. Rather, it is reference and awe that fuels our worship and faith. It is the understanding of the wonder and majesty of our incredible God, who transcends time and space, and who is bigger than the entire universe He created. He personally knows and loves us with deeper and more love than we could ever comprehend. Reverence is taking the incredible knowledge of His majesty, and applying it to our lives and giing God the glory that is rightly due Him in our worship. Psalm 49:1 says, “How great is the Lord, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain!” Daniel 9:4 says, “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands.” 

Discussion Questions:

  1. How would you define reverence? Is it fear of God?
  2. What happens to your relationship with God, with others, and with the opportunities God gives you, when we are disrespectful?
  3. What issue is in your life that would improve with more reverence?

Great Is The Lord And Worthy To Be Praised

“How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you!” – 2 Samuel 7:22.

Have you ever just been dumbfounded by the greatness of God? Have you ever looked back at what God has done in your life and couldn’t help yourself from praising God for everything that went into and came out of this adventure? Me too.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined God’s love, faithfulness and grace. What I have seen, heard, did, and received is nothing short of amazing. It gives me goosebumps when I think about it and I want to find a better way to praise and worship our incredible God. 

And why not? We have all been bought with a price. God saved an unworthy people by giving His only Son. And the Son of God dying on the cross becomes even more incredible  if we consider the sin in our life, the sin in the church, and the sin in the world. We are unworthy of His incredible love. God is worthy to be praised.

In addition to what He has done, we should also praise Him for who He is. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, beginning and the end. He is the lion and the lamb.  He created all, yet He humbled himself to be clothed in human form. He is the king of all, yet became a servant for our sake. God is worthy to be praised.

God is a mighty God. Nothing is impossible with Him. He can move mountains, make the sun stand still, and heal the sick. In Joshua chapter 4, we read how God completed the mighty task of bringing the Israelites into the Promised Land. God led the Israelites out of slavery and into freedom just as He had promised. Because of the magnitude of what He did, God did not want the Israelites to ever forget what He had done for them. God wanted the Israelites to forever remember the miracle He performed for them and what a mighty and powerful God He is. God is worthy to be praised.

Think back for a moment. God has done some amazing things in your life. He may have healed a relationship or healed your body, He may have saved you from an addiction or gave you the spouse you always prayed for. Take time today to remember the mighty things God has done for you. Praise Him and commit to Him that you will never forget the amazing things He has done for you. 

Thank you Jesus for blessing us with immeasurably more that we could have ever dreamed of on this adventure.  You are worthy of our praise.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How big is God? How powerful is God? How loving is God? In your life, how do you praise God for who He is?   
  2. Because of what God has done in our lives, how should we respond? 

In Awe

“Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.” – Hebrews 12:28. 

Have you ever just stopped to breathe in the awesomeness of God?  God’s jaw-dropping, beautiful creation surrounds us, testifying to that awesomeness. He created the sun to keep us warm and give us light. He created all those millions of stars, all in immeasurable sizes, temperatures, and brightness. He created the cool breeze that blows against our skin on our beautiful Emerald Coast beaches. He created the food and water that sustains us. He created life itself, so we can have a personal relationship with Him. His glory is so stunning, so spectacular, so remarkable, so extraordinary, so amazing that we need to periodically just sit back and take it in; to worship God in awestruck wonder.

How often do you stop to think about that? How often do we stop and reflect on how much bigger God is than our circumstances?  How often do we pause to just worship our awesome God who created everything by His command. (Hebrews 11:3)

Yet often, rather than immersing ourselves in the wonder of who God is, letting him captivate our imaginations with his majesty, we are becoming too familiar with who God is. Many people today have no fear of God and have easily taken God for granted and our worship of Him reflects that. It’s almost looking at the Cosmos with a “shrug” and settling for a passing knowledge.

We should never lose our awe of God. We cannot give God hollow worship. Rather we should honor His name, honor Him by worshiping Him in reverence and awe. God is not interested in empty words sung on Sunday from less than enthusiastic people. God is too good for half-hearted, hollow worship, too awesome for empty words. He wants our worship. He deserves our worship.

Each weekend at Northstar and churches across the world, we have the opportunity to learn about and worship God. We have the opportunity to seek Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Why would you settle for “just doing worship” when you could stand in awe?  The one true God is inviting you to see Him and stand amazed.

I believe we can do exactly that if we consistently take time out just for the purpose of admiring our great and wonderful God.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How we can avoid familiarity with God in our lives?
  2. What can we do this week to pause and worship our awesome God?

What is Worship?

“True worship is a valuing or a treasuring of God above all things.” – John Piper.

There are many different definitions of what true worship is. Some believe that worship is the worship song that moves you on Sundays. Others believe worship is the amount of money you contribute to various ministries. Still others see volunteering on Sundays as an act or worship. All those and others are acts or expressions of worship, but I am not sure they define what true worship really is. I agree with John Piper: True worship is valuing or treasuring of God above all things.

True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and how their worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things misses the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God’s Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place.

Psalm 73:25 says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.” This verse expresses the psalmist’s recognition of God’s unique value, as well as a passionate desire for God. But can we always say that? If we are completely honest, can we say that every day and in every circumstance? Probably not. There will be times in every Christian’s life when we truly hunger for God more than for anything else. But our hunger and thirst for God can be more up and down. We want God, and what God provides: peace, health, joy and love. All those things are gifts from God, but true worship is echoing the Psalmist’s confession, “Lord, I desire you more than anything!”

So how do we do that? Where does such a passion for God come from?  It comes from truly knowing God. The more we see God as He really is, the more we will hunger for Him. But a fervent desire for God comes, not just from knowing about God in truth, but also from knowing Him personally and intimately. The more we experience God as He is, the more we will long for His presence.

True worship is the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him (Acts 17:23). Worship is to glorify and exalt God.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you experience God’s presence in your life?
  2. What increases your desire for God? What competes with God for your ultimate desire?
  3. What can we do this week to increase our desire for God more than anything?

Do Something

“For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” – James 1:23-25.

It must be pretty exciting to receive a sports scholarship to college. I’m sure every one of them looks forward to the day they get in the game and show the fans what they can do. They expect to rise to the top when the game hangs in the balance. No one goes to college to sit on the bench for the season. So why are some of us who belong on God’s team so comfortable and satisfied with standing on the sidelines? Why are we so complacent about being actively involved? What happens that we lose our passion and become apathetic?

Maybe it was a disappointment or negative circumstances that caused you to move toward the sidelines. Maybe things got so bad that the sidelines seemed like the best option at that time. Maybe you feel inadequate, or ill equipped or maybe you feel like a hypocrite playing in the game with what is going on in your life. There will always be reasons and circumstances that will motivate you to back up and to back down. It is probably during these times when you look toward heaven and ask, “Where are you, God?” 

The God of the universe has not abandoned you. Your life isn’t over because you had a setback or because you came short of accomplishing something or you feel like a hypocrite. “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

You and I are key players in this game. The field is ready for us to take our place. Just because we are in the game does not mean we are a finished product.  We are still under construction—the closer we get to Him, the more He reveals who He created us to be. Everything I need is found in Him, and everything I am is because of Him.

Don’t stand on the sidelines. No matter where your heart for ministry is, minister in it. Don’t just talk about it. It is only by acting on your convictions that you can make a difference.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What role does hypocrisy play in keeping us on the sidelines?
  2. What can we do this week to get back in the game. 

Hypocrisy Unplugged

“To nobody’s surprise there are hypocrites in the church? Yes, and in the mall and at the home. Don’t hunt through the Church for a hypocrite. Go home and look in the mirror. Hypocrites? Yes. See that you make the number one less.” –  Billy Sunday

Throughoutt the years, one of the general suppositions and objections to Christianity is that the church is filled with hypocrites. People have gone to school on the words and actions of Christians whose walk doesn’t always match their talk. They have a fish on their car, but become a madman when someone cuts them off.

Are Christians hypocrites? Guilty as charged. I doubt if too many people would contest that statement. Most would admit it and move on.  And why not, as followers of Jesus, we are well aware of our tendency toward hypocrisy. If we are willing to take an honest look at ourselves, regardless of our perspectives on faith, we will find a life riddled with broken promises and inconsistencies. Even with the best intentions, our beliefs often don’t match our actions. It’s just part of being human. Jesus challenges us to love our neighbors, yet naturally tend to care more about ourselves.  

We are all adept at saying one thing and doing another. But that doesn’t make it OK. The hypocrisy of Christians has caused too many people to walk away from the idea of faith and religion. It’s resulted in people disregarding a loving, forgiving God because of how imperfectly we represent Jesus to the world around us.

I hate when I realize that I’ve been hypocritical. I can’t begin to express to you the pain I’ve felt when I know I’ve broken a promise, let someone down, or failed to follow through on a commitment. Have you ever felt that way? One of the things I love about Easter is that it reminds me that Jesus accomplished exactly what He said He would. Everything He preached, He backed up with action. Easter reminds me that Jesus doesn’t make promises He can’t keep. Even if His followers get stuck in hypocrisy, Jesus never does. In a world full of hypocrisy, Jesus is and has been the only one to be completely, unequivocally non-hypocritical. 

The cure to hypocrisy in the church is to be authentic about our sinfulness and authentic about the righteousness of Christ that is applied to us when we accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does hypocrisy hinder the work of the church? 
  2. How can we be more authentic in the church?

The Cure For Hypocrisy

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,[a] and then the outside will become clean, too.” – Matthew 23:25-28

We have all had that moment when we want to be someone else, or trying to be different than we really are so people won’t see us as losers or irrelevant. In those times, hypocrisy seems to come easy to us even though we hate it. We hate it when we see it in other people. We hate it when we see it in the church.  And we really hate it when it rears its ugly head in us. It would be nice if we could go to our doctor and say, “I’m having a bout with hypocrisy,” and the doctor writes a prescription that you get filled at the local pharmacy. Three days later all the symptoms of hypocrisy are gone and you go on with your life. Your general practitioner cannot solve that problem for you. Fortunately, God can.

Jesus has a prescription for dealing with hypocrisy in our life. The cure starts from within. Matthew 7:3 says, “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” Verse 5 adds, “Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” When dealing with hypocrisy we need to start with ourselves. Refuse to compare yourself with other people. Refuse to evaluate what’s wrong with other people. We tend to fall into the hypocrisy trap when we know that we have some things we need to deal with, but we know five or six other people that have bigger issues than we have and are more in need of change than we are.  Love is the prescription we need because love changes everything.  

Jesus was never called a hypocrite because Jesus loved people. He valued people. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for every one of them. We should not seek perfection, not should we seek to place ourselves on a pedestal over others. Being a Christian is all about having a life-altering relationship with Jesus. It means we spend time with Jesus. It means we seek to emulate Jesus. Being a Christian is not about outward persona or wrappings, it is about the inward reality. So part of the cure for hypocrisy is to stop trying so hard to be better than others. Instead, develop a real relationship with Jesus. The more we spend time with Jesus, the more we are molded into His image, filled with His love for others and covered by His grace. The more we love others the less we will have hypocritical moments.

Remember, that it all starts within.   

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does hypocrisy start within?
  2. What can we do to love people more this week?   

Hypocrisy

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.Their worship is a farce,  for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’” – Matthew 15:7-9. 

If you have ever talked at any length with an alcoholic who participated in the Alcoholics Anonymous program, you will never hear the words, “I am a former alcoholic.” Rather, you will hear the sober declaration, “I am a recovering alcoholic.”  Veterans of alcoholism know it doesn’t matter if their last drink was five hours ago or five decades ago; the possibility of falling off the wagon looms as close as the nearest bar or difficult relative. One mistake, one wrong decision, one moment of indulgence could rip away everything they have achieved. That is because recovery is a journey, not a destination. 

We, as Christians, can learn from that mindset. We are all “recovering hypocrites.” And we can fall back into being a hypocrite at any time. That is because we have developed a habit and a reputation for saying one thing and doing another. Some form of hypocrisy seems inevitable and we don’t want to open ourselves up for the steps to put hypocrisy behind us. You probably have an intense urge to go to another website right about now, and I understand that. Hypocrisy is a difficult subject. People use it as their principle reason for not going to church, rightfully pointing out “How could someone possibly say they believe one thing and live like they believe another?”

Jesus has a lot to say about hypocrites. Reading between the lines isn’t necessary, because He makes his disdain for them pretty obvious. He says things like: “You hypocrites!” (Matthew 15:7) “whitewashed tombs!” (Matthew 23:27) And, “Sons of vipers!” (Matthew 23:33

But how do we define hypocrisy? And are all Christians really hypocrites? I would make the case that doing what we don’t want to do doesn’t make us a hypocrite. It makes us sinners. Sinners in need of a savior. And therein lies the confusion. We have blurred the lines between the two. We need to make a clear dissection between the two. All of us sin but we all don’t need to be hypocrites. Confused? Let me try to clarify a little: a sinner is a person who falls short from time to time, all the while striving to be more Christlike. On occasion, we all act in contradiction to what we truly believe. None of us will ever perfectly live out each and every one of our beliefs, on a consistent basis, in any arena of life; especially when it comes to issues of faith.

A hypocrite, on the other hand, is a person who purposely deceives others, a person who attempts to live two lives simultaneously — one in public and one in private. They practice sins on a routine basis and remain unrepentant. They appear holy, but choose not to deal with their sin. They deny the grace that God exteds to them. To me, this is how Jesus defines hypocrisy.

So yes, there are hypocrites in the church. We are all owning up to our faults and seeking forgiveness. We will stumble, we will fall. But to label all of us hypocrites isn’t entirely accurate. Yes, we may be recovering hypocrites, but with God as our guide, we will continue our journey to be more Christlike, one moment at a time.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How can Christians act like religious hypocrites? How do you feel about someone when you realize that they are a hypocrite?
  2. What can we do this week to minimize hypocrisy in our lives? 

Thank You Mom

“When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:” – Proverbs 31:26-28.

On Mother’s Day each year we acknowledge the unique contributions that mothers make in the lives of their children. My prayer is that we show our appreciation and gratitude more often than once a year, but on Mother’s Day specifically, we recognize the behind the scenes sacrifices and struggles every mother makes. We recognize that, all too often, your contributions as a mom, may feel undervalued, misunderstood and overlooked because so much of your best work is hidden away in the unseen moments of grace with your children. Most people will never see you throwing yourself in the daily chore of cleaning spit-up, cooking another meal, responding to another tantrum, pick up the thousandth crayon, listening to your teen’s concerns or graciously shepherding feuding brothers and sisters. And for all that, mom’s simply don’t get their due. How often does a child walk up and say, “wow mom, you have it all together.” 

Fortunately, that doesn’t stop you from always being there. You are there at all our sporting events. You were there with some good advice when we started dating. You were there on the front row watching us getting married. You were there when your grandchildren were born. You sacrifice and struggle because of love, and selfless, sacrificial love is worthy of recognition.

My hope is that you know that you are valued by your church. We thank you for all the small, the ordinary, and the mundane things you do for your family. Thank you for sowing the seeds of God’s love in the hearts of children. Chuck Swindoll in Strong Family listed some “I owe you’s” which apply to mothers all over the country, all of which are long overdue. “I owe you – for your time. Day and night. I owe you – for your example. Consistent and dependable. I owe you – for your support. Stimulating and challenging. I owe you – for your humor. Sparky and quick. I owe you – for your counsel. Wise and quiet. I owe you – for your humility. Genuine and gracious. I owe you – for your hospitality. Smiling and warm. I owe you – for your insight. Keen and honest. I owe you – for your flexibility. Patient and joyful. I owe you – for your sacrifices. Numerous and quickly forgotten. I owe you – for your faith. Solid and sure. I owe you – for your hope. Ceaseless and indestructible. I owe you – for your love. Devoted and deep.”

So, on this Mother’s Day, take a moment and consider the priceless value of the one who made your life possible – your mother.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you appreciate most about your mom? 
  2. What can we do this week to honor and respect your mother?