WEEK 6 SERMON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS

Activate: Walk in worship.

Introduction:

Have you ever found yourself leaving a Sunday worship service saying to yourself, “The worship was great—I can’t wait for next week?” Or maybe you’ve had the opposite reaction. No matter which situation you have found yourself in, we can all admit that our perspective of worship is often limited to what we experience at church. But Scripture is clear about what worship is—it extends much deeper than our songs. Worship is an intimate expression of gratitude for the mercies of God that He’s given to His people. And singing is just one aspect of how we worship. True worship happens when we live a life of sacrifice—when we worship as a lifestyle.

Bottom line: Worship is an offering of attention

Something To Talk About:

Fear: When many people hear the word “worship,” they think of music. Music is one way to worship, but really worship is an entire lifestyle. Every aspect of our life can be an act of worship to God. In the book of 2 Chronicles, three enemy nations—the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites— join forces against King Jehoshaphat. The king received a report that they were on their way to fight the nation of Israel. The odds were three nations against one. Rather than worrying, Jehoshaphat chose to worship by asking God for help: “Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the LORD for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting” (2 Chronicles 20:3). His first reaction was fear—and, considering the odds, fear was reasonable. The king could have let his fear intimidate, discourage, or cause him to give up. Instead, Jehoshaphat let his fear motivate him to worship through prayer. He also didn’t do it alone. He gathered others to pray with him: “So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD’s help.” (2 Chronicles 20:4). More than likely, you will never have a day when three nations are united in war against just you. However, this year has brought with it much fear, anxiety, and worry. There have been numerous days when the odds were not in your favor. However, remember to worship God by asking Him to help you when impossible days come. He will always hear and respond.
Curiosity: To worship God with a degree of curiosity means to approach your spiritual journey with an open mind, actively seeking to understand and learn more about God, asking questions, and exploring different aspects of your faith with a genuine desire to deepen your connection with God, rather than simply accepting things passively. Don’t shy away from asking “why” and “how” about your beliefs, the scriptures, and God’s actions. Go beyond routine practices and actively look for deeper meaning and personal relevance in your worship. Devote time to studying scripture and reflecting on how it applies to your life. Maintain a childlike curiosity and awe for God. Curiosity deepens understanding: By actively seeking knowledge, you can develop a richer and more personal understanding of your faith. Curiosity can lead to a more meaningful and engaged relationship with God. This promotes personal growth: Continually questioning and learning can help you grow spiritually and mature in your faith.
Gratitude: Psalm 95:2 says: “Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.” In a world that often emphasizes what we lack, gratitude is a refreshing counterpoint. From a biblical standpoint, worship is a response to the actions of God. The reason for and energy behind our worship of God is gratitude to God. Everything we do in worship–music, art, sermon, prayer–is in service to this offering of gratitude and thanksgiving for all the blessings God has given us. Our praise and worship is a response to God having touched us. Gratitude should be a part of our character as Christians and a part of our everyday life. In the smallest moments and the most earth-shattering ones, we always have reason to thank God for what He has done and what we know He will do. Often, in prayer, we use this direct communication with God to simply check off all our requests—good health, guidance, forgiveness, and so forth—without remembering to thank the Lord for His presence in our lives.
Devotion: Before worshipping, it is important to understand why we worship and what the heart of worship truly is. So, what does worship mean? To worship is to admire something or someone so deeply that your only response is extravagant love and incredible submission to that thing or person. That is what God desires of us. We need to know Him so well, to love Him so dearly, and to respect Him so much that our only response is to live in honor of Him every day in all that we do. One sign of a genuine believer is devotion to Christ. To be devoted means to cling to Jesus and steadfastly persevere with Him. Out of love and gratitude, we express our dedication to Him through a passion to obey, a spirit of humility, and a servant’s heart. Devotion isn’t passive but active.

Discussion Questions:

Take a moment and reflect on your experience of attending and participating in worship services. At times we may think that worshiping with other believers isn’t worth the bother. Why not just worship God on our own at home?
When did you intentionally choose to worship God? What motivated you?
Do you think God has worship preferences? Explain. Since there are different types of acceptable worship preferences, how can we know whether or not our worship is proper and pleasing to God?
How does the Word of God function in providing the fuel for your worship?
How would you briefly summarize the history of your own experience worshipping God with other believers? How did you feel encouraged by the worship experience? What was your greatest joy or struggle this week?
What is the role of the church community in worship?
How does fear affect our worship of God?
What is the role of curiosity in worship?
Giving thanks is one way we worship. How do you regularly express thanks, gratitude, and praise of God?
What does it mean to you to be devoted to God?
What are some ways you can worship God outside of church?
What is the biggest takeaway from this message?

Take one thing home with you:

Worship God with your full attention.

How do we give God our full attention? Can you imagine Jesus sitting down with you at a meal and constantly looking out the window or asking you to repeat what you said, distracted and distant as if wishing He was somewhere else? No. On the eve of His crucifixion, knowing full well that He would be tortured and killed the next day, He remained perfectly present to His disciples. He ate with them. He prayed with them. He washed their feet in a spirit of humility and love. Jesus lived presently and gave all of His attention to the work of love before Him.

Jesus gave us His full attention, but do we reciprocate? Or do we meditate on His Word while scrolling down our to-do list? Our prayers are interrupted by random thoughts and other pauses to take care of this or remember to do that. Our intentions are good but it is a challenge to spend time alone with God. The living God doesn’t want just some of me when I spend time with Him, He wants all of me. Just like we need full attention in a heart-to-heart conversation with someone. God deserves the same from us.