What is Worship and Why is it Vital?
I. Worship is SURRENDER to the true STORY. (Is. 6:1-8)
A. GOD is always PRESENT. (v.1-3)
B. SEEING God EXPOSES us. (v.4-5)
C. God’s HEART is to RESTORE. (v.6-7)
D. HEARING (knowledge) is RELATIONAL. (v.8)
E. The INVITATION to RESPOND. (v.8)
The word “worship” in the Bible literally means to bow before one greater than you, to ascribe “worth” to another. When we come together on a given Sunday that is what we are doing. We go through practices together that allow us an opportunity to both acknowledge the “worth” of God as we bow in surrender to Him.
- Kid’s Question: Where is God?
- As Isaiah goes through this process, which elements or stages can you identify withmost? Why is that?
- What stands out to you from this text about God? What aspect of who He is andhow He acts? How have you experienced that in your own life?
II. The WORLD tells a COUNTER-STORY everyday.
A. YOU are the main CHARACTER.
B. You must HIDE your LIABILITIES.
C. God is an ANGRY PARENT.
D. KNOWLEDGE is an OBJECT.
E. The OBLIGATION to PERFORM.
The reason our corporate worship is so important is that it is a tangible way to counteract the story that we are told by the world around us each and every day. The forces that drive our world seek to undermine the truth and distract us from living in line with who God is.
4. Which of the elements of the “counter-story” do you find to be most present in your own life and thinking? How can you begin to retrain that aspect?
5. How might you explain the different “stories” we are exposed to in worship and in the world to someone who was asking questions about God?
III. Why WORSHIPING together MATTERS. (Heb 10:25)
A. We ALL have “LITURGIES”. (Rom. 12:1-2)
B. Our “LITURGIES” shape our LOVES. (Matt. 6:19-21)
C. Our LOVES drive our ACTIONS. (Col. 3:12-14)
D. Only the TRUTH sets us FREE. (Jn 8:32)
We often fall into the trap of seeing corporate worship as something we do for God…to earn points, or a way to learn more. But the practice of “re-membering” the story that is really true, done repeatedly over the course of our lives, actually shapes us into different people. We will all be shaped by the story we embrace. Worship is a way of remembering the true story, instead of being sold the false one that the world would have us but into.
6. Jeff is saying that our repeated actions shape our loves which give birth to more actions. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
7. When have you been able to see change in your own life? Was some form of love the motivator? If not, what was the motivator?
8. What would change about your own life (think specifics) if you were better able to embrace the true story and reject the world’s “counter-story”?