TEACHER: Ken Hicks
SCRIPTURES: John 4:23; Luke 2:13-14; Hebrews 13:15
BOTTOM LINE: We all worship Something or Someone, because we were designed for Worship.
QUESTION: How can you offer God the Gift of Worship this CHRISTmas?
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I want to unpack together for the next few minutes, a part of the CHRISTmas story where we see the difference worship can make. And worship is a LOT of things … Praying, Giving, Reading/Meditating on God’s Word, Serving AND Music or Praise … but for many of us, singing and lifting our voices in Praise is no doubt a part of our worship of God isn’t it?
- We all worship Something or Someone, because God made us for WORSHIP.
All things were made for the Praise of God, including US.
Here’s what I’ve discovered: worshipping anyone or anything else other than God ultimately proves less than satisfying. Our hearts were made for God, and only God can satisfy them.
And don’t miss this … no matter our age … Older … younger … and in between … we all worship something or someone.
The CHRISTmas story is a call to worship God, but we also have to ask:
- What do we worship?
- Who do we worship?
- … career … family … money … fame …
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- Worship was the curious Gift of the Angels to Jesus at His birth.
Others in the story of Jesus’ birth also brought other gifts right?
THE MAGI brought Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh … all of which were definitely useful for the family’s expenses on their trip to Egypt.
THE SHEPHERDS brought the gift of their time & joyful belief … Luke 2:15-20 … literally the Shepherds were there to celebrate w/ them and be the “family” that they did not have in that moment.
MARY gave the gift of her womb … a place of protection and nurture for Jesus.
THE ANGELS … they gave the unusual gift of worship.
APPLICATION:
Worship literally means to ascribe worth to someone or something. God is worthy of our worship!
3 WAYS TO WORSHIP GOD:
So … how can we ascribe worth to God? How can we truly worship God?
- Worship God Verbally.
- Worship God in COMMUNITY.
- Worship God Demonstrably.
The INN KEEPER … because of the crowds … perhaps the time they arrived … who knows … but he turned away Mary & Joseph and missed out on the opportunity to witness the birth of the Savior of the World.
Truth is … many people are still turning Jesus away aren’t they?