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Back To The Basics - Worship Series
Contributed by Mark Engler on Sep 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: The greatest thing about giving God our whole life in worship is that through worship and God’s love in us everything else and every other person in our lives will receive the love of God through us as well.
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Back to the Basics - Worship
ME
Take a look at this video this morning as we get into talking about worship this morning. It is David Platt talking about religion and sports. (Video)
Isn’t that what someone from another country would see of our country when it comes to sports. Especially in the fall when it football season. I’m not picking on those who like football or like sports. I like sports as well and a big part of my life has involved sports.
But if someone from another country would come and evaluate what we worship in this country, I really don’t think God or Jesus would take the top spot any longer. Sports is the new religion in America.
Can we like or love sports and still worship God above them. Yes, but the question is do we. Can we hold things dear to our hearts and like to do things and like to have things and still worship God above them? Yes, but again the question is do we?
There are many things in life that I hold dear, that I like to do, and that I like to have. I like to fish and golf. I like to relax and sleep. I like to go on vacation and see things I have never seen before and do things I have never done before. I like to hunt and ride 4 wheelers and motorcycles. I like to spend time sitting around a fire and roast some hot dogs.
I like to have 4 wheelers, motorcycles, boats, fishing equipment, guns, and bows. I like to have nice furniture, a comfortable bed to sleep in. I like to have a iPhone and Mac computers and a coffee maker that makes coffee in 3 minutes. I like to have nice cars and trucks and I like to have good lawn care equipment.
I hold dear my wife, my sons and daughter in laws. I hold dear my grandchildren even though when they walk in the door I usually say, “Oh no the little ones are here.” I hold dear my father and mother and brother even though my mother and brother have passed. I hold dear my in laws (Maria’s family). I hold dear my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. And I hold dear my dog Izzy, I have never had a better dog than her.
I hold dear my friends and relationships I have with my brothers and sisters in Christ which includes not only this body of believers but so so many more. — I could go on with things I hold dear and things I like to do and things I like to have, but you get the picture that there are a lot of things in this world and of this world that are in my life.
WE
We all have these things. Oh, there not the same exact things, some of them are, others aren’t. But there are so many things in this world that the things of this world could dominate our lives. Many times they do, like when it’s football season as David Platt was talking about.
You will notice that I have not mentioned God yet. He kind of got squeezed out of the picture. Which He does in many people’s lives. After all with so many things in our lives that we like to do, like to have, and hold dear, where does He fit in?
Because really — we have lives to live and we only get one round on this earth so we better make the best of it here and now — right!?! And do the things this world has to offer, if we are ever going to do them — right?!?
That’s kind of where we are in this world. isn’t it? I mean just think about all the different things we can do and have and love. There are actually way more people taking advantage of the things of this world than are take Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Matter of fact church attendance is down all across our country and hundreds if not thousands of churches close every year because God creation is more important than God who created it to so many people.
But these things available to us are just of this world. And don’t we know as Christians there is so much more than the things of this world. Yes I hope we do. But are they reflected in our life? I mean can others tell on a daily basis that God is the most important part of our life?
I don’t mean to suggest that we remove everything of this world from our lives, after all this is where we live. God has chosen to have us remain here. And even though we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven we remain here and we have to continually make choices, on a daily basis.