For today’s discussion, you will want to have a sheet of paper and something to write with. Make sure your group gets that together BEFORE you start the discussion questions this week.
Everyone Worships
Have you ever had a relationship with someone who frequently said one thing, but did another? What do you call a person like that?
How do you feel about that person?
Can you trust someone like that?
Are we ever that way with God?
Worship is more about what we DO than what we SAY… What does this mean?
I think we are that way with God, mainly because we forget what we are here for. We think Christmas, along with everything in our lives, is about US. But what does the writer of Colossians say about that?
Colossians 1:15–17 (NLT)
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.
He existed before anything else,
and he holds all creation together.
Take a minute and read that again, but this time read it quietly to yourself.
What word or thought stands out for you in that passage? Why?
Paul pleads with us to live differently. Read what he says about it here:
Romans 12:1–2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
The Apostle Paul, writing this letter the Romans really defines worship for us. And our worship should define everything else in our life. In fact, after this definition of worship, most of the rest of his letter is really just an expansion of how worship works in our life.
First, Paul gives us the context of how we should live lives of worship:
Romans 12:3–5 (NLT)
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
What is the main point here?
How does this idea break the back of worshiping self?
How, then are we to truly worship God? Let’s do a little project together. Grab your paper and read through the rest of Romans 12. (verses 6-21) As you read, jot down ways Paul is telling us to flesh out out true worship. In other words, if worship is more about what we do than what we say, then what are we supposed to do?
And, in verse 21, what is the result for each of us?
After you make your lists, spend some time in your group talking about this, and how we are to work out our worship.
The rest of the letter to the Romans pretty much fills out Paul’s thought on this. Read it this week!