Week #10 Praise & Worship

"Worship is not a place, it is a lifestyle."

READ: 1 Chronicles 29:10-12; Psalm 150; Matthew 4:10

We were all created for worship, which is recognizing who God is and responding to Him in love and by honoring Him. We are taught through the Bible that God alone is worthy of our worship. This can be done at any time and in any place. Worship can take on many different forms...singing, meditating, praying, listening intently to sermons, giving, or serving. When we do these types of things and are focused on God and our love for Him, we are worshiping.

Why is it important for us to worship God?
Think about how thousands of people scream and throw themselves at the stage where their music idols are performing. If not a music idol, maybe a favorite sports idol. Human beings are created to worship, to give ultimate value to someone greater than themselves, and then to revere, adore, and obey by ordering the priorities of their lives around the one that they worship.

The Bible teaches that only God-the creator of all things and all people-is worthy of our worship. Worship will, more than anything, help connect us with God, who is the source of our hope and our future. We should not be embarrassed or or fearful about worshiping and praising God. The Lord is worthy of praise. He is our Friend, our Rock, and our Protector. He saved us from Death! We cannot let ourselves get caught up in the opinions of others. We have to remember that He is the only audience that matters.

God loves variety. We can kneel, stand, or even dance when worshiping God (Psalm 95:1.6; 2 Samuel 6:14). There are many different ways in which we can express our worship, none are wrong as long as our focus is on God, and our attitudes are loving and respectful. We should all give God His due and glorify Him.

Week #8 Tithing Your Time

Many of us say things like: My school/work activities leave me no time for church stuff. Is it okay to be more dedicated right now to my school/work activities than to church?

We should ask questions like: How can I use my time wisely to please God?

It is so easy for us to waste time. Days and nights go by and we sit around not doing anything to further our personal relationship with God. And since we aren't doing anything to further our own relationship with God, we don't do anything to help bring other individuals closer to God either. In a book I was reading for this topic they had a suggestion for using your time more wisely that I think is a pretty good idea...

You've heard people tell you to tithe your money (by giving one-tenth of your money to God). Try tithing your time by giving one-tenth of your time to God each day. If you're awake sixteen hours in a day, that's about an hour and a half. Use that time (you can break it up) reading your Bible, praying, volunteering at church, a soup kitchen, or some other service. Give 10 percent of your time to God, and you will discover that the rest of your time is more wisely spent as well.

I think this is a good way to make sure we are spending time daily with our Heavenly Father. This suggestion doesn't have to be followed exactly, but we should set aside time each day that we spend with God. This will help build our knowledge of God and help us grow closer with God. Although school, work, and other interests like sports are important, we need to set our priorities so that we can attend church and help our relationship with God grow. As believers, we are a part of God's family. It is important for us to meet with God on our own time and meet with other believers in order to stay connected to God's family, which is essential for growing in our faith, being accountable for our actions, and giving and receiving encouragement to stay loyal to God.

We should realize that without God, we are incapable of anything. We may be existing, but we are not truly living. We should discover God's will for our lives and we should walk in His guidance daily. We should take Paul's advice in Ephesians 5. Ask yourself, "What's my purpose?" Ask God for direction as you prepare how you will spend your time here on earth. You should remember that life is not about how long you live; it's about how you live. It is never too late to change your habits. We should place our trust in God and let Him take care of our time.

We should seek to grow in wisdom and let God have control in our lives. We should not shy away from meeting together, instead we should use our time together to encourage one another in our daily Christian walk. I think that the following verses do a great job describing how we should spend our time and the types of things we should do with our time:

Check out these verses:
Ephesians 5:15-18
Luke 6:38
Psalm 90:12
Hebrews 10:25
Colossians 4:5

Week #7 Resolutions

I know this is a day or two late, but I thought we could talk about New Year's resolutions and starting off 2008 the right way...God's Way. Everyone is making New Year's resolutions, but few people actually end up keeping them. Most people end up breaking their resolutions a few months after making them.

When thinking about your goals and resolutions for the new year, think about what life goals will bring you closer to God. The type of goals you set should help you develop a better relationship with God. This means focusing on God and on his direction for your life, not on seeking only pleasure or great things for yourself. The Bible says that Enoch had a great relationship with God for 365 years (Genesis 5:23-24)! Why not walk with God for the next 365 days?

Instead of making a long list of things you hope to do this year, try focusing on the one thing that really matters...a daily resolution to be more like Jesus. While on earth, Jesus loved, served, and gave glory to God. We should always be looking for ways to improve our relationship with God and help us to walk with God. If we decide to live this way, we will find that every day brings about a new adventure. For this year, decide to strive to be more like Jesus by loving and serving God and others, and by bringing glory to God in the way that you live.

Check out these versus:
Mark 10:45
1 Corinthians 14:1
2 Corinthians 5:9
James 4:4
Joshua 22:5