Worship Is... (Part 8)

Worship is EVERYTHING!

In modern parlance, we use the word "worship" to mean something very particular. In most churches, the word "worship" means "singing, as in "Good morning! Let's begin with some worship and then we'll hear the sermon from the pastor." This is really a problem because for generations of Christians, worship = music.

I love how New Life does it. We worship through music, we worship through prayer, we worship through giving, and we worship through hearing the word. This is much closer to the Biblical standard, but worship is even more than what we do at a church "worship" service. It is everything we do, every moment, of every day.

Colossian 3:17

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Romans 12:1-2

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. ²Don’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 early Celtic Christians in Ireland and other regions took this to heart. They prayed over everything. They had a prayer for when they lit a fire. They had a prayer when they plowed their fields. They had a prayer for when they woke up, when they ate, and when they went to sleep. Here are a few examples:

My Fortress
The Sacred Three
My fortress be
Encircling me
Come and be round
My hearth and my home.

I saw a stranger today.
I put food for him
in the eating-place
And drink
in the drinking-place
And music
in the listening-place.

In the Holy name
of the Trinity
He blessed myself
and my family.
And the lark said in her warble
Often, often, often
Goes Christ
in the stranger's guise.

O, oft and oft and oft,
Goes Christ
in the stranger's guise.

Bless those minding cattle,
And those minding sheep,
And those fishing the sea
While the rest of us sleep.

May those who love us, love us.
And those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts;
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles,
So we will know them by their limping.

There are many more. The idea that we should worship in every moment of every day might seem foreign to us, but maybe it's because we don't see Christ in everything we do. What a wonderful thing to be able to pull back the veil and see the Spirit of God in every moment and do every activity as an act of worship. I would encourage you to begin to see all that you do as an act of worship.

Worship is EVERYTHING!

Songs for Sunday

Freedom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiO_Eteee1U

The Battle Belongs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=johgSkNj3-A

It Is Well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtETJU5FV40

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MZgXXUW08Q

Way Maker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXQGTInPpZU