Beyond the Weekend: GOD IS...
People have a lot of thoughts about God. Some say he is angry and vengeful. Some say he is a buddy or best friend. But what does Scripture tell us about God?
Understanding the character of God matters. It changes how we meet him in our everyday lives. It changes how we understand the world around us, and his work in it. And it changes our prayer life and how we talk and hear from him. Understanding the character of God leads us to living lives of obedience and worship.
Join Pastors Aaron Buer, Jeff Manion and Brad Holmes in our 10-week series GOD IS ..., a study on the identity and character of God, and learn how your faith can grow as you know God better.
Worship
Read: Romans 11:35-12:1 Listen: Romans 11 and 12
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1
Paul speaks to the philosophers in Athens about how the one true God does not need people to serve him (Acts 17:35). Later, in his letter to the Romans, Paul hits on a similar theme. He tells the Jesus community in Rome that the right response to God is to offer their entire lives to him. He calls this true and proper worship. True and proper worship lays everything at the feet of the one who is worthy.
It is easy to think that we worship God because he needs it, as if he is somehow happier or more satisfied when we worship him. However, this is not true. He does not need our worship. We do. We were created for worship, and we all worship something. It could be money, status, beauty, achievement, etc. None of these are worthy of our worship, and it’s only when we worship God that we experience life. The worship Paul describes goes beyond singing songs. True and proper worship is to live for God, and to find our purpose, value and identity in God.
TODAY: We each worship something. Memorize Romans 12:1 and bring it to mind over the coming days. May it remind you of the mercy of God and invite you to view your very life as worship to God who is worthy.
JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:
Read Psalm 41. Highlight anything that points to Jesus. Consider how verse 9 points to the betrayal Jesus suffered.
