We were created to worship God and through worship to proclaim the wonder of God, engage in spiritual warfare and act as witnesses who testify to who God is. During this teaching time, Kevin’s discussions about the three Ws of worship were interspersed throughout an extended worship time as a church.
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What Worship Is
• Kevin Johnson
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This week Kevin Johnson offered several short teachings interspersed through an extended time of worship. These teachings were intended to help us enter into worship as freely as possible with all of who we are as creatures designed to worship God.
Kevin’s first point was that we all are worshippers, whether we think about it or not. Since worship is ascribing value and worth to something, we can see what we worship by looking at what it is we ascribe value and worth to! A quick look at our lives will reveal what it is we truly value. Of course, we know that there is only One who is truly worthy of all our praise and adoration. Coming together as a church to worship is a way of realigning ourselves as individuals and as a whole toward our true God.
Kevin’s then pointed us toward a uniquely human experience: Wonder! The Bible speaks frequently about the wonder and mystery of God. As we reflect on the infinitude, the majesty, the glory of God, we cannot help but experience wonder and amazement that this same God loves us!
Worship is also warfare: the angels worship and praise God in the celestial realms, and when we worship God, we join with them in a cosmic chorus that stretches farther than our imaginations can possibly grasp! The enemy is aware of this, so the tactic is to redirect our worship, our attention and values to something other than God. The enemy even tried this with Jesus! Luke 4:5-8 reminds us that when Jesus was tempted in the desert, he was moved to worship as a way of affirming the One True God whose glory knows no competition. When we worship, we are manifesting the Kingdom of God right here in the midst of this world, and that is clearly an act of spiritual war!
Worship is also witness. As we worship God in spirit and truth, we testify to who God is. This testimony is bearing witness to all those who hear it. As we value God above all things, others will surely notice this! Sometimes it will mean that they may feel we are “too religious” or too radical in our faith, but it may be at just these moments that the persuasive power of the testimony is strongest. How we live our lives reflects what we value, and when our decisions show people that we value God more than our own lives, God is able to use that to inspire others to a similar faith.
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Focus Scripture:
"My almost-three-year-old asks every day if we can go to church. Thank you, Woodland Hills, and all the Heroes Gate volunteers for creating such a great environment for kids. My husband and I met at WH six years ago and now our son counts down the days until we get to go again. My heart could burst."
– Lindsey