Atomic Week 4-Worship

INSTRUCTIONS: Invite a few students to the front to act out one of their passions (like a type of music, or hobbies, or interests) while the other students try to guess what they're doing. Just make sure to ask what they're going to act out before they start so you can make sure it’s appropriate.

VIDEO | A Clip of Beatlemania

We're all passionate about something, but sometimes we're really passionate. There was a craze that swept the entire world in the 1960s. Let's see if you can guess what it was.

INSTRUCTIONS: As a teaching tool, play a short clip from a video like this one (1:20-1:49) of a crowd screaming and chasing The Beatles.

Does anyone know what all of these people were so passionate about? The Beatles! These days, it might be common to see people get totally obsessed with certain celebrities or musicians, but this was the first time the world had seen anything like this on this scale.

*title slide*

STORY | Talk about something you're obsessed with.

It's cool to be passionate about something, but sometimes the things we love can actually become objects of worship.

INSTRUCTIONS: Tell a story from your own life (or ask a volunteer or student to tell a story) about sometime you maybe got a little bit obsessed with, like your Buffalo Bills hat collection, reality shows, or reading fan theories about your favorite movie franchise.

I started my obsession with UK Basketball at around 9 years old.

The first important game I remember watching was when we played Duke in the 1992 NCAA Regional Final… known as the greatest college game ever- and we lost it on a last second shot.

Over the years, I became more and more obsessed with UK.

The following year, we went to the Final Four and lost to Michigan. I literally hit the floor 100 times that game and cried when it was over bc we lost again.

1996-1998 we went to the championship each year, winning twice.

Those were happy years.

Fast forward to 2002.

My favorite player ever, Keith Bogans and another fave Tayshaun Prince were in the Sweet 16 going up against Maryland.

We were a little outmatched, but were hanging in and I thought we were going to win.

We didn’t.

At this point, Im 18 years old so I decided to drive to the gym and get a lift in to take out my frustrations.

I get a few miles down the road and hit a STUPID DEER that was bigger than my little Toyota.

Pretty much destroyed my car.

Emotional. Wreck.

To make things worse, when I get home and my dad tells me it was stupid to be out driving.

Now dad’s got me in an even WORSE MOOD.

So I’m depressed for like the next month bc we lost, car was totaled, and dad made me mad.

That may have been the worst year, but every year we would lost in the tourney, I would be depressed like this!

Over some college kids playing a game!

I’m still super passionate about my Cats, but several years ago it dawned on me:

It’s pretty silly to let my emotional state be controlled by a game that I have no control over.

It’s JUST A GAME.

Okay, that example was actually pretty harmless, but there are things we can get pretty obsessed with that become more harmful. Sometimes we develop habits that lead to spending our time thinking about, looking at, and spending our time and energy on things that aren't exactly the best things.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been talking our habits — some good, some bad, and some neutral. We've also talked about the habits we can add to our lives that will help us grow in our relationship with God: spending time with God, investing in our relationships, and sharing our faith stories. Today we’re going to finish our series by talking about the things we worship. We all worship something, but based on your habits, what is it that you worship?

SO WHAT? Why does it matter to God and to us?

QUESTION | How do you know if you worship something?

Whether it's God, BTS, sports, or your girlfriend, how do you know if you worship something?

INSTRUCTIONS: Give a few students a chance to respond.

When you worship something, you can usually tell through your actions. You might . . .

Hang pictures of it in your locker.

Talk about it a lot.

Give it a lot of your time, energy, and attention.

Make sacrifices for it.

God cares about what we worship! It's probably no surprise that I'm going to suggest worshiping God is a good idea, but does that mean we can’t spend time and energy on anything else? Do we have to give up any hobby we get a little bit obsessed with? Of course not! But we can develop habits that help us give God our worship — and not just when we're at church.

SCRIPTURE | Colossians 3:12-17

There's a passage in the book of Colossians (written by the apostle Paul) that can help us figure out what this word "worship" really means — and how we can make it a habit.

Paul was an early follower of Jesus. He traveled all over the world sharing the good news and story of Jesus through sermons and letters. All of these letters guided believers to understand how God wanted them to live, how to treat one another, and how to follow God. Some of them even ended up in the Bible. One of those letters was written to a church in Colossae. In it, Paul advised those believers on how to live out their faith.

INSTRUCTIONS: Read Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:12–17 NIV

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Everything described in this passage is worship to God. Maybe when you think of worship, you think of singing or praying or reading the Bible. But in this passage, Paul said that worship can be so much more than that! Worship can be . . .

Showing compassion. Being kind. Being humble. Being gentle. Being patient. Forgiving someone who's hurt you. And yes, worship can be done by singing songs too. This is a pretty big list! But in everything he listed here, Paul had two very important focuses — love for others and thankfulness to God.

We can worship God by loving others.

When we're compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, and forgiving with each other, it can actually be an act of worship to God. That means worship isn't just something that happens privately between you and God. Worship requires you to love others.

We can worship God by being thankful.

Singing worship songs isn't the only way to tell God "thank you." Everything we do and say, Paul says, can be done with a spirit of thankfulness for what God has done for us through Jesus. The reason Paul said to never forget about love is because love is the power and energy behind all of our worship. When we live a life of worship, we pull the thread of God's love through every part of our lives.

SCRIPTURE | Psalm 63

If we ever want to understand worship better, the book of Psalms is always a great place to go. King David is said to have written many of the songs and poems contained in the book of Psalms, and they're all songs of worship.

The passage we're about to read was written by David while he was in the desert of Judah. It's a song of worship that expresses his commitment to God and celebrates God's character. Even though David wrote many poems and songs about God, there are few that describe how committed David was to God than this one.

INSTRUCTIONS: Read some or all of Psalm 63

Psalm 63 NIV

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

David said God was his desire above everything else in his life! Do you hear how confident and sure David was of that? But how could he be so sure? What reason did David give for all of this? Look at what he said in verse three: “Because God's love is better than life.” Wow! That’s saying a lot. Whether or not you believe in Jesus or have started following him, think about this for a second. David says God's love is better than anything else.

Your favorite sport? God's love is better.

Your favorite music? God's love is better.

The person you can’t stop thinking about all day? God's love is better.

No matter what else competes for your love and attention, God's love is better. It’s better, it’s better, it’s better!

STORY | Talk about a time you were given an amazing gift.

If you're wondering what David meant when he said his lips would "glorify" God, let me see if I can explain. "Glorify" might seem like a confusing word, but let me explain it with a story.

INSTRUCTIONS: Tell a story about a time you were given an amazing gift and wanted to tell everyone about it. Say something like, “I couldn’t help but tell everyone how great this gift was," or, “I wanted everyone to know about the person who gave me this gift."

Going back to UK Basketball:

*Pic of Denim Blue UK Shoes.*

I remember in 1996 we had these denim blue uniforms and shoes that I thought were amazing.

And the weekend that we won to get in the Final Four of the tourney that year, Momma got me those shoes.

Psyched!

So I walk into gym class and up to my buddy Jason Hollers (The only other UK fan there).

He says “FOUR” with four fingers in the air, and I go “SHOES,” while I point to these bad boys.

Then I remember some kid sarcastically says “Wow I’ve got shoes too!”

Thanks Captain Obvious...

But I wanted everyone to see this heat on my feet that day.

That's what it means to glorify something — to think and talk about how amazing something (or someone) is. That is also what it looks like to glorify (or worship) the God we love and are so thankful for. So worship is about loving God and loving others. When we allow love to be a part of everything we do, we are worshiping God. Our worship then becomes something that not only changes our life but the lives of everyone around us.

When we show love to others, it has the potential to transform our lives and theirs too. Some people don’t believe they are worthy of that kind of love because they have never been shown it before. You can worship God by loving others. When we show love to God by being thankful and giving God glory, it's not just out of obligation. When we go to God in worship, God transforms us from the inside out. The tiny habits we're talking about in this series can impact our lives far beyond anything we thought possible. So what do you think could happen to your faith, and to the people you choose to love, if you

Made it a habit to worship God with your life?

NOW WHAT? What does God want us to do about it?

QUESTION | "How can you worship God in two minutes or less?"

Now I want to turn it to you. Let's get creative about how you could make it a habit to worship God, but let's think of examples we could do quickly, because that might help us turn our worship into a habit.

How can you worship God in two minutes or less?

INSTRUCTIONS: Give students time to respond. Encourage examples like . . .

Pray for two minutes as soon as your alarm goes off.

Send a text to a friend who needs encouragement.

Sing your favorite worship song as you get ready for bed.

Send a message to someone at church and ask if there's anywhere you can serve.

Pray for your school as you walk between classes.

Start a conversation with someone who seems like they need a friend.

IMAGE | Habit Stacking

In case you missed it last week, habit stacking is a really easy and effective way to develop new habits. All we need to do is follow a simple formula: "After/before I ____, I will ____." You already have a ton of habits that you do every day. If you want to add a new habit to your routine, an easy way to do it is to attach it to a habit you already do.

INSTRUCTIONS: Show the image provided in your Week 4 folder.

If you've been here for the last few weeks, you know we've already done a bunch of habit-stacking with three (and now four) spiritual habits.

The first habit we wanted to add to our daily routine was spending more time with God, because the more time we spend with God, the more we can be transformed into the image of Jesus.

The second habit we wanted to add to our routines was to invest in our relationships, because our relationships have a big impact on us, and we can have a big impact on others through our relationships.

The third habit we wanted to add to our routines was to share our faith stories more often, because sharing our stories helps us (and others) grow — even when we're not sure what to say or if we're qualified to talk about Jesus yet.

Now this week, let's see if we can add this final habit into our daily routines, because this habit of worshiping with our whole lives brings everything else together.

RESPONSE | Week 4 Handouts “After/Before I Will”

If I were to ask you to act out your daily habits in front of everyone, what would they guess you are most passionate about? If your current habits don't currently reflect a life of worship to God, it's never too late to start developing a new habit. Whether you're at church, at school, walking, eating, shopping, playing football, doing homework, or hanging with friends, you always have opportunities to honor and connect with God through worship. So this week, how will you

Make it a habit to worship with your life?

MUSIC | “Graves Into Gardens” (Elevation Worship)

As we close this series in a song, pay attention to the line, "Nothing is better than You." Let that be the song of worship you sing all week long — not just with your lips, but with your life.

INSTRUCTIONS: Play the song “Graves Into Gardens” (Elevation Worship)

Prayer

Small Groups

Related Media

Related Sermons