"Life of Worship"

Colossians 3:16-17

Bible Passage

Colossians 3:16-17 (CSB - Christian Standard Bible)

16Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

17And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

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HOOK (Grab Attention)

Illustration

It is the very nature of humans to be geared towards worship...now what that object of worship depends on the person and what their priorities are.

We all worship something, whether it is ourself, some other thing to be had in life, or genuinely Jesus.

What you spend the most time with and/or thinking about, is what you worship most.

2

BOOK

Bible Passage

Colossians 3:16-17 (CSB - Christian Standard Bible)

16Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

17And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Explanation

Worship in the WORD

"Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you..."

Why do we need the word of Christ to dwell in us??

What does the Word of God do?

Shows us Who God is.

Holy

Just

Righteous 

Faithful

True

Good

Shows us who WE are.

Without Christ we are:

Unholy

Unjust

Unrighteous

Unfaithful

Untrue

Bad

IN CHRIST we ARE made and are BEING MADE JUST LIKE HIM...

He has given us Holy Spirit to LIVE INSIDE US...

"Dwell"

The word of Christ is to DWELL in us!

"Dwell" = inhabit; to move around in

ILL:  When you look at a house, how do you know someone is living there?

there is evidence of someone's presence...

there are things in that property that show you that life is taking place there.

What does your property look like?

Are there signs of Jesus in your life?

Is there evidence of HIs presence?

Not just you SAYING you are a Christian...ARE THERE SIGNS OF HOLY SPIRIT LIFE IN YOU??

Sometimes we can find ourselves with more DUST on our bibles than there is pollenin Greenville County...

Don't let this be YOU.

Paul says, "LET the word of Christ dwell RICHLY among you..."

"richly" = abundantly

Our lives should be SATURATED with Jesus from His Word

NOT just in our personal lives, but AMONG US in our fellowship...

ALSO...Don't be the person who GETS INTO THE WORD, but the WORD NEVER GETS INTO YOU!!

and before you say amen to that...the Word won't GET INTO YOU, without you ever GETTING INTO THE WORD!!

What is it that keeps us from reading Scripture?

Do we not find God interesting?

Is He boring to us?

We don't read Scripture because we are not in AWE of God and Who He is...

We are unimpressed with Him.

IF we were impressed, we would be interested in knowing Him better

Let's not play the Christian GAME, we are called to FOLLOW HIM!

Fear of the Lord = Awe of God

When we find ourselves in awe of God, we will be in Scripture, and if we are in Scripture, we will be worshipping God in that awe of Him.

Worship in WISDOM

"...in all wisdom"

"The fear of YAHWEH is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  Proverbs 9:10

Knowledge vs Wisdom vs Understanding

Knowledge is knowing facts and figures

Wisdom is knowing how to USE the facts and figures

Understanding is knowing the WAY IT WORKS

We can worship God in wisdom when He reveals his ways to us.

Psalm 103:7 "He revealed his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel."

Psalm 103:8 "YAHWEH is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love."

Knowledge is knowing this information and being able to recite it to someone.

Wisdom is knowing how to apply this information to our lives.

Understanding is knowing the WAY He is like this and understanding His heart behind it.

Worship in your WANDERING

"...in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."

We teach, warn, encourage, and remind one another of how to live and love like Jesus...WHEN?

As we are living this life.  As we wander around inside of the calling and life Jesus has prepared for us...

This life is an adventure as it is, but EVEN MORE SO when we are following Jesus!

He has given us an abundant life...that isn't merely material things...it means a FULL LIFE!

We wander around...we EXPLORE, finding Jesus around every corner and Him being present with us in every step and season of this life...

"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost."  -Tolkien

You can be a person that plays it safe and conservative when it comes to Jesus and not go on the adventure with Him, OR you can be courageous, trust Him and His goodness and go on a gospel adventure!

This is a VERY REAL KINGDOM that we belong to.

There is a VERY REAL WAR going on around us in the unseen realm...

it's results show up in OUR REALM so many times...

THERE ARE THINGS TO FIND OUT!!

JESUS is an endless ocean to explore and HE WANTS TO BE SOUGHT OUT IN LOVE!!

Find others to join HIS adventure by being born again...He is restoring and reconciling ALL THINGS to Himself and He is making ALL THINGS NEW!

Worship Him in your WANDERING by praising him through teaching, warning, encouraging one another from your heart as we are all living the life HE has set before us!

What is the song of your life?

"spiritual songs" = or songs prompted by the Spirit

At the "love feasts" in the early church, they were so filled with the Word of Christ and the love of God, when they got together, they would sing praises to God for the common good...

In our "Life of Worship" we:

Worship in the WORD

Worship in WISDOM

Worship in our WANDERING

and lastly...

Worship in WHATEVER YOU DO

"Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do EVERYTHING in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

"in the name of" = in the authority of; by the character

Everything that we find ourselves involved with, should be done to the glory of God, giving Him thanks

Obviously we can't do sin in the name of the Lord Jesus...

Everything that is not, can be done in His name, to His glory, done in humility and love.

Love to God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength

Loving your neighbor as yourself.

3

LOOK

Application

What does this mean for us?

We have more opportunities to worship and love Jesus than Sunday morning and Wednesday night...

We CAN and SHOULD worship Jesus in ALL OF LIFE.

4

TOOK

Challenge Application

The things that occupy our minds and actions MOST are what we really worship...

Where are we with our love, devotion, and adoration of God in ALL OF LIFE??

Is Jesus forgotten during your week until Sunday and Wednesday??

2 Peter 1:3 "His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness..."

Imagine how our lives would be different if we were people who did EVERY GOOD THING to the glory of God?

What would it look like if we worshipped Jesus in everything we do daily?

What would it look like if we not only gained information about Jesus or gained wisdom of how to use what Jesus said, but we began to UNDERSTAND THE WAYS of Jesus...understanding who He is as a personal God...

How would our lives be changed?

How would those around us be changed?

How would OC and those we reach be changed?

What changes do you need to make to focus on following Jesus your biggest priority?

PRAYER