Worship for the Soul
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Soul food was born in the southern part of the United States. The typical soul food dinner always includes some southern deep fried chicken, some form of greens (usually collard greens with lots of Cajun spices) and some fresh baked cornbread.
Sometimes there are green beans and ham or bacon mixed in, fried okra, beans turnip greens, black eyed peas, and maybe even some homemade macaroni and cheese, southern style of course. Then for dessert you can try some authentic soul food; a slice of homemade sweet potato pie!
Our soul can only be refreshed by God
Our soul can only be refreshed by God
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Introduce Series
Spiritual Habits that will connect us to God so that our souls can be refreshed
The first habit we will look at is Worship for the Soul
What is Worship?
What is Worship?
Singing
Sunday Morning
Prayer
Bible Study
Worship is not one thing, it is a lifestyle
Worship is not one thing, it is a lifestyle
ie. A healthy physical life is more than just going to the gym once a week and then destroying your body the rest of the week.
Being healthy means a change of lifestyle
1 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.
2 Don’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.
Sacrifices
animals
smoke and aroma to please God and show gratitude
Our bodies
not destroyed
we give them in dedicated service
Our body includes:
The mind
The heart
The tongue
The will
The possessions
The abilities
The ambitions and dreams
The thoughts
4 Aspects of a Sacrifice
4 Aspects of a Sacrifice
1) Presentation
1) Presentation
The offering up
Act of giving (to God)
Don’t serve on paper plates when you have fine china in the closet
3 When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.
4 Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift,
5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.
Are you giving God your best?
What are you holding back?
2) Rejection
2) Rejection
Rejecting conformity and patterns of the world
The world says it is all about you, but true worship is all about God
The world says it is all about you, but true worship is all about God
We must reject opposite claims on our lives or our sacrifice will be rejected
What lies have you been listening to that go directly against God’s standards?
examples
It’s your body, do with it what you want.
You only have one life to live so do whatever makes you happy
You deserve it
34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.
3) Transformation
3) Transformation
God will renew your mind by changing the way you think
A lot of what we think about is pure garbage
How many have ever thought of revenge plots and scenarios?
How many have thought about things that never ever came to fruition?
I think some of the worst advice I have ever gotten was “Learn to think for yourself” because I have some crazy and foolish thoughts
If we submit to God, he can refocus the way we think and transform us into a new person
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Where are the majority of your thoughts? Are they on things above, or earthly things?
4) Scrutinization
4) Scrutinization
The renewing of our mind leads to discernment
The practical demonstration in our daily life
We will know what is good and pleasing to God
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
True worship is adopting the lifestyle of becoming a living sacrifice
True worship is adopting the lifestyle of becoming a living sacrifice
It’s more than a song
It’s a daily sacrifice
Challenge
Challenge
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Your soul food for this week is fruit
I wouldn’t advise eating it
It is meant to be a reminder of the fruit of lips than continually offer a sacrifice of praise
Call up worship team
For the next week, I want everyone to truly worship God
Give him your best. Hold nothing back.
Reject the lies that the world tells you.
Let God transform the way you think so that you can see what is good and perfect.
This is your spiritual act of worship