PRAY IT! FIERCE PURSUIT - WORSHIP

Need a refresher on this Sunday's passage?  Catch up on it here: 1 Peter 4:14-16.

Psalm 146:  1-3: 

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

We have been engaged in a wonderful sermon series entitled "Fierce Pursuit:  For We Have Spent Enough Time in the Past."  This week's spiritual discipline that we will look at in conjunction with our passage is worship.  Just how can this spiritual discipline help us in our fierce pursuit of God, of holiness, and of other people?

Sometimes I wonder if worship is just as much of a misunderstood spiritual discipline as fasting.  Sometimes we have too narrow a view:  worship is only singing and music.  Sometimes we are too focused on our preferences (ie style, venue).  Sometimes the worship itself can become an idol if it becomes more about our performance and less about God. 

Worship, quite simply, is our response to God, and should be centered on Him.  In Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says this: 

"If the Lord is to be Lord, worship must have priority in our lives.  The first commandment of Jesus is, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength' (Mark 12:30).  The divine priority is worship first, service second.  Our lives are to be punctuated with praise, thanksgiving, and adoration.  Service flows out of worship.  Service as a substitute for worship is idolatry.  Activity is the enemy of adoration." 

Engaging in the spiritual discipline of worship can help change our posture and place us in a better position to engage in our fierce pursuit of holiness and of other people.  Prior to our pursuit of people, we need to make sure that we are centered on God.  A good way to do this is through worship, and through engaging in that "daily presence"... that 24/7 mindfulness of God.  As we embrace a 24/7 heart of worship... (worship God while you clean the kitchen... in the car... and at church on Sunday...), and as we keep God at the center of our lives, we can then fiercely pursue others with an empathetic, reflective, and insightful heart... in the kitchen... in the car... and at church on Sunday :) 

Pastor Celia

PoC|Coverage is tonight at 6pm.  Join us as we engage in care and prayer throughout the building.