Bible verse:
About eight days after Jesus said this, he took, Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Luke 9:28-29
Simply, today's lesson expresses how important it is to include worship in our small group meetings. Moore (2007) says true worship is not a matter of a certain style of music, a certain set of musical instruments, a certain type of prayer, or any certain activity. Rather, true worship flows from
- Loving God and valuing Him more than all else in life
- Seeking God's kingdom first
- Obeying God and glorifying Him with our lives
- Praising, adoring, and delighting in God
- Thinking about the mystery and wonder of God
- Sitting silently in the presence of God
- Focusing on God and seeking to know Him better
Worship involves putting that belief and trust into action so our faith can come to life (p.114)
When the six on the mountaintop had finished worshiping, God appeared in the cloud and was with them, surrounding them, that is what we are trying to achieve in our groups..... communion with God!
Be sure that when you are together in your small groups that you are attentive to its purpose, which should be worshiping God at some point with the elements listed above. Why? Because Jesus said "For where two or more are gathered together in my name, there am I with them"
Remember: Time together in a small group with other Christian believers can always be a great time for worship.
God Bless!
This is so true Wendy! Our worship team spends time together in prayer aside from the music. It's these times of praying, sharing and loving one another while together loving Christ that are the most precious to us. I know people think that the worship team just gets up there and sings the songs. They don't see our times together outside of the music. I don't think our deliverance of Sunday morning music would be anywhere near as effective to draw hearts to Christ were it not for the times we spend in communion and with each other seeking Him and His will for us each and every week. I love how God operates that way.
ReplyDeleteHey Terri,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this, because I was one of the "ones" who didn't know any better. I thought you all got together to practice, but as far as the time set aside for you all to pray and share, I was unaware. It are comments like this that help me to grow, thank you!