Worship With Your Whole Heart
What was your worship experience in the last week? For many Christians worship takes place once per week attending a worship service. We are called to be in worship with God every day! The world seems to hold our attention! work, family, media, electronic devices are all distractions. We set aside our religion for everything else except when we attend a worship service. This is not how it is intended to be! We should take every opportunity to worship God. There are many moments in every day that you can worship. Taking a shower, eating a meal, driving your car, taking a walk, between meetings or calls at work. What other opportunities can you identify?
We should also worship in community with others. 2020 and 2021 separated many of us from our church community. We developed online church services. The circumstances around us, forced us into isolation. However, we were not made to be in isolation, we are a social creation, we are meant to be together. We need to come back together in community physically and mentally. We need to hug, shake hands, sing together, laugh together, love together and worship together. Online services can be valuable to allow people to participate in the church when they cannot physically be in person, but this should not be the norm. We cannot replace the in-person experience on a regular basis. Some churches in the Pittsburgh area have stopped livestreaming and have asked everyone to come back in person and be an in-person church again. I think livestreaming can co-exist, but it should not be the go-to method every week. We need to make an intentional effort to bring everyone back into the church this fall after summer vacations are over, and school is back in session. Speaking of school, we found out very quickly that online school was not as effective as in class learning. The same is true for church. Work to bring your congregation back together this fall in person.
Your life is meant to be an act of worship. Every breath, action, and thought flows from God and can bring him glory. Praise
God everywhere and embrace the opportunities to regularly worship with your church family in person.
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. (Mark 12: 30)
“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.” (Romans 12: 1, 2)
“Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!” (Psalm 150: 6)
Ideas for Action: Every morning this week, recite the Jesus Creed: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love
the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12: 29 – 31