My Epic Journey

With the help of Brad Clark, we finished our 40 Days of Worship series last night in EPIC.  Our topic was being a living sacrifice.  Our text:  Romans 12.1-2.

Here are the teaching notes:

The believer is to present his body as a living sacrifice to God. Note three facts.

1.  God demands the believer’s body. God is not only interested in man’s spirit; He is vitally interested in man’sbody. His interest could not be any stronger nor made any clearer. This is clearly seen by contrasting the world’s view of the body with God’s view.

2.  The believer is to present his body to God. The dedication…

·  is not to be made to self: living as one wishes; doing one’s own thing.

·  is not to be made to others: living for family, wife, husband, child, parent, mistress, companion, sexual partner, or employer.

·  is not to be to something else: houses, lands, property, money, cars, possessions, profession, recreation, retirement, luxury, power, recognition, fame.

The body is to be offered to God and to God alone. God demands the body, demands that it be presented to Him. God wants the body to be sacrificially living for Him.

3.  The believer is to present his body to God as a living sacrifice. Note the believer’s offering of his body is to be sacrificial. This is the picture of Old Testament believers taking animals and offering them to God as sacrifices. The believer is to make the same kind of sacrificial offering to God, but note the profound difference. The believer’s offering is not to be the sacrifice of an animal’s flesh and blood. The offering and sacrifice of the believer is to be his body: he is to offer his body as a living sacrifice. A living sacrifice means at least four things.

·  A living sacrifice means a constant, continuous sacrifice, not just an occasional dedication of one’s body. A person does not sacrifice his body to God today, and then take his body back into his own hands and do his own thing tomorrow. A living sacrifice means that a person dedicates his body to live for God and to keep on living for God.

·  A living sacrifice means a sacrifice of a person’s body wherever the body is. A particular place is not needed. The sacrifice of the body is a living sacrifice; it can be made while the body is living right where it is. And the offering of a living sacrifice is to be made right now while the body is living.

·  A living sacrifice means that the body sacrifices its own desires and lives for God. The body lives a holy, righteous, pure, clean, and moral life for God. The body does not pollute, dirty, nor contaminate itself with the sins and corruptions of the world: neither the lust of the flesh, nor the lust of the eyes, nor the pride of life. The believer’s body is sacrificed for God and dedicated to live as He commands.

·  A living sacrifice means that the body lives for God by serving God. It means that the body sacrifices and gives up its own ambitions and desires, and it serves God while upon this earth. The body gives itself to the work of proclaiming the love of God and of ministering to a world reeling in desperate needs. The body sacrifices itself to serve God and Him alone. The body is dedicated to God as a living sacrifice.

In summary, the believer is to dedicate his body to God as a living sacrifice in the home, church, school, office, plant, field, restaurant, club, plane, car or bus. No matter where the believer’s body is, his body is to be sacrificed for God. Sacrificing to God is not something that is transacted in a church. Sacrificing to God is transacted in every act of the human body. The world, that is, the whole universe, is the sanctuary of God; and the believer’s body is the temple of God. Therefore, every act of the believer’s body is to be an act of service to God.

Expressions of Worship:

Worship has to be a genuine expression of who we are, where we are coming from, and where we desire to go. By looking at a variety of ways to worship, we develop a larger repertoire of ways to respond to God. Some forms of worship will be very meaningful to you, while others will have no impact whatsoever. The goal is to find and utilize those expressions of worship that help you draw closer to God.

· Lifting Hands:

While the lifting of hands in worship is sometimes viewed as a wild, charismatic activity, the Bible paints a very different picture. Lifting hands is often associated with the act of surrendering. It is a vulnerable position & demonstrates submissiveness. Lifting hands to the Lord in worship can be used for several purposes:

1. It shows our reverence of God and acknowledges His Lordship:

"Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground" (Nehemiah 8:5-6).

2. It is an act of praise and of sacrifice:

"May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice" (Psalm 141:2).

3. It is a physical form of prayer; of entreating for the Lord’s mercy:

"Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place." (Psalm 28:2).

· Silence:

Habakkuk 2:20 says, "…the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him." Our worship of God does not always require words, sounds, or actions."Often our best response to the Lord is simple, quiet awe. 

· Shouting

Psalm 47:1-6 "Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth! He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praise; sing praises to our King, sing praises."

· Clapping:

In Psalm 47:1 we find the appeal, "Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy."

· Kneeling/Bowing:

Psalm 95:6 & 7 "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care."

· Giving an Offering:

I Chronicles 16:29 says, "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness."

· Playing Instruments:

Psalm 150:3-5, "Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals."

· Testifying:

Worship the Lord through testifying about His greatness.

1 Chronicles 16:23-25 says, "Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples."

· Dancing:

Psalm 149:3 says, "Let them praise his name with dancing"

· Singing

Psalm 147:1 "Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!"

we are in our second week of the 40 days of worship campaign.  this week we talked about the focus of our worship.  Below is the teaching outline we used on sunday night in EPIC:

Week 2: It’s a Heart Matter

Texts: Matthew 4.8-11; Matthew 6.19-21, 24; 16.26; Matthew 10.37-39

Activity: Time-Warp Archaeology

Welcome to the forty-fifth century! You are an archaeologist, and you’ve just uncovered what appear to be homes from the twenty-first century. Your job is to determine what these mysterious people would value most by carefully examining their dwellings. Fortunately, the homes are perfectly preserved. Keep in mind that you know nothing about the people who once lived in these dwellings; you’re drawing conclusions only from what you observe.

Break up into groups. Discuss the following questions:

1. In your own dwelling, what appears to be the most important room?

2. What appears to be the most important piece of furniture?

3. What appears to be the most precious thing in the dwelling? Explain.

4. If an archaeologist walked into your room thousands of years from now, what would appear to have been most important to you? Why?

5. If you could tell a future archaeologist what’s most important to you, what would you say?

Pick six of the things people value from our list on the board, and rank them from one to six with number one being the most important and number six being the least important. List one value on each card. When you are finished, place your number one value on the top of the ladder, the number two value next, etc. with the number six value on the bottom.

Point #1—Your Priorities Reveal What You Worship (Matthew 6.19-21, 24)

Point #2—What Your Worship Matters (Matthew 16.26)

Point #3—Worship Is About Giving Up the Good for the Best (Matthew 10.37-39)

Worship Experience: Meeting w/Jesus

Imagine that Jesus is seated in front of you.

· What would Jesus say to you about how you use your free time?

· What would Jesus say your priorities are, based on how you spend your pocket money?

· What would Jesus say about your energy and focus based on your conversations with your closest friends?

Pair up with a Prayer Partner.

· Is there a difference between what you say you value most and how you live?

· Are there any idols in your life? If so, how do you feel about that?

· Would anything need to change in your life to make God your first priority? Explain.

· How can you begin to make those changes?

Close in Prayer