individuality, cooperation, and worship

just spent some time preparing for our kidstuff lesson tomorrow. figured i'd share my thoughts with everyone. if you think about it, please pray for these kids, that God would move in their hearts and minds and lives, that they come to know and love and run after Him with all their hearts, minds, souls, and strength.

Hey guys,

So today, we’re finishing up the month by talking about worship. What do you guys think about worship? Any idea what it means?

Let me tell you a little about worship. But first, let me connect a few dots for you, before we wrap this up.

Do you guys remember what we talked about last month? It starts with an “I”. Individuality, that’s right. And individuality means discovering who you were meant to be so that you can make a difference. And what about this month we just finished? It starts with “C”. Cooperation, good job. And cooperation is working together to do more than you can do alone.

I want you guys to see how this all fits together. First off, just like everything else in our lives, this comes down to the Gospel. Do you guys know what the Gospel is? (let them explain)…

So the Gospel is the Good News we have, which is that God is alive, and He loves us, and He is here for us. He’s the best friend we could ever have. You see, we all have this sickness that we struggle with, called sin. It’s like a really bad head cold, only it never goes away. It’s really bad.

Do you guys know what a cold feels like? What are some symptoms of a cold? (unproductive, no fun to be around, not good friends, always think about themselves, don’t want to help or play, feel like they are not themselves).

And the problem with this sickness is it makes us unproductive, and lousy friends, and grumpy, and makes us think about ourselves (because we are sick, and we’re focused on getting better because we don’t like being sick).

But, praise God in the Highest, He made a way for us to not be sick. It means we have to have a new life, because the old one wasn’t working. So, He allowed Jesus to take on our old sinful lives, die, and come back to life with a new life that’s way better than the other one. And all we have to do if we want this new life is to ask Jesus for it, and He would love to give it to us. He already paid the price, so it’s free for us. And, with the holidays coming, it’s the best gift we could ever get….better than a Wii.

So, OK, now that we’ve clarified the Gospel, and it’s importance, let’s wrap this up and talk about worship. See, when Jesus saves us, He actually does two things. One, He saves us from Hell, which is the place where sick people go (and where we would go without Jesus – no sick people allowed in Heaven). Two, He saves us to a new life, and to good works.

Now, these works that He has saved us to won’t save us – after all, we couldn’t do them without Him saving us. But they do help us live this new life that God wants us to live. And this is where worship comes in.

In Romans 12.1, God urges us through the apostle Paul to “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship”. “Bodies” here can better be thought of as “lives”. God wants us to give Him our lives. That is worship. It’s more than singing. It’s our whole life – our thoughts, actions, words, time at school, time with family, time with friends, homework, football games, cheerleading practice – everything. It is all worship.

So the reason we are telling you this is because, as we see in Acts 2.42-47, it is a beautiful thing when individuals worship God together. You can see that some were apostles who taught everyone, some were businessmen who made money to support the group, some were really good at making food and practicing hospitality (so they fed everyone). So some taught, some bought food, some made the food and fed everyone, but they all, as individuals, worked together in an atmosphere of worship. And that’s what we want for you guys.

So here is what I want you guys to think about:

1. How has God made me? I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139), I am purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts 20.28), and I am made in the likeness of Christ (Ephesians 2). As so, I have certain spiritual (and natural gifts) (Romans 12). What are they?
2. How can I worship God? Can I teach others, and help them understand God? Can I play an instrument, and help others make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100)? Can I simply serve, maybe make food and help others fellowship well?
3. What am I not so great at, that I could appreciate others for? Maybe I am not so great at praying, and I am encouraged to pray when I am around others who pray a lot. Or maybe I don’t read my Bible as much as I know I should, but I read and learn when I am around others who like to learn.

So think about all this. I really challenge you guys to consider how you can worship God as an individual, but also how you can cooperate with others to worship God as a community. Let’s pray.