Communicate that our greatest aim is to worship God in spirit and truth, worshiping Him for who He is and what He has done for us.

Transcription

1 LESSON 11 worship my response to god Communicate that our greatest aim is to worship God in spirit and truth, worshiping Him for who He is and what He has done for us. We are called to worship God and recount all His benefits to us. With awe and wonder, we praise God for who He is and all the amazing things He has done on our behalf. Understand worship is a lifestyle, not an event. Praise God daily, reflecting on His majesty and glory, thanking Him for His amazing grace and kindness toward us. Background Passage: scripture Passage: Memory Verses: P S AL M P SAL M : 1-5, P SAL M : 1-2 The psalmist tells his soul to worship God and recounts all of the Lord s wonderful benefits (vv. 1-14). Humans are temporal, but God, His love, power, and righteousness are eternal (vv ). The psalmist calls on all creation to join him in worshiping God (vv ). page 81 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits (ESV). worship

2 PREPARING TO TEACH Jesus told the woman at the well a time was coming when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23). That time is now. Spirit and truth worship requires understanding who God is and who we are. In the past 10 lessons we ve examined how great God is and how needy we are. This lesson emphasizes that heartfelt worship is the only rational response to a good God who has acted mercifully and mightily on behalf of our great need. The purpose of this Transforming Truths study is to examine basic doctrines of the Christian faith, not just to gain knowledge, but to live what we know. As you prepare to teach this lesson, pray those in your group won t view worship simply as a weekly event, but be motivated to worship God daily as a lifestyle rather than just a weekly event. As you study Lesson 11 in your Venture In: Transforming Truths Travelogue, you ll notice Psalm 103:1-5 and are printed in the English Standard Version. You will find it helpful to read all of Psalm 103 in several translations, including the ESV, HCSB, and the Amplified. As you read the focal passages and study the Travelogue, write personal prayers of praise in the margins. Write on the board, blessed me this week by Obtain a fist-sized stone (or smaller stones for each participant). Prepare to play the song Count Your Many Blessings OR 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord). ( watch?v=ozefhhmjg6e; lri0e or TEACHING SUGGESTIONS BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL As learners arrive, encourage them to fill in the blanks in the sentence on the board and share that statement with others. Evaluate what we usually mean when we say someone has blessed us. Explain bless means to fill with benefits 1 or provide with something good or desirable. 2 We say someone has blessed us when they provide us with a material or emotional benefit. page 8 2 worship

3 Read Psalm 103:1 from the ESV: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Ask: Can we fill God with material benefits? How can we possibly bless the Lord of the universe? To help adults explore that question, read Psalm 103:1 in the HSCB and Amplified Bible. Note from the Travelogue (p. 111): bless, means to praise to worship One greater than ourselves. Ask if adults think worship should be one of a believer s top priorities. Ask if they agree that worship is one of the least understood aspects of our faith (Travelogue, p. 110). Ask: Can we make something a priority if we don t understand it? Explain your reasoning. Our goal in this lesson is to understand what the Bible says about authentic worship so we can make it a priority and bless the Lord. State: We can t fill the Lord with material benefits, but we can fill Him with praise for who He is and what He has done for us. COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS Invite a volunteer to read Psalm 103:1-5. Ask: What did David call on to bless the Lord? Explain soul was a common Hebrew way of addressing one s entire self. David was fully committed to worshiping and loving God with his heart, mind, soul, and strength. Ask: What was David s secret to taking the focus off himself so he could worship God wholeheartedly? Declare authentic worship remembers and recounts all the benefits of having a right relationship with God through Christ. Guide the group to identify and discuss each benefit, using the Travelogue (p ) comments and following questions and remarks: Forgives all your sin (HCSB): Ask: How many of our sins does God forgive? How do we receive that forgiveness? (You may want to read 1 John 1:9 and/or review the plan of salvation.) As you recall what we have discovered in this study about our condition without Jesus, why is forgiveness such a great benefit? page 8 3 worship

4 Teaching Option Invite adults to gather into teams of two or three. Ask each team to read Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 43:25, 44:22, and Micah 7:18-19 and come up with word pictures that describe what God does with our sins. Heals all your diseases: Ask: We ve probably all prayed for someone s healing and it s not come. So how can we believe in and praise God for this benefit? Read the Travelogue (p. 112) paragraph related to this benefit. Invite volunteers to share: How have you experienced this benefit in a physical, emotional, or spiritual sense? How did you praise God in response? Redeems your life from the pit: Evaluate pits we all live in. Ask: How did God get us out of the pit? Why should that motivate us to bless the Lord with all that s in us? Teacher Tip If you have been displaying theological terms, draw attention to the placard from Lesson 8 defining redemption as: The deliverance from bondage by a payment or ransom. Explore the payment that was made to redeem us from the pit. Crowns you with steadfast love and mercy: Ask: What does a veil crowning a bride s head or a lei placed on a visitor to Hawaii declare about that person? (They re loved, honored, welcomed, valued.) What does God s crown of love and mercy say about God and about ourselves? Read Psalm 103:6-14 to gain further insight into God s compassion. Ask: What s the only logical response to that kind of love and compassion? Satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle s: Discuss: What does this benefit look like at any age? What does authentic worship look like at any age? Ask: What about when we don t see much good in life, when we re exhausted, overwhelmed, and can t sense any of page 8 4 worship

5 these benefits how do we worship then? Emphasize authentic worship offers sacrifices of praise. Urge adults to memorize Psalm 103:1-2 (even better, Psalm 103:1-5), and when they find themselves in a dark place, recite this passage as a determined choice to worship God. Declare that worshiping when we don t feel like it is part of offering ourselves as a living sacrifice. When we praise God in the dark, our minds will be renewed and we will be transformed. FROM GRASS TO GLORY Invite a volunteer to read Psalm 103: At first it may seem as if David was trying to depress us by pointing out our mortality, but he was actually issuing a call to worship by contrasting humanity with God. Make two columns on the board, heading one column, I am and the other, God is Guide the class to contrast themselves with God, recording responses in the appropriate column. Discuss the Travelogue (p. 114) questions: In what way does a sense of your own mortality make an impact on your attitude toward God? What is the relationship between authentic worship and obedience to God s commandments? Teacher Help The HCSB Study Bible explains: The Hebrew word yara [ fear ] combines obedience and respect with humility before a sovereign God. 3 Teaching Option for parents/grandparents Invite someone to read Psalm 103:17-18 in the HCSB. Discuss: How far does God s faithful love and righteousness reach? How is that a great blessing and responsibility? How can we set an example of authentic worship for our children and grandchildren? page 8 5 worship

6 HE RULES OVER ALL As David pondered his fragile state and God s amazing grace and kindness toward him, he once again burst out with praise. Invite a volunteer to read Psalm 103: Ask: David began this psalm calling himself to worship. Now who does he call on to worship God? Point out these are not weak beings but angels of great strength who comprise God s heavenly armies. These mighty, heavenly beings worship God because they recognize His sovereignty, power, and majesty is so much greater than theirs. Ask: How does it make you feel to realize God values your worship as much as He does the praise given Him by mighty angels and majestic scenes of nature? David called on all creation to praise the Lord because that s what it was created to do. Ask adults to recall what Jesus said when the religious leaders objected to the praise Jesus received on Palm Sunday (Travelogue, p. 115). Display the stone (or give each participant a stone). Ask rhetorically: Are we willing for stones to fulfill one of our greatest responsibilities and privileges? We need to preach to ourselves as David did, My soul, praise Yahweh! Bless the LORD, O my soul. WORSHIP IN THE BODY OF CHRIST We discovered in our study of the church (Lesson 10) that we are not on this discipleship journey alone, nor do we worship Him alone. One of the primary activities of the church is worship (Travelogue, p. 116). Invite someone to read Hebrews 10: Lead a discussion with: Why is it important for the church to gather for worship? (Travelogue, p. 116). How does worshiping with the family of God strengthen and equip you to serve Christ? Which particular elements of worship minister to your heart in a significant way (Travelogue, p. 117)? What should be our response to elements in our church s worship service that don t minister to us? Emphasize: Whether we use hymns or praise choruses, have brief sermons or longer ones, page 8 6 worship

7 wear dressy attire or gather in casual garb, what is important is that we come with a heart to worship God and a concern for our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ (Travelogue, p. 117). CONCLUSION Declare: Bless the Lord, O my soul, is something we must tell ourselves every day because worship is a lifestyle, not an event. We are to praise God daily, reflecting on His majesty and glory, and thanking Him for His amazing grace and kindness toward us. One way we can do that is by recounting all of God s benefits like David did. The hymn writer Johnson Oatman urged us to count your many blessings. 4 In the worship song, 10,000 Reasons, Matt Redman says our hearts can find 10,000 reasons to bless the Lord. 5 Urge adults to list in the margin of their Travelogue some of the many reasons their hearts can find to praise God. Play a recording of Count Your Many Blessings or 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) during this time. Invite volunteers to share some of the blessings they recorded. Invite adults to offer a sacrifice of praise by singing a refrain of 10,000 Reasons or Count Your Many Blessings. FOLLOW THROUGH Text adults, telling them they are one of the many blessings you praise God for. Remind them to memorize Psalm 103:1-2. Invite a few participants to join you in reviewing all this study s memory verses. 1 Blessing and Cursing, Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), HCSB Study Bible note for Psalm 103:17-18, pg page 8 7 worship