For this weekend, let's dive into a 3-day worship devotional from the Fresh Start Bible.

We worship God with all three parts of ourselves: body, soul, and spirit. As a tool, music helps us engage these three parts with all three parts of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Music affects our heartbeats, communicates emotions, and moves our spirits. But music itself is not worship. 

The word worship is a compressed form of the Old English term worthship, which means ‘to give something worth.’ We worthship God by communicating and demonstrating His value.

DAY 1: WORSHIP IS SACRIFICE

Abraham was willing to give God the greatest sacrifice he had to offer—his son—because God was worth even more to him. Now, God doesn’t actually want us to sacrifice our children, so He provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead. Today, God provides the sacrifice through Jesus, but the principle remains true. Worship (valuing God) must cost the worshipper something. We sacrifice when we offer God our time, our money, our songs of praise when our circumstances don’t look praiseworthy, and our attitude of gratitude when we feel like grumbling. Sacrifice is always uncomfortable and always has a price. Worship is sacrifice.

–Zach Neese

DAY 2: WORSHIP IS SUBMISSION

“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 NLT).

Worship always begins with a heart submitted to God. The position of your heart determines whether your actions are merely physical gestures or also spiritual ones—if you are connecting to your emotions or connecting to God. If the position of your heart is not worship, then nothing you can do with your body will be either. Worship does not require a talented singing voice, the ability to play an instrument, or a resume full of community service. God does not require the “right” words or actions; He just wants the right heart. When you speak or act in God’s name, you worship. 

–Mark Harris

DAY 3: WORSHIP IS OUR PREROGATIVE

“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die” (Genesis 2:16–17 NLT).

In the light of eternity, only one choice truly matters: will we choose to live with God or without Him? God created a choice so Adam could exercise his free will. The man could choose to obey, partake of all the acceptable trees in Eden, and be connected to God. Or he could choose to disobey, eat the forbidden fruit, and sever his connection to God. God could make us do what He wants us to do, but He gives us a choice. We do not worship because we have to. We worship because we get to choose, and we choose the greater thing­—connecting with God.

–Thomas Miller

We will be sharing each devotion on our social platforms over the weekend. Follow along to share these posts with family and friends!

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Find our 10-day Worship Devotional at the link here.

Fresh Start Bible includes the New Living Translation.
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