Living a Life of Genuine Worship Pt. 2
September 21, 2015 | by: Dave Maniquis | 0 Comments
Posted in: Sermon Questions
PARTICIPANT'S GUIDE FOR COMMUNITY GROUP GATHERINGS
Sermon: Living a Life of Genuine Worship Pt. 2, September 20th, 2015
Series: Nehemiah: Building for the Future
Speaker: Pastor Anthony Orzo
Launching Question: What are some of the obvious idols that the culture promotes to bring happiness? What are some subtle ones that even Christians may not be mindful of?
Primary Passages: Nehemiah 12:43 & John 4:23-24
“And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.” Nehemiah 12:43
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24
Sermon Questions:
1. At this period of history, the surrounding culture either secularizes God’s revealed truth about who he has revealed himself to be, or, if there are “theistic” inclinations, it attempts to redefine who God is. The theological basis of Jesus’ exchange with the Samaritan woman at the well is that she and fellow Samaritans were certainly theistic but the central issue was the validity of Samaritan worship. The sermon brought out that “God wants to be worshipped for who he says he is, not what you and I want to make him out to be.”
- Are there ways in which you allow biblically insupportable principles, ethics or behavior patterns into your life and that of your family owing to the overbearing nature of our surrounding culture? Share some examples if you do. If you don’t, share what you are doing to guard against that threat.
2. The definition of worship that Anthony gave was that “It means to bow down in adoration at the feet of someone who you genuinely see as greater than yourself. It is a posture of the heart that compels you to give your ultimate love and affection to God by living your life in light of His truth because He is worthy of it.” Assuming, of course, that the Holy Spirit has awakened you to the reality of who God is as he has revealed himself to be through Jesus’ incarnation and ministry, the indwelling of the Spirit in the soul of a believer, and the Bible.
There is a proverbial begging of the question here. Obviously, you must affirm in your heart that the Holy Spirit has, indeed, opened the eyes of your heart to who God actually is. And then commit yourself to be a disciple of Christ with undivided attention--worship--based upon such revelation; such grace.
- Based on God’s worthiness, how do you think that anything less than aligning your priorities with those of Christ will always leave you unsatisfied once “awakened by the Holy Spirit to be a follower of Christ?”
3. Happiness is experienced when the things you have identified and pursue as being important to you meet your expectations. Based on the Gospel and your knowledge of the Bible, how can being a follower of Christ bring overall joy when those identity-definers and pursuits betray us or never quite leave us fulfilled?
4. The sermon provided a 3-step Idol Blueprint:
Step 1—God gives you a really good thing in life to be thankful for.
Step 2—We take that really good thing and make it an ultimate thing and start to love it more than the God who gave it to us.
Step 3—We then naturally start to find our identity in it and begin to worship it. At this point you concretely love it more than the God who gave it to you.
- How have any of these steps been playing out in your life (if they have) to the point where you do realize that Jesus must be re-throned in your life in order to receive your full attention?
5. The sermon emphasized three diagnostic questions you can ask yourself that will help you identify a potential idol in your life.
Question #1- Ask yourself what do you most want to spend your time doing? What do you do that you just can’t get enough of?
Question #2- What do you worry about losing the most in life?
Question #3- When there is a conflict between the demands of life where do you most effortlessly and certainly put your money?
- Why do you think any of these are not an idol issue per se, because God does give us good things and freedom to make choices about their pursuit and use, but rather a heart issue that you must come to terms with before God?
Individually: Share with the group how any of these are functioning in your life right at the present time.
As a group: Discuss means by which to remove them from the affections of your heart in order to gain the posture of a true and committed worshiper of God.
