Welcome to church. Good morning, church family. It's so good to be with you. My name is Jono, and I have the privilege of serving as one of the pastors here. And our lead pastor, Pastor Onimo Katle. And it's a joy to be with you this morning as we kick off our next series for the year, our very first series for the year of 2025. If you haven't been...
around church your whole life, if you're maybe skeptical, if you're a non-Christian, and you came in here today and that was the question of the day, thank you for indulging us. I'm sure that you maybe haven't been thinking about those songs for long, but I appreciate that.
fact that you are here and we pray that you are feeling welcome and that you are blessed. Also, if it is your very first time with us in this space, we are excited that you're here. As Mbumi said, next week coffee is on us and we hope that we can engage with you today. We'll engage with you then again next week. Welcome to 2025. Hey, hey. As Elder Kenny said last week, for some of you, perhaps the first couple of weeks has been 2020 thrive.
whilst for others it's been 2020 survive. But God is good all the time. And all the time? Amen, amen. So it may be a new year. But I'm here with good news to tell you that God is constant. He remains the same. It's a new year, but the gospel is the same. Our God is still saving many, drawing many to him, and he's still saving many.
When we were praying about 2025, in the second part of 2024, Pastor One, the elders, the staff, and the leaders felt that God is clearly up to something significant and profound. in our year of worship. And our sense was that he was not done yet. Not only that, God is not limited to our 365 calendar day years.
God is not bound by being synced to your Google calendar or Google profile. And so we have felt that we're going to spend another year in our year of worship. And this morning, I get the privilege of introing. our Year of Worship series as we come expectantly into another year of worship. One more time. You excited? You should be. Today we're going to be looking at why do we worship?
Why do we worship? Why even worship? Now, as someone who's served in church bands, worship teams over the years, I've had the privilege of going through a course run by an organization called Worship Central. And this course trains teams on the theology and the practicalities of leading musical worship for their local congregations. And every time I've been part of one of these training courses, I've always just thought to myself, man.
It would be great if it wasn't just the pastors and elders, the bands and worship teams that knew this stuff, right? It would be great if entire church... congregations could have an understanding of some of the things that we learn, particularly the reasons behind why we worship. And so look at God. He has provided rooted fellowship. with an opportunity to dive deeper into some of the theology behind why we even worship. And so that's where we're going to be this morning.
as we look at why we worship. I'm going to be drawing quite a bit from this worship central course that I've alluded to, whilst at the same time seeking to faithfully preach God's word to us this morning. Okay, so that's where we're going to be. And as I do this, it's my prayer that we as a church this morning will encounter God, that you will encounter God, that we will be equipped as worshipers of the one true living God.
And that our church, Root of Fellowship, will be empowered mightily as we embark on this year of worship in 2025. Our prayer is that we will be empowered as a church, that we will be equipped as worshipers. and that we will encounter God. Be cool? Ready? Let's go. Worship. Worship. Throughout history, worship has always been a hot topic in the church.
And that's because it's not just what we do when we sing songs on a Sunday at church or when we put on a gospel playlist on our devices when we are commuting around the city or when we are having our quiet time and posting pictures of a Bible next to a cup of coffee. on Instagram on our reels. Worship is something infinitely bigger and way more significant than that. Worship is going on all around us. In heaven,
and on earth. The Lord's Prayer, hallowed be thy name on earth as it is in heaven. It's going on all around us in every style and form you can imagine and probably hear this, in even many more styles that you can't even imagine. It's been happening since the beginning of time, and it's going to continue to take place for eternity.
We're going to speak about that a bit more next week. This is what the Worship Central course says. It says, throughout the world and throughout history, there has always been a conversation going on about worship. From the church fathers wrestling with what worship should look like in the explosive growth decades after Jesus, to the reformers asking what God requires of us in light of Scripture, the question remains, how should we worship?
And today, people are still equally passionate about styles and expressions of worship. We saw that this morning, right? We are equally passionate about styles and expressions of worship. We've gone around the room, but I bet if we went around the room and one by one, and I asked you about what you believe to be great worship, you'd all become quite passionate about what you think is great musical worship.
Because when it comes to musical worship, most of us have really strong thoughts, opinions, and preferences. I lectured at a seminary for a couple of years, and one of the first-year elective courses... For one of the assignments, we tasked the students with going to three different churches that they wouldn't normally go to, so not their local church, three other churches, and they would go and assess the worship.
how God-honoring was the worship, was the Holy Spirit's present, et cetera, et cetera. We'd ask a whole bunch of questions. And it was incredible. I felt it quite discouraging, to be honest with you, because it was incredible to see how the preferences of the students so clearly came out. They went, man, I went to this church, man.
That's not my style. God is not at work there. Man, I went to that church. I can see it a little bit, but not my... Man, that church is kind of like my local church. It's pumping me. Man, God is at work. And I was so discouraged. And then I went back to my assignment that I wrote a couple of years ago on that very same course. And I was shocked to see, man, that's exactly what I said to you.
We have strong thoughts, opinions, and preferences when it comes to musical worship. But man, the church is so blessed with so many different forms of worship. Amen? Hymns. Man, we heard that today. The richness of the theology and hymns. What a blessing. Church, the blessing of singing one line over and over and over and being saturated in the truth of who God is.
What a blessing that is. Seeing God exalted in the musicality of certain types of worship songs, it's a beautiful thing to behold. God. is a beautiful designer and creator of all things and can use all things to glorify him. But we all have our preferences and that's okay. He designed us that way. He made us that way.
But often as a result of our preferences, we can become a little bit disillusioned and left feeling cynical by things we see and experience. And can I say that that is especially the case in a transcultural church. Some of us ask, why aren't we singing certain songs more? Why are we singing these songs so much? Amen. I like it when she sings and leads us in that way. I like it when he leads us in that way.
Why don't we have drums or keys? Why is the band so big today? Or why is the band so small today? Can we have more hymns? Can we have more repetitive, simpler songs? I love the songs that connect with my emotions. I appreciate music that engages my mind, et cetera and et cetera. Brother and sister, wherever you find yourself this morning, you need to hear this.
Each and every single one of you have an important part to play in the worshipping life at Rooted Fellowship. Every single one of us have an important role to play in the worshipping life at Rooted Fellowship. And it's a role that only you can play. And this is because worship is not just about music. It is about that. But it also involves every aspect of every believer's entire life. Our whole life is an act of worship.
But don't just take my word for it. Let's look to the perfect, infallible, living word of God. Amen? Our anchor verse for this series. You may remember this from last year, and it's going to be on the screen behind me maybe for a while. taken from Romans 12, verses 1 and 2. And if we examine our anchor text for our Year of Worship series, Romans 12, verses 1 to 2, we're going to see that the Apostle Paul also believes
That worship involves every aspect of any believer's life. Because he says this. Romans 12 verse 1. He says, To present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing to God. This is your true worship. Let's pray. Almighty. Holy Father, we come before you this morning adoring you, Lord God, as the God creator of the universe, who made all of this, Lord God, who designed us in a very unique way.
and who calls many to him, Lord God. Lord God, we bless your name. We lift up the name of Jesus in this place. This morning, Lord God, we pray that your Holy Spirit would move through this place, Lord God, that you would use this.
Use this time now, Lord God, to empower us as a church, to equip us as worshipers, Lord God, and to encounter you. I pray that every single person here today, Lord God, whether they're a believer, non-believer, skeptic, nominal Christian, Lord God, those of us in pain, those of us feeling hope, every single one of us, Lord God, would look to you now, would meet with you.
As we read your word, as we have your word preached over us, Lord God, would you move mightily? Would you bring your truth? Would you empower us, equip us, encourage us, Lord God? Would you convict us, Lord God? of where we need to turn to you, what we need to surrender to you. Come, Holy Spirit. We thank you for the privilege it is to be able to worship you. We've even experienced some of that this morning. We thank you, Lord God, for the different...
different styles that we've been honoring this morning as we've gathered, Lord God. We bless your name. We thank you, Lord God, for the fact that you use these things to bless your name, to glorify you. But now, Lord God, we pray in this time that you would use this word.
Draw us closer to you, closer to one another. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, so, family, as we look at why we worship, we're going to take a look at three things, a deeper look at three things. Firstly, the purpose of worship. Then prioritizing worship. And then finally, the presence of God in our worship. Purpose of worship, prioritizing worship, and the presence of God in our worship. Firstly, the purpose of worship.
Many of us need to hear this. Brother and sister, you are no accident. You are no accident. God beautifully designed you. He knit you together in the womb. Ephesians 1, 4-6 says this. He says, He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the beloved one.
Brother and sister in Christ, God has a unique and divine purpose for you and your life. You want to know what that is? Seriously, you want to know what that is? Secret sauce 2025. God told me this this week. I was praying, praying for us, and God told me this. You ready? I'm going to tell you. Follow Jesus and worship God. Follow Jesus and worship God. Westminster Shorter Catechism proclaims that the chief end of humankind...
is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Our purpose in this life is found in bringing glory to God and experiencing the joy of fellowshipping with Him. Our loving Heavenly Father created us as an act of pure joy. And He meant for us to know Him and His love for us. And for us to respond to that love in love and devotion.
And this relationship affects every area of our lives. We were not a once-off project that God forgot about once we were born. Instead, he created us with a purpose. to be his children with him, and to enjoy an ongoing relationship with him. A relationship that all aspects of our lives are to pivot around. Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 and 5, God says to Israel, listen Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
And then Jesus even quotes this as the greatest commandment when he says in the Gospel accounts in Mark 12, verse 30, he says, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and he adds, with all your strength. Family, our purpose is to love God like this, to worship him by aligning our hearts, our minds, our souls, our strength with the good, perfect, and pleasing will of God the Father.
It's our wholehearted response to God's extravagant love and mercy. One theologian, Archbishop William Temple, defined worship like this. He says it's the submission. Submission of all our human nature to God. The submission of all our human nature to God. It's not singing on a Sunday or jamming to gospel music in our car or Bible reading or daily quiet times and devotion. It is those things, but it is so much more. The submission of all our human nature to God. He continues.
He says, it is the quickening of conscience by his holiness, nourishment of mind by his truth, purifying of imagination by his beauty. opening of the heart to his love and submission of will to his purpose. And all this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions of which we are capable of. Family, the call to worship our Father God is an incredibly profound one. Genesis 12, when Abraham first encounters God, he's called to obedient sacrifice.
As an act of worship. In Exodus, when Moses leads the people out of Egypt, it is so that they can worship the Lord. And then they are led in a song of worship in Exodus 15. We saw this last week. Also last week from 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2, when Hannah handed over her much long for baby son, Samuel, to the Lord, she lifted up her voice to worship.
In 2 Samuel 6, when David dances before the Lord with all his might, it's an act of worship. In 2 Kings chapter 1, when Elijah calls down fire from heaven, it's in the context of worship. In Job 1 verse 20, after losing everything, Job falls to his knees in worship. You ask John, is worship just an Old Testament thing? Well, let's see.
We saw this towards the end of last year in our Advent series. In the New Testament, in Luke 1, when Mary knows that she's carrying in her womb Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, we see in verses 46 to 55 that she sings a song and... When the wise men greet the Christ child in Matthew 2, they bow down and worship him. In Luke 2, when Jesus is presented to Simeon in the temple, he worships.
And in the gospel accounts, when the disciples realized that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, they respond in worship. Indeed. So did Paul in Acts 9. When he realizes who Jesus is, he responds by being baptized as an act of worship. Whenever the glory of God is revealed, family, worship, worship, worship. Matt Redman, the songwriter who wrote the song Heart of Worship, which we sang, he says this, when we face up to the glory of God, we find ourselves face down in worship.
When we face up to the glory of God, we find ourselves face down in worship. But family, we need to hear this. God gives us freedom of choice. He does not force us to bow down in worship to him. Not yet. The time is coming. But right now, we don't have to respond to our Heavenly Father and Creator God in worship. We don't have to. But because it is our purpose to worship Him.
It does mean that we will all be worshipping something. We were created to worship, and so we will all be worshipping something. To worship comes from the Anglo-Saxon word, weofskype. which literally means to ascribe worth to something, to ascribe worth to something. And so if there's something that captivates our heart's affection, our mind's attention, and our soul's ambition,
Worship Central says it effectively has our worship. If something captivates our heart's affection, our mind's attention, and our soul's ambition, it effectively has our worship. African church father, St. Augustine, he once prayed this prayer. He said, Lord God, you have made us for yourself. Oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Anyone feeling restless in this place? Family, we've been made by the maker. Saved by the Savior. Only, only by the help of the helper. With the one extraordinary purpose of enjoying fellowship with God. Or worshipping God. It is through worship that we find our true identity and purpose as worshipers of the living God. And so why worship? Why do we worship? Because we were created to worship.
On purpose. God has a purpose for us and he created us to worship. And so if we were designed to worship, then it goes to follow that, man, this should be a priority. Amen? This should be a priority. We were created to worship through the expression of our whole lives, our living sacrifices. And so then it follows that in the power of the Holy Spirit, equipped with the help of God the Helper,
Worship is our priority. And the worship of our living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is central to this. It's all about you, Jesus. It's all about you. Our response to what God did in sending his first and best in Jesus is offering up our first and best back to him. Amen? There's a, what's it called, a fable? But a famous story about a...
A chicken and a pig. And man, they are just so thankful for the good life that they are living. The farmer has just been blessing them and giving them such a good life. So the chicken goes to the pig and says, you know what? I'm so grateful for everything that we've got going. I think we should do something for the farmer. So the pig says to the chicken, okay, well, what are you thinking? He says, I think we should cook him a meal.
Okay, great. Okay. What meal? No, I think we should put on a great breakfast for him. Oh, man, pig says that's a great idea. What are you thinking of serving? Chicken things from oats? No, no. He says, I think we should serve him bacon and eggs. Bacon and eggs. And Pig stops and thinks for a moment. He says, no, I don't know. You see, because in that situation, chicken...
You're involved, but I'm committed. You're involved. You're involved in that breakfast. You're involved in that giving thanks, but I'm wholeheartedly committed. Talk about a sacrifice. Brothers and sisters, we know that relationships only thrive if true commitment to the relationship is prioritized. And God has most certainly prioritized loving us in sending Jesus. Amen? And so we respond to him with our genuine worship by giving everything we are to God.
above every other activity, affection, and ambition. Think about the contrasting responses to Jesus by Martha and then her sister Mary as we read in Luke's gospel. Some of y'all will recall this because we covered it back, I think, in 2023 when we entered this text. Luke 10, verse 38 to 42. It says this, welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet and was listening to what he said.
But Martha was distracted by her many tasks. And she came up and asked, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand. The Lord answered her, Martha. Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken from her.
Can you see it right, family? Martha absorbs herself in the busy preparation of hosting and then organizing the meal. Martha is involved, highly involved, very involved. But Mary sits at the feet of Jesus. And in actual fact, in doing so, being a woman, she refuses to give in to the cultural and religious expectations of the day. This was a shocking gesture that she was not assisting with the hosting and meal prep.
And instead, she was utterly devoted and utterly determined to make the most of every minute to hold on to the Lord's every word. Mary was committed. Family, it's also worth noting that practicing hospitality and welcoming strangers was a high religious duty. Set out in scripture, and the highest of all was to welcome a traveling rabbi or teacher. And so Martha was busy.
She was busy doing all the right things. The right things. If it was today, she would have been welcoming you at Sabana. Maybe even bring coffee in the kitchen if we had power this morning. If you're in coffee in Sabana, we love you guys. Okay. You can still be committed as well. But you see, church, Martha was missing Jesus. She was missing Jesus. And then frustrated, tired, and outraged, she bursts in.
possibly even interrupts Jesus' teaching and says, Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me. And yet check this. How does Jesus respond? How does Jesus respond? He says, Martha, Martha. Now we've seen this before throughout scripture. We see that whenever God addresses someone by repeating their name, it's because it's to show love.
care and affection with that person. Martha, Martha. And so Jesus responds graciously and lovingly, not impatiently with Martha. And then he says, Martha, You're worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is needed. Brother and sister, are you worried and upset about many things when only one thing is needed?
And then Jesus goes on to affirm Mary's conscious decision. He says, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. In other words, Mary has prioritized loving Jesus, learning from Jesus, responding to Jesus, following Jesus. Brother and sister, worshiping Jesus is a conscious decision. God is good and he gives us himself, his Holy Spirit as a helper.
who equips and empowers us to prioritize responding to him in worship. But we are called to consciously yield to this. In surrendering to the prioritizing of worshiping our Lord. We are called to yield to that. And so the fact is, worship will only be our priority if we choose to surrender to God who seeks to make it so. Came across a Russell Brand quote this week.
I know he's a bit of a divisive figure. But in his day, he was quite the celebrity. And he admits that for him, life was about taking as much pleasure from it as possible. But he recently became a Christian, and this is what he said about our choice to worship God. Hear these words from a previously self-proclaimed hedonist, right? Someone who makes pleasure and comfort their ultimate priority.
This is what Russell Brand said. He said, I don't think we choose whether or not we worship. We just choose what we worship. Because surely we are worshiping something. This I have experienced and been educated in because I came from a background of addiction. My introduction to God was through surrender to abstinence through a 12-step program.
When alcohol was removed from my life, when drugs were removed from my life, I recognized that the pursuit that I was engaged in was always a spiritual one. That I was looking for God. that I was looking to synthesize God chemically, and I believe this to be true of all adults. Now I recognize that there is a parallel between addiction and sin. Now I recognize that there is a parallel between addiction and sin. Addiction is an attempt to elevate the profane into the sacred.
To elevate the profane into the sacred. And family, can we be real here for a moment? When we hear addiction, our minds often run to illicit substances, drugs, alcohol, and pornography. Yes, sure, many do struggle with that. But we can also be addicted to people's opinions. We can be addicted to social media. We can be addicted to exercise and body image, food, control, even work.
We can be addicted to the churchy things in and around church. Addiction is an attempt to elevate the profane into the sacred. C.S. Lewis said something similar. When he wrote in Mere Christianity, he said this. He said, God made us, invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else.
Now God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself. Because it is not there. Brothers and sisters, we've been searching. It is not there. Hear me, church.
God does not force us to prioritize Him and worship Him. Not yet. We are still left with a decision to make, but a time is coming when every knee will bow. And so... This morning, will you choose to be like Martha, caught up in the busyness and the things of this life, even distracted by the godly, churchy, noble things that we like doing? And think we're doing for Jesus. Or will we choose to be like Mary? Whose priority was to sit at Jesus' feet.
completely focused on him, not letting anything, not our ambition or self-interest, not the expectations of others, not any kind of distraction get in the way.
In fact, it goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyways. That choice has implications for our time, our lifestyle, our money, our energy, and our ambitions. In fact, if you reverse that, If you want to catch a glimpse of what you are worshipping, take a look at your calendar, your diary, your banking app, your social media feed, the topics of conversations that you initiate or participate in.
your energy, your focus of your mind and your attention. If we examine these things this morning, would it be clear and obvious that our very first calling is to love God? Worship first, serve second. Worship first, serve a second. In fact, rooted fellowship...
There's a reason that the great commandment to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is inextricably linked to the great commission to go and make disciples or to serve the kingdom by drawing many more to worship in here. Because the theologian John Stott wrote, he says, the highest of the missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing, but rather...
The highest of motives is out of our zeal, our burning and passionate zeal for the glory of Jesus Christ, to see him worshipped everywhere. That's why we go and make disciples. Brothers and sisters, if we want to see the world awaken to the wonder of God and his transcultural church, we must learn to, in the power of the Holy Spirit, surrender.
and make the worship of our God our ultimate priority. If we want to see the world awaken to the wonder of God and his transcultural church, we have to learn to, in the power of the Holy Spirit, surrender. and make worship of God our ultimate priority. And so why do we worship? Well, we worship because we were created to worship, because it is our priority. And thirdly, a band can start making its way up.
We worship because we long to be in God's presence. It's all about God's presence. Family, one of the profound privileges and joys of the Christian faith is that our faith is one of relationship and worshiping God. is not about rules and regulations. It's about relationship. And everything we then do flows from that relationship. We cannot reduce worship to specific things that happen during certain moments in time.
John 4, Jesus has a pretty remarkable conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well. And I mean, he touches on a whole host of theological topics. But he also speaks to her about our topic this morning. He speaks to her about worship. And Jesus explains to her that worshiping God is no longer something that can be reduced to man-made temples, techniques, and traditions. Instead, in John 4, verses 23 and 24, he says this.
But an hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit. And those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. In other words, dear Samaritan sister, the center point of worship was no longer to be found in a temple building made of stone in Jerusalem.
It would be then, and still is now, found in the person of Jesus Christ. Amen? In Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, our spirits can now experience the presence of God the Father. In worship, we can boldly draw near to God, knowing that in response, he will draw near to us. Theologian James Torrance explains that in these above verses, John 4, verses 23 to 24.
Jesus is in fact calling out an incorrect view of worship. A view that is task and place orientated. Many of us view worship as something we do in a particular place and time. We attend... church on Sunday at 9.15. We pray each morning at 6.30. We then read the Bible with our coffee at 7. We serve the poor at Christmas. We give the day after the payday.
We, we, we, we. This view of worship not only places ourselves at the center of worship, but it also leads to exhaustion, self-condemnation. Because by our own efforts, we can really never do enough. The other view is what Jesus desires from us and what Jesus alludes to with the woman at the well is to view worship as a gift and see it as something that we are invited into.
we get to participate in, have the privilege of participating in. Through worship, we experience God's presence. We experience God's presence and we are gathered up into the community of God the Father. God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And when we understand worship as time in God's presence, well then, we discover that in worship, we are encouraged, inspired, revitalized, replenished.
and renewed. Brothers and sisters, we live in a world in turmoil. Economic and political crises surrounding us on all fronts. The people and the institutions that we have put our faith and trust in, they fail us on a daily basis. Millions, millions are caught up in vile human trafficking, starvation and disease. Only our God is mighty to save. Amen? Only our God is mighty to save. And when we as a church worship him by truly engaging his presence,
we are empowered to be his agents of transformation and change. Our hearts are softened to love more like Christ. And our eyes are open to see the needs and possibilities. existing all around us. We're to fellowship. There once was a time when the people of God were symbolically separated from God by a thick curtain in the temple.
But because of the finished work of our sinless great high priest Jesus Christ, we have been given access to God's presence in the holiest of holies. However, this freedom came at a huge cost. A great cost. Something truly extraordinary happened on the day that Jesus offered up his life on the cross for you and for me. Matthew 27 verses 50 and 51. We see that at the precise moment that Jesus breathed.
His last breath, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Not only that, but in dying on the cross and reconciling us back to God, Jesus has broken down every... Every barrier. Not just between God and man, but also between one another. He has opened wide the way for us to experience God's presence and to enjoy God forever.
Along with embracing God's creative genius in making us all in different and yet all different ways and yet all in the image of God. And so root to fellowship. As a transcultural church.
We already know that a big part of who we are is embracing the fact that we get to enjoy unity in our diversity both now and forever. And so brother and sister, when you draw near to God, because of the finished work of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, we experience the love of a good and faithful Father whose love endures forever. And in His extraordinary presence, extraordinary things begin to happen. We are sanctified. We are made ever more into Christ-likeness, which of course...
Causes us to respond in even more worship. The worship of our one true triune God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And round and round and round and round. You see family, worship. Ignites worship. And that's all forms of worship. All forms of worship. The singing worship. The obedient living worship. The face down. Silence at the foot of the cross in prayer worship. And the sacrifice, fasting of which we value in pursuit of a deeper connection with God type of worship. It's all worship.
and it sparks more worship. Whenever we truly worship, and however we truly worship, we cannot help but be changed, be made whole, and be inspired to long for more of God. And so family, it's my prayer that this morning you've seen that Jesus is our purpose. He is our priority and he is our privilege. And today he is calling us back to discover him.
the ultimate reason for our worship. I invite you to stand and let's pray and respond. Our Father God, we thank you, we praise you, we give you all the honor and glory. for the amazing gift of Jesus Christ. Thank you that in him we find our true purpose as worshipers. We pray that you would make us more like you, Jesus, that we would prioritize worship.
in the power of the Holy Spirit, and that we would enjoy the great privilege of drawing close to you in worship. So come now, Holy Spirit. We're sorry for the fact that we've made this life all about us, Lord God. Lord God, we are longing to worship you now. And so we fall at your feet. I pray, Lord God, that we would take this moment just to worship you.
because we were created to worship you, Lord God, because it is our privilege and our priority. We are here this morning now, Lord God. Would you minister to us now as we sing this song, as we respond in prayer. Maybe many come up and pray, Lord God, fall at your feet.
Spend some time praying to you, Lord God. Spend some time praying with others, talking to one another, Lord God. We thank you, Lord God, that worship is not just reserved for this place and this time now, but even as we spill that out. into the foyer, outside the church, as we engage with one another, Lord God, as we drive home, as we think on you, pray to you, that all of this is an act of worship, our living sacrifice. And so would you renew our minds now in this time?
May this all be to your honor and glory. Come and move. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's sing this song together. We sang it earlier, the heart of worship. And sing it as a prayer and respond to it. music fades and all is stripped away simply such much deeper Oh Roots of Fellowship, we end every gathering with a good word, and of course the best words come from Scripture. And today we're going to say them together. It's our last verse that we went through, John 4, verses 23 and 24.
Say these words together as a prayer. Just want to take this opportunity to say, if you need to talk to someone, please come talk to us. If you need to pray, spend some time with Jesus, please do that. If you need to take the next step of engaging with us as a church and plugging in, please do that. If you need to just have someone ask some questions, please come up front. We'd love to answer some questions. We love you. We thank you that you could be here today.
We're looking forward to next week, what God would have in store for us in our second message in the year of worship. Thank you to our, I just want to say special thanks to our production team, our set up teams. You guys have been great as we've been going through this time of. of load shedding or whatever this is. Thank you for the way in which you've worked tirelessly. Cool. Let's say together these words as a prayer. But an hour is coming and is now here.
True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. May we be those people. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Go in peace.