This is a question that we need to ask ourselves often and  not just on Sunday mornings before we sing worship music. Worship literally means “worth-ship” or to ascribe worth. Worshiping God is not reserved for Sunday mornings alone or for singing alone or for the arts alone. We should be ascribing worth to God all the time.

In Harold Best’s Unceasing Worship, he says, “at this very moment, and for as long as this world endures, everybody inhabiting it is bowing down and serving something or someone”. Worship DOES NOT stop after a worship gathering or a City Group meeting. Worship continues every single moment of our lives. The question we ask ourselves isn’t “are we worshiping?” rather we should be asking “what or who are we worshiping?”

If worship is ascribing worth to something than it begins with knowing. We are called to worship God but we cannot worship God unless we know God, His character, His attributes, His actions dating back to Adam and Even, His actions in our lives today, and everything in between.

Psalm 95:1-5 says:

¹ Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
² Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
³ For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
⁴ In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
⁵ The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Let us know God and ascribe worth to him. Let what we know about God fuel our worship of Him. Let us look at every area of life and ask, “who am I worshiping?”.

This photo was taken by Greg Blosser a friend who pastors Grace Central Presbyterian Church in the Short North. The sign is in front of Maple Grove United Methodist Church a few blocks from our home and every time I drive by it makes me shake my head.

I won’t elaborate on the obvious motive behind the sign (to turn heads) and the foolishness of the message (it undermines the very authority the “church” stands on). I’d like to share three reasons why the Bible should be believed and matters to all people.

1) Scripture details the story of God – The Bible is not merely the “owners manual to life.” It’s also not a compilation of thoughts about God. The Bible is the record of God’s redeeming work in history. God didn’t just create the world to run its course like a deistic watch maker. No, God created the world and then has been at work intervening in the affairs of mankind to rescue and renew the creation he loves. Furthermore, as we look at how God has intervened we have hope that he will one day fulfill his promise to finish what he started.

2) Scripture is the story of the world fulfilled in Christ – The Bible isn’t just the record of God rescuing his people. It’s the story of hope for all people rooted in the one true hero. Jesus Christ fully embodies the gospel (the good news) because he fulfills the longing of everyone. Since the beginning of time, humanity has hoped for one true hero and one righteous king. Someone who could rescue them from the brokenness of the world. Every political campaign tries to capitalize on this hope. “If you elect me I’ll make you’re life better. I’ll fix what’s wrong.” We’ve come to be skeptical of such promises because we’ve learned that most people over promise and under deliver. However, in Scripture we learn of one who has the authority and power to be the true hero the world has always longed for.

3) The Scripture gives light in darkness – The Bible is both human (written by created people) and divine (inspired by God). It contains the inspired words of God! Thankfully, we worship a self revealing God who didn’t hide from the world but entered into it through his Word and Son. That’s why we call the Bible Holy. In the Scripture we find truth and wisdom on how to navigate the complexities of a fallen world. We learn about the nature of God and of ourselves. Anyone who thinks the Bible is irrelevant has missed some of the key teachings and themes of the book. It answers the most pressing philosophic questions. It gives a finite point at which to measure all other truth claims.

In closing, the Bible’s message is NOT to love the Bible. It’s to love the God behind the Bible! It’s to grow in awareness of the God who has intervened in history. It’s to grow to love and worship the God who sent his son to die and defeat death so you can have life. And it’s about the God who speaks through the Scripture to your soul enabling transformation and holy living. We all “believe” in something. My money is on the God revealed in Scripture.

I welcome any thoughts.

Mike Juday – Philippians 2 from Kyle Hornsby on Vimeo.

The inspiration for this song is from Philippians 2:6-11 which focuses on Christ’s humility. This song is a call to remember what God has done through Christ, and it is a commitment that we make to respond by lifting Christ up above all else

You, Lord, have been tempted and tried. You’ve held the weight that holds us down

Christ was fully man and did indeed feel the same temptations as we do today but still lived a perfect life. (Hebrews 4:15)

You, Lord, have conquered the death that was a fate, a hopeless life before Your love

Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we are no longer slaves to death (1 Corinthians 15:56-57). We all deserve death (Romans 3:23)

You are the God who crawled through the dust to meet us where we are

Savior and King, became nothing for us to wear our thorns and bear our cross

Adam, the first man, was made from dust (Genesis 2:7) and Christ came down to dwell with us. We are incapable of living perfectly, so Christ lived perfectly on our behalf. God, our Savior, and our King came down to our level to pay our penalty.

You, Lord, the author of life, became a slave to our own sin

Christ is the Author of Life (Acts 3:14-16) and yet He was obedient to the law that God had made and obedient to pay the penalty of OUR sin (Philippians 2:8)

You, Lord, stood constant in love despite our wrongs, You gave Your Son for our sake

From the beginning of time, God has been faithful to us. Christ is the fulfillment of the covenant promises of God. God’s people have a history of being disobedient to God but God is always faithful

You are exalted high, Lord. Every knee shall bow

Every tongue will confess You are Lord

Because of all that Christ has done, God has exalted Him above all other names. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Chris Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11)

You have perfected justice and proved abounding grace

Our hearts will confess You are Lord

Through Christ’s life, teaching, death, and resurrection, God has proved to be both just in the fact that our sins have been paid for (1 Peter 3:18) and gracious in that God sent His Son to be our payment (1 John 4:9-10). In recognizing God’s justice and grace, our hearts must confess that Christ is Lord.

Recently I’ve been reading Fathered by God, by John Eldredge. It’s definitely challenging me to broaden my understanding of who God is and how God works. It’s also causing me to look at wounds in my life that have deeply affected me psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. I’m coming to find that my wounds have negative consequences on how I treat others, and that my wounds taint the way I look at God, too.

It’s easy to misinterpret the pains of life and assume that God must not have wanted me to have this or that. That somehow, God is withholding pleasure from us. Even as I write these words I know I’m guilty of thinking this way. But isn’t that such a low view of God? The great myth is that God is adverse to pleasure – that we can have fun or follow God, but you surely can’t have both.

But, that’s completely wrong. Actually God is committed to a greater pleasure than we can comprehend. And the good news is, it’s simply found in following him. He is so committed to offering us this pleasure that he sent his Son to pay the price in order that we could have access to it.

Eldredge reminds that, “so much of what we misinterpret as hassles or trials or screw-ups on our part are in fact God fathering us, taking us through something in order to strengthen us, or heal us, or dismantle some unholy thing in us.” It’s important to remember that wounds inflicted on us as a consequence of living in a fallen world shouldn’t be projected on God as though he is some sort of distant father who leads like an oppressive dictator. Rather as Eldrege says, “You are the [child] of a kind, strong, and engaged Father, a Father wise enough to guide you in the Way, generous enough to provide for your journey, offering to walk with you every step.”

How we understand God will undoubtedly affect the way relate to him (or don’t relate to him!). What might you be projecting onto God that creates a barrier in your relationship with him?

Facebook was abuzz with Jefferson Bethke’s video Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus. Now, I appreciate and applaud the core of Jefferson’s message which really contrasts Jesus’ message (the gospel) with religion (works based righteousness). Heck, I’m preaching this Sunday in Mark 2-3 about true religiosity. However, in this discussion it’s important to understand what we mean by “religion.” I was going to write my own blog entry on the issue but came across Jared Wilson’s response Jesus Was Religious. Jared is a friend, Acts 29 church planter, and gifted writer so I’d encourage everyone to check out his entry and consider frequenting his blog The Gospel-Driven Church.