If I asked you why you love God—why you worship Him—what would you say?
Worship God for What He has Done
If you thumb through the Bible looking for times when God was praised, plenty will center on what He has done for His people. Likewise, when you look for the times when God calls on His people to praise Him, many will again focus on what He has done as a reason. It is good and fitting then to worship God for this reason.
I want to encourage you to step away from this blog post for a few minutes. Take a sheet of paper and a pen and start listing as many things that God has done for you as possible. Think big and small. Think recently and long ago. Think personally and corporately. And as you make that list, let your heart be stirred to worship in light of every item you jot down. And then pause to consider how much more you could have put down but did not.
Worship God for Who He Is
If you were to go back and thumb through your Bible once more, this time looking for times when people worshiped God because of who He is—His character—and the times when He called on people to worship Him for that reason, you will find plenty.
Step away once again. Get a new piece of paper and this time write down as many attributes of God that you can think of. List His names too. By each one, note why that attribute or name is meaningful to you. And once again, as you do, seek to worship God in light of what is on your mind and heart.
Worship God Because You Can't Not
By this point, I hope you are experiencing the third major reason we are to worship God—we worship Him because we cannot not worship Him. We must worship, just like the rocks, Jesus mentioned in Luke 19:40. It is in this place of necessary worship that we want to be found each day. This is our goal—not to manufacture it, but rather to understand that this is, actually, the natural inclination of our souls. This is why we were created. It is when we must worship that we are most living the reality of who we are.
I pray that a worship-filled heart is the posture of your preparation for teaching each week. I pray that it is the posture of your teaching itself too and that it carried over and captivates your kids and helps drive them to worship our God as well.
Preschool Tip: As you talk about worship with your preschoolers, it might help to frame it in terms of love more for them. Worshiping God is telling Him and showing Him how much we love Him.
Kids Tip: Consider guiding your kids in a conversation with why they love and worship God. It is likely that most of them will focus on what God has done or does. And, again, while there is nothing wrong with that, help them to connect love and worship to God’s character too.
*Devo from Pastor Brian, from The Gospel Project.
#JesusJams for today!
---> And here's this week's story!!
Christ Connection: Zerubbabel led God’s people back to the temple to rebuild it. The temple was the place where God met with His people on earth. Jesus came to earth to rescue God’s people. One day Jesus will return to restore a greater home for all of God’s people, and we will spend eternity with Him.
If you have a bible at your house, turn to Ezra chapters 1-3. Read it with your family this week! If you don't have one, that's okay! CLICK HERE.
OPTION 1: Roll lumber Form two teams of kids and instruct them to line up on one side of the room. On the opposite side, place two piles of pool noodles, one per team. When you say go, the first kid from each team will race to the pile of noodles, grab a noodle, and roll it back to her team. Then the second kid on each team will do the same. The first team to get all their noodles to their side wins SAY •The Israelites paid the people in Lebanon for lumber to rebuild God’s temple. The people had to work hard to get all the necessary building materials, but they knew that the work was worth it. They were desperate to have a place to worship God.
OPTION 2: Make a Suitcase Print a copy of the “Suitcase” printable on heavyweight paper for each child. Invite preschoolers to cut out the pattern. Cut the patterns ahead of time for younger preschoolers. Show children how to fold the pattern in half to create a suitcase that opens. Guide children to open their suitcase and draw items with crayons or markers that they would pack if they were moving. Encourage them to decorate the outside of their suitcases with stickers, crayons, or markers.
SAY • If you had to move what would you pack in your suitcase to take with you? God’s people had to move everything they had in Babylon back to Judah. King Cyrus also gave them gifts of gold, silver, and animals to take with them. On the front of your suitcase it says, God kept His promise to bring His people home. Someday Jesus will come back. He will fix up a greater home for all of God’s people, and we will live with Him forever.
OPTION 3: Make Trail Mix Invite each child to select a trail mix ingredient. Help them pour some of the ingredient into the large mixing bowl. After each addition, lead the children to take turns stirring the bowl with the spoon until it is mixed up. When children have finished adding ingredients, scoop out a cup of mix for each child. Set them aside for snack time. SAY • Many people like to make trail mix as a snack for when they travel. God promised to bring His people back home, and He did. They traveled home to Jerusalem and began to fix the temple. One day Jesus will come back and will fix up a greater home for all of God’s people, and we will live with Him forever.