Carry On | Lent Devotion Week 6
Theme: Worship
Getting Started:
Take some time to think about the role of worship in your life. What did the worship spaces look like? What style was worship? How did worship make you feel when you were little? As you got older? Three years ago? Last year? Try to find themes of how you experience God’s presence in worship and what it has meant for your faith life.
Verse:
Psalm 63:1-4 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
Learn More:
The psalms are songs and prayers meant for personal devotion or public worship. They give voice to a full range of emotions: despair, peace, patience, hope, anger, and compassion. The psalms are often grouped into psalms of praise or lament. However, even lament songs end with statements of resolute faith. They remind us that no matter what we feel – happy or sad, confused or confident, exhausted or energized – we can come into God’s presence with our full, honest selves. When we worship God, we always return to a place of joy, knowing that our God has chosen to be with us no matter what.
Reflect:
Pay really, really close attention to worship this week. Why do you think we do things the way we do? What’s one question you have about worship at Easter? How can you find an answer?
Try a different worship style! If you usually worship at the Hill, go to the Lake, or vice versa. If you’ve never tried a Wednesday 5:45 service, come check it out – and then check it out again after Lent. What does it teach you about the fullness of worship?
Talk to a friend or family member who worships in another way because they go to a different church or belong to a different tradition. Compare your church services. What do you like about them? What would you change? What does it tell you about another faith community?
While we know we can always worship God in church, there are other places or times for worship. Can you think of other times in your life that were truly worship? Maybe at Bible camp, or at the bedside of a sick loved one, or at your kitchen table. How did you know it was worship?
Respond:
Be honest with yourself: how’s your worship life? This isn’t about guilt or obligation. It’s about letting yourself fully engage with the entire community of faith and the true presence of God. What steps could you take to be in worship more? Or, what could you do to more fully engage with worship? Find someone you trust and respect to help you talk about it and help you make a plan.