Worship - Our Soul's Ambition

Music can be a reflection and reminder of what, and who, we are after.

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which
it is impossible to be silent.”  – Victor Hugo

Webster’s defines ambition as “a strong desire to do or to achieve
something, typically requiring determination and hard work”. Our
 society is helpful when it comes to career , money or family
 ambitions, but what about our ambition as it relates to...
 connecting our soul to God in worship?

Worship isn’t learned by reading “Worship for Dummies” or copying the person singing next to you at church. It ‘s formed by a deep head and heart connection with Jesus. This head and heart connection with Him is our souls deepest ambition. We were created to be in relationship with him. That’s why a song that marries biblical truth with the stickiness of a beautiful melody is a song that God can really use to connect with us in a special way. Blogger Forest Benedict puts it this way, “Music is a wonderful medium because it connects to the emotional part of our brain. Combine that with lyrics that remind us of God’s attunement to our cares and needs and you have a great opportunity to experience God in new ways.”

As we talked about earlier this week, how often does a song lyric catch in our throat? Or remind us of God’s unfailing promises? How often does it capture our mind’s attention and hearts affection so that our soul’s devotion to Him is complete in that moment? That’s true worship—an interactive moment in our relationship with God where our minds attention, our hearts affection and our souls ambition are all on Him.

READ and THINK… What does the Bible say?

Paul was writing to the church in Colosse. The church had had an influx of new members who brought with them pagan rituals that were moving the people away from God, not closer. Paul was gently reminding the Christians who God was, and what His Word has to say.

Question: How are we supposed to interact with other Christians? When are we supposed to praise and thank God?

Colossians 3:16-17 (New International Version)

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

Answer:

LIVE… What will you do now?

  Does singing lyrics that are based on Scripture help connect your head knowledge of God to your heart and soul? Why or why not?

Go to YouTube.com or your Spotify app and search for one of these songs (which either are or have been part of our weekend services). Then open your Bible to the verse listed and see how the verses are used to inspire or are the lyrics. Consider writing them out side-by-side. How does this make the song more meaningful to you?

 Source: wordtoworship.com

How can you prepare your mind, heart and soul to worship God before the music starts this weekend, or before turning on worship songs in your car or at home? Is there something you can do to deepen the opportunities you are given to worship God through music?

PRAY… God, what do you want me to know and do?

Thank God for giving us the freedom to use music to worship Him! Praise Him for the wonderful gift of worship as a way to communicate with Him. Ask God to provide opportunities to worship outside of church. Pray that He is your soul’s ambition and ask Him to take away any distractions during your time of worship.

Digging Deeper with this week’s teaching pastor:

Click here to go deeper using the Life Group DVD by the teaching pastor or view the message, including bonus discussion questions.

Thank you for reading today’s LivingItOut! We encourage you to take it one step further by participating in a Daily Bible Reading plan. There are thousands of individual reading plans available and there is ONE that is just right for you!CLICK HERE to download a basic “Bible in a year” plan. Customizable reading plans available at Youversion.com or Biblegateway.com.