Living Life by Design

I must confess…one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things I’ve ever done was being a chapel pastor for a group of junior high and high school students at Liberty Christian School. Every Friday morning I would lead the students in worship (I put together and lead a student worship team) and then give a message. 

The students (and teachers) were used to singing with taped music. Needless to say, when the students arrived at chapel and saw a live band, everyone was excited. I began the service by asking everyone to stand up and I asked, “Are you ready to worship?” The students excitedly yelled back, “YES!” My response was not what anyone expected. I said…

Me: “Wait…let’s try that again. Are you ready to worship?”

Students: “Yes! Yes we are!”

Me: “But that’s the wrong answer! You should have said, No!”

The students were bedazzled. 

Me: “Worship is not a time or place. It’s a lifestyle. It’s an attitude. The next time someone asks you if you’re ‘ready to worship’ the appropriate answer should be, no. Why, because your worship starts with the first ‘borrowed breath (you realized) you take in the morning as you wake up. Your worship doesn’t end until the last ‘borrowed breath’ you take this evening before falling asleep.”

Me: “The next time someone asked you if you’re ready to worship, say ‘no,’ and then say, ‘I’m ready to continue my worship.’

The students and teachers looked at me in amazement…My words were so profound. As I write this my eyes are welling-up. It happens each time I tell this story. We no longer have to set aside a particular time or go to a physical place to experience the presence of God. Because of Jesus, the ‘mediator of a new covenant’ we can worship anywhere at anytime. Jesus is the one who made this new relationship with God possible through his death on the cross for you and me (Hebrews 12:24).

Our ‘mount Zion’, our ‘holy mountain’, the place where we can worship Jesus, is the whole earth.

When was the last time you worshiped outside of church?