Bible

Engaged Worship Lasts

This was posted originally at https://www.wilkesborobaptist.org/worship-to-live-a-life-that-lasts

When you have nothing else to think about, what does your mind run to? This is a good way to test our worship and even our idols. If our minds run to a person, security, a career, something out there in the future, then maybe that thing is what we most long for—maybe that thing is an idol—what we’re worshiping. If our minds run to something we have (a person, thing, or experience), maybe that thing is an idol. It is easy to see when we’re completely still and our minds have nothing required of them, what do our minds move to? Career, pleasure, security, desire, person, smartphone? Or God himself? If you are a follower of Jesus, in love with God, and a worshiper of Christ, your mind should often run to the glory, grandeur, worth, praise, majesty, and beauty of God through Jesus Christ. 

As followers of Jesus who have experienced the gracious redemption of a glorious Savior, contemplating God through Christ is an act of worship. Anselm put it this way, “God is that, than which nothing greater can be conceived.” You will not think a better or more lasting thought today than any true thought you think about God in worship.

The two Journey Outcomes for worship are as follows:

Personal: Say or sing praise to God daily from Scripture and in prayer. 

Corporate: Engage intentionally in gathered worship. (Gather weekly, sing joyfully, listen attentively, take notes, give generously). 

Let me encourage you this week to make time to say or sing praise to God daily. Tell him his greatness. Ascribe to him his worth. Praise him for his glory. Thank him for his goodness to you. Daily worship and praise should be the way we live.

Consider David’s remark about God from 2 Samuel 7:22, “Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”

When you come to worship this upcoming Sunday, plan to be engaged. Sing, listen, take notes, give, and participate in worship.

To get very practical for a moment, let me make a recommendation to you. Would you take whatever calendar you use and put your Sunday morning worship on the calendar? This will do two things. First, it sets worship as a priority. Things that go on the calendar in our shared google calendar are things we don’t want to forget. So just the act of putting your gathered worship on the calendar is a way to set a priority. Second, it will remind you that you’re missing worship if you put an event on your calendar that overlaps on a Sunday. I understand there are reasons we can’t have perfect attendance for gathered weekly worship (work, sickness, travel). But I’m afraid too many professing Christians treat gathered worship as something to do if nothingelse is happening.

Biblically, it is untenable to be a Christian who does not regularly gather for worship. It is impossible to follow Jesus without worshiping Jesus. Gathered worship for the follower of Jesus should be a priority.

You may find it beneficial to put your daily devotion (Bible reading, prayer, and personal worship) on a calendar as well. I have it on a weekly calendar that I use for personal scheduling and keeping my life on track.

Let’s put this past Sunday’s sermon into action and worship personally each day and corporately as we gather this upcoming Sunday.

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Are you following Jesus?

Not long after I arrived at Wilkesboro Baptist Church, we began asking questions about our church. We asked of nearly everything, “Why are we doing this ministry, this program, or this event?” That season of evaluation resulted in a redefined mission and articulation of how we’re accomplishing that mission at WBC. 

The commission that Jesus gave his followers in Matthew 28 is to “make disciples.” While there are many things that happen in a church and many activities in a church, there is only one primary mission of the church: “making disciples.” You can think of it this way. Church can be successful at music, preaching, groups, events, programs, or studies. Church can make people feel welcome. Or churches can struggle in these areas. Over the years, I’ve observed churches and Christians ebb and flow in their spiritual lives. Sometimes churches grow in numbers and excitement. Sometimes they decline. Sometimes Christians grow in tangible ways. Sometimes they disengage from church and decline spiritually in observable ways. The Christian life is a journey. Ultimately, it is to be a journey of following Jesus. And if we fail at following Jesus (that is, making disciples), then I’m not sure we can count our personal lives or our churches as successful.

Long before I came to be the pastor at Wilkesboro Baptist, I had committed my life to be a disciple-maker. And over the last 10 years, we have attempted to structure our church’s programs and ministries around making disciples. Our mission at WBC is to lead our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus. We do this through four specific mission steps: worship, learn, serve, replicate. These steps form the focus of our programs and ministries.

This September 2025, our sermon series will be “Follow Jesus: Living a Life that Lasts.” This series is intended to be a reminder of our mission and our four mission steps: Worship (Sept. 7), Learn (Sept. 14), Serve (Sept. 21), and Replicate (Sept. 28). This study will explore deeply the Great Commission text in Matthew 28:16-20 along with complementary passages that explain and apply our mission. If you’re a part of WBC, we would encourage you to be here over the next month to be reminded of our mission and what it looks like to follow Jesus. If you’re not apart of WBC and you would like to follow along, you can find information about how to watch or listen here.

The aim for Christians is not merely to attend church or even to be members at a church, but to be followers of Jesus. So let me ask you this question, “Are you following Jesus?”

Earlier this year, I read Clint Grider’s book, Mind the Gap. Grider argues that churches need to not only organize for making disciples, but assess how they’re doing. His book suggested some helpful terminology in reflecting on the journey of following Jesus. As a result, we’ve developed 8 Journey Outcomes that derive from our four mission steps. You can think of these outcomes as applications or goals.

Journey Outcomes

  • Say or sing praise to God daily from Scripture and in prayer. #worship
  • Engage intentionally in gathered worship. (Gather weekly, sing joyfully, listen attentively, take notes, give generously). #worship
  • Listen to God daily through Scripture and personal worship. #worship/learn
  • Record what God is speaking to share with group/community. #learn
  • Be accountable to a person or group. #learn
  • Grow in Christlikeness (Be with Jesus in worship and Word, experience conviction and confession, love others). #learn/serve
  • Put others first by serving (serve at home, church, neighbors, nations). #learn/serve
  • Lead others to take their next step in following Jesus (lead others to worship, learn, serve, replicate). #replicate

Are these outcomes true in your life? What is the next step you can take to follow Jesus or to lead others to follow Jesus?