Hi there, fellow Worship Exposer!
Sam here! I want to say that I am so excited to begin this month’s discussion on worship centered around the Old Testament. If you haven't already done so, please click the link below and check out our series introduction, and chime back in once you’ve read it so that we’re all on the same page right from the get go!
Worship Lessons From Genesis
As the Worship Exposed team sat down to discuss just how we wanted to approach this series, one of the first and most important questions that was asked was, “Where do we begin?” It didn't take long before we realized Genesis would be the best place to begin. Seems easy enough, right? After all, it is the first book of the Bible.
In my mind, the question, “Where do we begin?,” threw my mind into a million different directions like shrapnel exploding off of a grenade. But to save some time, lets just go ahead and start with one of the most well-known Scriptures from the Bible, Genesis 1:1
“In The Beginning”
If you have ever cracked open a Bible, chances are you opened to the very first book, Genesis. The word “Genesis” is a Greek word, meaning, “the origin or mode of formation of something.” Personally, I find that definition intriguing... You see, when you break that definition down, it’s kind of amazing. The formation (the forming) of some-thing. Genesis is the perfect title to support the book which, literally, covers God forming everything that has ever been into existence. God made something ex nihilo (latin: out of nothing). Without getting too complex, ex nihilo is a challenging concept to try and wrap your head around: God formed everything that exists out of nothingness.
Nothing and no one that has ever existed could create anything ex nihilo, which brings me to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.” One of, if not, the most important aspect of any great work of writing is the opening statement. The fact that the inspired and inherent word of God opens with the phrase, “In the beginning, God created…” is amazing to me! The very first thing that God wanted all readers of His word to know is that He is a being Who creates. He is the Creator of all things.
God Created Man
I want us to think on the idea of God being the Creator of all things. Everything that we have ever seen and known has been the handiwork of God. Here’s the fun part. "All things" includes everything we do not know or see... God created things beyond our wildest imaginations! How’s that for a mind-numbing thought? Now even more incredibly, God is OUR Creator. He makes things. But not only does He makes things, He actually brings them into "being." From a state of nothing into being, from being into life, and from a state of life into consciousness. God our Father sought to create His children, sons and daughters, for this incredible Earth that was perfectly created to sustain life.
Genesis 1:26-28
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God places such value onto His creation of man, and He still continues to, even now. Even though man eventually fell victim to his own free choice to sin against the loving Father, God made a way for the redemption of man through Jesus Christ, which is something worth celebrating!
Take a second and read John Piper's quote on worship... He hits right on target!
"Worship is what we were created for. This is the final end of all existence: the worship of God. God created the universe so that it would display the worth of his glory. And he created us so that we would see this glory and reflect it by knowing and loving it - with all our heart and soul and mind and strength."
We were created to love God and worship Him. We were created to bring Him glory!
Challenge
If you haven't ever read the book of Genesis I challenge you to. If you have, perhaps this week/month would be a good time to revisit it. Also, spend some time this week with the mindset that God created all things. It’s so easy to take the beauty of a morning sky or evening sunset for granted. How often do we overlook the complexity of a field of grass? Slow down this week, and walk in the goodness that is God, the Creator.
Exposing worship in spirit and truth,
Sam Lambert
Subscribe Here >>>>
Recommended Track of the Week: "Vapor" by The Liturgist