Read: Romans 12:1
Any act of mercy or kindness requires a response. Think about it for a moment. A small act of kindness like someone opening a door for us or giving us a small gift causes us to respond with appropriate thankfulness for what they have done. If someone goes significantly out of their way to help us we respond with much gratitude, maybe giving them a small gift or seeking to honour them for their
What then is an appropriate response to this incredible mercy that God has shown us!? Apart from His grace we were totally lost, destined for death and eternal punishment. Through His incredible mercy we have been totally rescued from condemnation and eternal death. How could we respond to such incredible mercy? How can we respond to a God who has given us everything?
In Romans 12:1 Paul urges us to respond to God’s mercy by offering ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. He follows this up by saying: “This is your spiritual act of worship.” Paul is not trying to make some kind of distinction between physical worship and some kind of mystical spiritual worship. The word translated ‘spiritual’ in the NIV84 could also be translated true and proper, reasonable or logical. What Paul is trying to say is that sincerely offering all of ourselves to God is the only fitting, only reasonable, only logical response to God’s great mercy towards us. It is the only acceptable way to respond to such an incredible act of mercy.
Our only fitting response to a God who has given us everything is that we give everything of ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. We give ourselves, our lives, everything we do to God to be used for Him and His purposes. From now on our every action, all that we do with our bodies, is for God and a sacrifice to Him. We live for Him and not for ourselves. We are acknowledging that He is creator and Lord over us and submit ourselves to Him.
Not only is this an act of gratitude, this is an act of worship. God is worthy of all praise and honour because of who He is and because of His incredible love and mercy towards His people. When we give all of ourselves to Him we are giving Him true and acceptable worship. If we are offering ourselves to God then our worship is not just singing at church on Sonday or having a quiet time each day. Every single part of our lives becomes worship to God when we are giving ourselves as living sacrifices. There is no more fitting worship to a God that has given us everything.
We must be careful though. This is not about an effort to repay God for what He has done in our lives. We are not seeking to even the scales or to pay back God. The truth is that we could never ever possibly repay God for all that He has done for us. Anything we could give Him is only something that He has given us. Our very existence is a gift from Him. Any good thing we do is a work of His grace in us. This is not about repaying God. This is simply about giving ourselves to Him out of love for Him and gratitude for what He has done. It’s our only reasonable response to a totally incredible act of mercy.
Prayer:
Use the Bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¥ Pray specifically for those who know who have not yet put their faith in Christ. Pray that God would give you opportunities to share about His mercy and that they would come to faith in Him.
If we are giving ourselves as living sacrifices to God then every part of our lives becomes worship to Him. How would this perspective change the way that you go about your day?
1. Paul says our worship to God is driven in some sense by our understanding of what He has done. How can we remind ourselves every day of His mercy to us?
2. What would it look like to apply this description of worship in our church service?
Intro: God loves it when we worship Him. In fact, He wants us to worship Him all the time! How could we do that?
Share: What do you think it means to worship God? What sort of things do you do to worship God?
Read: Romans 12:1
Paul says that our true worship is giving ourselves entirely to God. What do you think that this would look like at school? What would it look like when you are playing with your friends? How about when you are at home with mum and dad?
Pray Together: Praise God that He is a loving and a gracious God. Pray that He would help us to worship Him more.
Intro: God loves it when we worship Him. In fact, He wants us to worship Him all the time! How could we do that?
Share: What do you think it means to worship God? What sort of things do you do to worship God?
Read: Romans 12:1
Paul says that our true worship is giving ourselves entirely to God. What do you think that this would look like at school? What would it look like when you are playing with your friends? How about when you are at home with mum and dad?
Pray Together: Praise God that He is a loving and a gracious God. Pray that He would help us to worship Him more.
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