Authentic Worship

Background Story: Colossians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome to the church in Colosse.

Read Colossians 3:12-17

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let 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. ¹⁷And 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.

Big Idea: Authentic worship is not words we sing but the life we live.

We’ve all had that “friend” that is nice to our face but changes when they are around other people. This fake friendship doesn’t sit well with us because we know that true friendship is more than just words but requires consistency. Worship is a lot like that. In Isaiah 29:23, God says, “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”

Worship is an, “expression of adoration” and it can be easy to think worship exists only when the band is playing at church. But authentic worship is way more than the words we sing during a church or youth group service. Worship is a lifestyle.

In Romans 12:1, we read, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

Authentic worship is a life that expresses adoration to God through daily heart surrender. We clothe ourselves with, “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” and choose to model Jesus and forgive, “as the Lord forgave you.” Worship is living a life of peace, “putting on love” and expressing a heart of thankfulness. It can be a song expressing praise but it’s also serving others, “in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Let’s not leave our worship in our seat at church. Let’s express adoration to God in our quiet moments with Him, in the halls at school, in our relationships, in how we spend our time, in our speech, and in everything we do. Before we move on with our day, let’s take an unfiltered selfie of our heart. What is our worship like? Is our worship merely words we say or is our heart devoted to Him? Take that unfiltered heart selfie to God today in prayer.

Bible Devotions for Teens