Whatever you do...Worship

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-17 (ESV)

For a long time I held a pretty traditional view of what worship is - singing, praying, and reading scripture, usually at church. All of that is wonderful, and needed, but it is the starting point, not the full experience.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that "[A person's] chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." If this is our chief end, then we should not relegate it to an hour or so on Sunday morning each week. Rather, it should be a daily, hourly, moment by moment practice.

It isn't quite practical to go around singing hymns 24/7. How I wish! But here is where our key verse comes in. Notice that there are three activities listed in these verses: soaking in scripture, singing with thanksgiving, and "whatever you do."

Worship should not be confined to a building...

Scripture is the foundation. We are to teach and admonish one another with Christ's words. This isn't just a passive reading. The word dwell is the Greek word enoikeo. It means to inhabit and influence. Our reading of the scripture and sharing it with each other is meant to change us! I hope you experience this in your worship with other believers, but we need scripture every day. We can read scripture on our own, meditate on it, memorize it. Each time we look into God's word it will deepen our worship.

Singing is the spire. Early in human history (Genesis 4:21) God gave us the gift of music as one of the ways that we can express our thanks to Him. The entire book of Psalms is songs of worship, and many others are recorded in Scripture. I love singing and listening to music, but even if you aren't musically inclined, there is something special about music that directs our thoughts to God. In addition to sharing songs at church, it has never been easier to add music to your personal worship. Make a worship play list on your favorite streaming service. Write down the lyrics to a song that grabs your attention. As you sing along or listen consider how the music helps you express thanksgiving to God.

"Whatever you do" makes up the rest of the building. I don't know about you, but my days are full: cooking, driving, exercising, working, running errands, parenting, etc. It is good to know that "whatever I do" can be done in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God. I'm not sure exactly what this looks like. I think I probably stumble on it more than I stand, but the idea that I can submit all of my activity to the name of Jesus is encouraging. I bet driving in the name of Jesus looks very different from driving any other way! Seriously though, two of my most important "whatevers" are writing and making art.

This website is a place for me to share my delving into scripture, my singing in thanksgiving, my writing, and my art. As I share I hope it will encourage you to deepen your worship through scripture, song, and "whatever you do." - KDL