I had a great opportunity this last weekend to be a part of a THREE HEADED MONSTER SERMON with our Lead Pastor Jeff McNicol and our Discipleship Pastor Matt Frey.  The idea was to preach a message around the three words that help drive the mission of our church, WORSHIP – GROW – SERVE.  These words appear on our logo as a constant reminder of how each person in our church should be involved.  If we can only do three things, it would be to “gather and worship”, “connect and grow” and “spread out and serve” (thank you IHCC for helping me say that so nicely).  Basically, we believe every follower of Christ is called to worship, grow and serve and wanted to stress that in a unique way.

As the Worship Pastor I covered the worship portion and talked about how we are not only called to worship, but wired to worship.  Isaiah 43:7 says, “Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.” We are wired as worshipping beings.  God created us to give Him glory.  The catch is that if we do not offer that worship to God we will inevitably worship something.  It could be the Palladia HD channel, my new riding lawn tractor, or my Michael Jordan rookie card.  It could be a more subtle, yet more likely thing like my family, my religious lifestyle, or my own self-image.  We will worship something.  Because we are wired to worship, we should live out our calling to worship the God who did the wiring.

I also said that in worship it’s not just singing a song, it’s living a life.  (I know that sounds corny, but it preaches and you know it!)  Worship is just as much about an everyday lifestyle of obedience and service as it is about celebrating who God is and praising Him for what He has done.  I could talk more about this but let me get to the point.  When I sat around the kitchen table on Sunday afternoon my wife said I did a great job (she’s really nice) and then she also added that she missed something (she’s very honest).  She said when I was talking about worship as an everyday lifestyle I didn’t give a very clear example of what that looks like.  I tried to tell her that Jeff and Matt wanted more time and that I needed to be brief.  But, that was a lame excuse.  There are ways to worship God in the course of everyday life.  Sometimes it’s what we do and sometimes – it’s what we don’t do – that helps us worship Monday through Friday.

In Philippians 2 Paul poetically describes Jesus example of humility and obedience and follows it up by saying we are to work out our salvation and live obedient lives.  Then he gets really practical.  After saying, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.” He says, “In everything you do, stay away from complaining or arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you.”  Really, really practical. Don’t complain, don’t argue… don’t grumble.

I for one do not have this figured out.  I can complain about how tired I am.  I can argue about how many vacuums one family should own.  I can grumble about the stress of work, people that don’t like me, how the laundry never ends and especially my own stupid mistakes.  I do not have this figured out – I can grumble very well. (Even though I have made a point to avoid typing pity-posts on Facebook – I do give myself credit for that).

Paul says in verse 13 that God gives us a desire to obey and live in the power to please Him.  The first thing he says we can practically do to apply this is to refrain from whining. This makes total sense t0 me because if I’m constantly complaining and grumbling I’m the center of my own pitiful thoughts. However, if I’m living the opposite of that. I am a person who rejoices throughout my day, living out joy despite my circumstances, and placing the generosity and favor of God as my central thought.  Because God has given us the the desire to obey and the power to please Him we see he has wired us to be joyful, not to whine.

What would our work week look like if we stopped complaining about our boss, or arguing with our co-workers, or grumbled about the project that was due yesterday?  What would our day to day life look like if we argued less with our kids and encouraged them more, if we were grateful for the sunshine despite the crazy humidity, if we rejoiced over our blessings instead of showing displeasure about what we don’t have?

I think this is one way to worship God Monday through Friday.  No complaining… no grumbling… no whining… but rejoicing in where God has put me, what what He’s given me and who He’s asking me to be. I hope my wife will find this to be one good example of what it means to live an everyday lifestyle of worship.