Embracing Awe, Unity, and Generosity in Worship

Devotional

Day 1: Stand in Awe of God for Who He Is

True worship is rooted in awe of God's character, not just His actions. When believers gather, their worship should not depend on whether God has performed miracles or answered prayers in the way they hoped, but should flow from a deep reverence for who God is—His holiness, faithfulness, and love. This awe is cultivated not by striving to feel a certain way, but by spending time in God's Word, in prayer, in fellowship, and in remembering Christ's sacrifice. As you draw near to God, you will find yourself naturally standing in awe of Him, even when circumstances are difficult or prayers seem unanswered. [40:46]

Acts 2:43 (ESV)
"And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles."

Reflection: When was the last time you worshiped God simply for who He is, not for what He has done for you? How can you intentionally focus your heart on His character this week, regardless of your circumstances?

Day 2: Unity Flows from a Shared Mission

Unity in the church is not about everyone being the same, but about being united around the mission of helping people follow Jesus. When believers prioritize Christ and His mission above personal preferences or differences, true unity emerges as a byproduct. This unity is essential—not only does it please God, but it also serves as a powerful witness to the world and evidence of the Holy Spirit's work among us. Division, on the other hand, confuses outsiders and grieves the heart of God. [54:23]

Acts 2:44 (ESV)
"And all who believed were together and had all things in common."

Reflection: What is one way you can actively contribute to unity in your church this week, especially with someone who is different from you or whom you may not naturally connect with?

Day 3: Generosity as a Mark of the Spirit

A church sold out for God becomes known for its generosity—freely giving time, resources, and love to meet the needs of others. This generosity is not about giving out of abundance or obligation, but about sacrificially sharing what God has provided, trusting that He blesses us so we can bless others. True generosity flows from a heart transformed by Jesus, and it extends beyond money to include time, energy, and practical help. As believers grow in Christ, they find themselves becoming more generous, often in ways they never expected. [57:57]

Acts 2:45 (ESV)
"And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need."

Reflection: Is there a need you’ve become aware of recently—big or small—that you could help meet, even if it requires a sacrifice? What step can you take today to practice generosity?

Day 4: Joyful Fellowship and Sincere Hearts

The early church was marked by joyful, sincere fellowship—gathering together regularly, sharing meals, and celebrating what God had done. This kind of community is not just about socializing, but about building deep, authentic relationships that encourage and support one another in faith. When believers commit to regular fellowship, their hearts are filled with gladness and sincerity, and the church becomes a place of genuine connection and spiritual growth. [55:25]

Acts 2:46 (ESV)
"And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts."

Reflection: Who in your church or community could you invite into deeper fellowship this week—perhaps over a meal or a coffee—to encourage and build one another up in Christ?

Day 5: Trusting God to Grow His Church

When the church commits to God’s priorities—His Word, prayer, fellowship, and remembering Christ—God Himself brings growth, drawing people to salvation and adding to the community. While believers are called to share their faith and serve, it is ultimately the Lord who changes hearts and builds His church. This truth frees us from striving for results and allows us to trust God with the outcomes, focusing instead on faithful obedience and surrender. [01:10:47]

Acts 2:47 (ESV)
"Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Reflection: Are you trusting God with the results of your service and witness, or are you carrying the burden of outcomes? How can you surrender your efforts to Him today and pray for Him to move in your church and city?

Sermon Summary

This morning, we gathered as a people who bring all that we are—our hallelujahs, our fears, our doubts, our hurts—and lay them at the feet of God. No matter how we arrived, whether with joy or brokenness, we come to honor Him, not for what He might do for us, but for who He is. Our worship is meant to be a response to the reality of God’s presence and character, not just a reaction to His blessings or interventions in our lives. Like children who once ran to their fathers simply out of love, we are called to return to a posture of awe and reverence for God, regardless of our circumstances.

Looking at Acts 2:42-47, we see a church that was sold out for the things of God. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. These weren’t just actions—they were the foundation that led to transformation. When the early church committed to these things, the results were unmistakable: a deep sense of awe, unity, generosity, and growth. Their awe wasn’t based on miracles or answered prayers, but on the sheer wonder of who God is. Miracles followed, but awe came first.

Unity in the church was a byproduct of a shared mission. When we rally around the mission of helping people follow Jesus, unity naturally follows. It’s not about uniformity or everyone being the same, but about being committed to the same purpose. Disunity, on the other hand, is not only confusing to the world but also grieves the heart of God and may indicate a lack of the Holy Spirit’s work among us.

Generosity marked the early believers. They gave sacrificially, not just out of abundance, but out of a willingness to meet the needs of others, even if it meant personal sacrifice. True generosity flows from time spent with Jesus and with His people—it’s not something we manufacture, but something God grows in us as we walk with Him.

Finally, as the church committed to these four things, God Himself added to their number daily. Growth was God’s work, but He used the faithfulness and obedience of His people to accomplish it. Our call is to focus on the essentials—God’s Word, fellowship, remembering Christ, and prayer—and trust God to do what only He can do.

Key Takeaways

1. Awe of God is rooted in who He is, not in what He does for us. True worship flows from recognizing God’s character and presence, even when our circumstances are difficult or unchanged. This kind of awe is cultivated by spending time in His Word, in prayer, and in fellowship, not by waiting for the next miracle or answered prayer. [40:46]
2. Unity is a natural result of a shared mission. When we are all committed to helping people follow Jesus, our differences become secondary to our purpose. Disunity is not just a minor issue—it confuses the world and grieves God, and it may reveal that we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to work fully among us. [53:11]
3. Generosity is a fruit of spiritual transformation, not just a financial decision. The early church gave sacrificially, meeting needs even when it cost them personally. As we spend time with Jesus and His people, God grows a generous heart in us that is willing to give time, resources, and love without expecting anything in return. [56:21]
4. Spiritual growth and church growth are God’s work, but He uses our faithfulness. Our responsibility is to devote ourselves to the essentials—Scripture, fellowship, remembering Christ, and prayer. As we do, God brings transformation in us and draws others to Himself, often in ways we could never orchestrate on our own. [70:47]
5. The call is not to strive harder to be in awe, unified, or generous, but to commit ourselves to the foundational practices God has given us. As we focus on Him and His ways, He changes us from the inside out, making us into the people and the church He desires us to be. Our transformation is the result of His work as we surrender and seek Him together. [71:53]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[29:36] - Bringing Our Broken Hallelujah
[31:43] - Dads, Children, and Our Approach to God
[33:55] - The “What Did You Bring Me?” Mindset
[34:27] - Worship as a Response, Not a Transaction
[36:41] - Acts 2: Four Commitments of the Early Church
[38:29] - Awe: The Result of Knowing God
[40:46] - Standing in Awe Regardless of Circumstance
[44:39] - Fruit of the Spirit: Results, Not Achievements
[48:57] - Unity as a Byproduct of Mission
[52:11] - The Dangers of Disunity
[55:25] - Generosity: Sacrificial and Joyful Giving
[57:57] - Biblical Foundations for Generosity
[70:08] - Praying for Transformation and Commitment
[72:18] - Responding to God’s Call
[83:17] - Final Blessing and Dismissal
[88:40] - Farewell and Prayer for Departing Members

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) — 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Observation Questions

According to Acts 2:42, what four things did the early church devote themselves to?
In verse 43, what was the result of the church’s devotion before any miracles happened?
What does verse 44-45 say about how the believers treated their possessions and each other?
According to the sermon, what was the difference between the early church’s sense of awe and how we often approach God today? [[40:46]]

Interpretation Questions

The sermon says the early church’s awe was rooted in who God is, not just what He does. Why is this distinction important for our worship and relationship with God? [[40:46]]
The pastor described unity as a byproduct of a shared mission, not just everyone being the same. How does focusing on a common purpose help overcome differences in a church? [[48:57]]
Generosity in the early church was described as sacrificial, not just giving out of abundance. What does this reveal about their hearts and priorities? [[55:25]]
The sermon emphasized that spiritual growth and church growth are God’s work, but He uses our faithfulness. How does this shape the way we approach serving and ministry? [[01:10:47]]

Application Questions

The pastor said we often come to God with a “what did you bring me?” mindset, expecting blessings or answers. When was the last time you approached God simply to honor Him for who He is, not for what He could do for you? What would it look like to change your approach this week? [[33:55]]
Awe of God is cultivated by spending time in His Word, prayer, and fellowship. Which of these four practices (Scripture, fellowship, remembering Christ, prayer) do you find most challenging to commit to right now? What is one step you could take to grow in that area this week? [[36:41]]
The sermon described unity as coming from a shared mission. Are there any ways you have let differences or preferences get in the way of unity in your church or small group? How can you refocus on the mission of helping people follow Jesus? [[49:42]]
Generosity was described as a result of spiritual transformation, not just a financial decision. Think of a recent opportunity you had to be generous—with your time, resources, or encouragement. Did you respond? Why or why not? What might God be prompting you to do differently? [[56:21]]
The early church’s generosity sometimes meant personal sacrifice. Is there something you feel God might be asking you to give up or share to meet someone else’s need? What would it take for you to say “yes” to that prompting? [[55:25]]
The sermon said that growth—both spiritual and numerical—is God’s work, but He uses our faithfulness. Are there areas where you’ve been striving for results instead of focusing on faithfulness to the essentials? How can you surrender the results to God this week? [[01:10:47]]
The pastor encouraged the church not to strive harder to be in awe, unified, or generous, but to commit to the foundational practices. What is one way you can intentionally surrender and seek God with others this week, trusting Him to bring transformation? [[01:11:53]]

Sermon Clips

We're going to talk today about a result and responses. So when God does something in our lives, the result will be this. And I think we miss a lot of times that God uses if and but more than we think he does. Like he says, if you do this, I'll do this. And we just scratch the whole part about us doing anything and think he's going to come through. But all that teaches us that we respond, and things happen in results of things. [00:32:09] (29 seconds) #ResponseRequiresAction

We go from being the child that rushes to our father to say, hey, I'm glad you're home. And then become the child that rushes to our father to say, anybody? Money's part of it. The question is, what did you bring me? Right? And now you get to a point where you go on a trip and you come home and your kids are four, five, six, and seven. And all you want to do is hug them and let them love you. And they say, where's my stuff? What did you bring me? All right, we have grandparents, both sets of grandparents. They come to town. And for years and years, our children were in that boat of, hey, it's great to see you. We love having y 'all here. What'd you bring us? It's just that mindset. That's how life works. And the sad part about that is we deal with God in that same way. [00:34:12] (48 seconds) #ExpectingGiftsMissesGrace

But the truth is, if I spend time with God this week, it doesn't matter what he does, my worship should be the same. And I should come in and stand in awe of my God because of who he is. And because on Tuesday, it was horrible. And I lost my job, and I lost my this, and I lost my that. I lost everything, but God was still God. And when I get here on Sunday morning, I don't rejoice and worship him because he gave me a new job on Wednesday. I rejoice and worship him because when I lost everything on Tuesday, he was still God. [00:35:56] (29 seconds) #AweBeyondCircumstances

Have we become satisfied or are we sold out for the things of God? Are we settled? Does that mean we've settled for less prayer time than we think? We've settled for less of a relationship with Christ because, you know, it's just the best I can do. We've become satisfied with part of what God wants to give us and we're missing out on the rest of it. Or have we sold out for Him? [00:37:37] (25 seconds) #SettledOrSoldOut

What happens when the church of God sells out for the things of God? What happens when the whole church says, you know what? We're in. We're in 100%. We're not messing around. We're not settling anymore. We're not going to be satisfied anymore. We're selling out for the things that God has called us to do as a church body. What's going to happen in there? [00:38:06] (22 seconds) #ChurchSoldOut

There was a sense of awe in the body of believers. Awe is reverence. Awe is respect. Awe is that fear of God when we recognize that God is who he is and we are who we are, and those are two very different things. That's an awe that we have of God because of who he is. [00:38:56] (20 seconds) #AweOfGodDefined

There was unity in the church. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Now what's that mean to us because we know that they didn't all eat exactly the same thing every day they didn't all live in the same house there were many of them that lived together and would do that in communities but they weren't all in that so what does it mean when he says everyone was together and had everything in common here's what it means they had the most important thing in common and therefore everything they did was in common with the other people because they had the understanding of what was top priority what was most important what was most important was Jesus. [00:48:00] (36 seconds) #UnityThroughPriority

When you tell people in the world that you go to church because when we go to church, everybody loves each other, we support each other, we're all in, and then they come here, and there's divisions all over the church, and we act just like the world outside the church, that's confusing to them. It's not their fault. We love to blame other people. It's not their fault. We've told them, hey, we're different. Come see us, and they come see us, and we're not different. That's confusing. They don't know what to do with that. [00:53:33] (31 seconds) #ChurchDivisionsConfuse

When Holy Spirit is working through you, the fruit of the Spirit will be there. When you're committed to the things of God, unity will be part of what you're doing and how you fellowship with those around you. Division in the church is not allowed when the Holy Spirit is at work. [00:54:23] (19 seconds) #HolySpiritFostersUnity

What's going to happen is the more time you spend in the word and the more time you spend with this body and the more time we spend in prayer, you're going to begin to notice that there's generosity in you that didn't used to be there and somebody across the room is going to go you know what we lost a job and our car broke down we just don't have it and and inside you you're thinking something's happening what what is that what's that what's that weird warm feeling oh oh we're supposed to take care of that okay i'm in because god's transitioning our hearts to be generous people. [01:06:01] (29 seconds) #GodGrowsHisChurch

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