Everyday Surrender: Practicing the Examen and Worship

Jun 14, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Wedding Rings and Eternal Promises

Baptism mirrors the lifelong commitment of marriage vows, not a fleeting gesture. Just as rings symbolize fidelity through seasons of joy and struggle, baptism declares allegiance to Jesus amid life’s messiness. It’s not about perfection but a tangible “yes” to the One who already chose us. Whether a first step or a renewal, this act roots identity in a love that cannot be revoked. The celebration echoes beyond the moment, inviting others into the story. [33:35]

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” (Romans 12:1, MSG)

Reflection: What ordinary part of your daily routine could become an intentional act of worship this week? How might baptism—or renewing its meaning—anchor you in Christ’s faithfulness?

Day 2: Attics Full of Unnecessary Burdens

Cluttered spaces mirror cluttered hearts. Hoarding outdated habits, unresolved hurts, or cultural expectations distracts from wholehearted surrender. Letting go isn’t loss but liberation—creating room for God to reshape priorities. Just as excess bins of baby clothes no longer fit a growing family, some spiritual baggage no longer fits a life surrendered to Christ. [42:57]

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2, NIV)

Reflection: What “bin” of clutter—physical, emotional, or spiritual—have you been avoiding? What one step could you take this week to release it to God’s care?

Day 3: Crafting Worship in a 1929 Home

God doesn’t demand grand stages but ordinary obedience. A cramped, aging house becomes holy when offered for hospitality. Limited time, modest budgets, and imperfect circumstances are not obstacles but raw materials for worship. Surrender turns “not enough” into “more than enough” through Christ’s presence. [49:56]

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:14, NIV)

Reflection: Where do you feel limited or inadequate? How might God use those very limitations to display His strength through you?

Day 4: The Examen of Hidden Hurts

Ignoring buried pain breeds chaos—headaches, sleeplessness, hollow busyness. The Examen prayer invites God to surface what’s festering, not to shame but to heal. Like David’s raw psalms, honesty before God transforms darkness into light. Surrender begins when we stop pretending and let Him tend our wounds. [01:05:07]

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23–24, NIV)

Reflection: What emotion or memory have you avoided bringing to God? How might His kindness meet you there today?

Day 5: Sabbaticals and the Idol of Productivity

Burnout reveals misplaced worship. When work becomes identity, even “ministry” can mask a need to play Savior. True surrender rests in being loved, not achieving worth. Like a forced sabbatical, God sometimes halts our striving to remind us: We are His before we are workers. [01:10:05]

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28–29, NIV)

Reflection: Where has “doing for God” quietly replaced “being with God”? What would it look like to rest in His approval this week?

Sermon Summary

Baptism stands like exchanging wedding rings, a public sign of a love and covenant already formed. The image insists that union with Jesus is not created by water, yet baptism names and celebrates that union. For those baptized as infants, the choice to step into the waters now becomes a joyful owning of a covenant that Christ has already secured and will never dissolve. That one big day of surrender points to another call that does not end at the tank. Everyday surrender keeps saying yes where the heart still clings to control, comfort, and cultural scripts.

Romans 12 speaks in plain speech: take the everyday, ordinary life, the sleeping and eating and commuting and errand-running, and place it before God as an offering. The text refuses the lie that worship needs a bigger paycheck, a designer house, or unlimited hours. God asks for what sits in the hands right now. The 1929 craftsman, the tight calendar, the cluttered budget, even the Aldi bins and the mini trampoline tipped on its side, can turn into worship when attention shifts from scarcity to offering. The house is not the magic. The offering is the magic.

Paul then presses for embodiment. Embrace what Jesus has done until it gets under the skin. Let the mind dwell on the torn flesh and the nails that held the weight, not to shock for shock’s sake but to feel how love stayed put. When the cross is not theory but embodied memory, the will wants to choose him and to choose his people. That is the best thing a person can do for him.

The contrast between cultural fit and spiritual formation sharpens here. Suburban scripts preach perfection, busyness, and control, but the Spirit calls for attention fixed on God. Prayer replaces overthinking. Journaling catches spirals on paper. Worship music meets the messy room. Sometimes the only way to hear is to step away for a few hours and let the soul catch up.

Psalm 139 hands a four-step tool for this kind of surrender. First, notice who God is, letting reverence reorient the day. Second, notice God’s presence in the week like replaying a film, naming where grace carried the load. Third, notice what is hidden, like David’s raw anger, and let God bubble it up without shame. Hebrews 12 names them as weights to strip off. Fourth, invite God to keep searching and leading into the next step. Even long-formed habits, like working to be the savior, break only as surrender becomes a rhythm, not a one-off event.

Key Takeaways

1. Offer God your ordinary, everyday life. Ordinary does not mean inadequate. Romans 12 invites the commute, the meal plan, the small house, and the tight budget to become altar space. God is not asking for more time or money he did not give; he is asking for the life already in hand. Offering that life changes how the heart sees its limits. [45:37]
2. Embody Christ’s costly love deeply. Imagination that lingers on the cross moves devotion from concept to commitment. When the pain he carried becomes real, love stops negotiating and starts yielding. Embodiment births obedience, not out of guilt but out of affection that wants to answer love with love. [50:46]
3. Resist culture by fixing attention. Busy scripts promise control but burn out the soul. Attention fixed on God exposes the lie that a new planner, a staged home, or endless activities can secure peace. Prayer, journaling, worship, and retreat are small rebellions that open space for real change. [53:07]
4. Practice the Examen to surrender. The Examen turns reflection into formation by walking through gratitude, presence, exposure, and response. Naming God’s character steadies the heart, tracing the week reveals grace, and inviting what is hidden to surface clears room for holiness. Ending with a fresh yes keeps surrender current and concrete. [56:27]
5. Let God surface and remove weights. Hidden fears, anger, and patterns do not heal by being ignored. God brings them up to free, not to shame, and Hebrews 12 calls that release the way to run. Surrender becomes a lightness that comes from traveling without the extra baggage. [68:16]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:04] - Five-church baptism celebration
[33:35] - Baptism like exchanging wedding rings
[40:55] - From one-day to everyday surrender
[45:37] - Take your ordinary life, offer it
[49:22] - Offering the ordinary home
[50:15] - Embodying what Jesus has done
[53:07] - Fix attention, resist cultural scripts
[55:48] - Simple practices of attention
[56:27] - The Examen as a daily tool
[57:55] - Step 1: Notice who God is
[61:53] - Step 2: Notice God’s presence
[64:45] - Step 3: Notice what is hidden
[68:36] - Step 4: Invite and respond
[69:33] - Surrendering overwork and identity
[72:28] - Prayer and this week’s challenge

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
"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. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Psalm 139:1-4, 23-24 (NIV)
"You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely... Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."

Observation Questions

According to Romans 12:1-2, what specific aspects of daily life are mentioned as opportunities to worship God? How does the sermon connect this to ordinary moments like commuting or budgeting? [45:37]
Psalm 139 shifts from praising God’s intimate knowledge of us (vv. 1-12) to inviting Him to reveal hidden struggles (vv. 23-24). What does this structure teach about the relationship between gratitude and surrender?
The sermon compares baptism to exchanging wedding rings. How does this analogy clarify the purpose of baptism as both a celebration and a daily commitment? [33:35]

Interpretation Questions

Romans 12:1 calls believers to offer their bodies as a "living sacrifice." Why might Paul use the imagery of a living sacrifice (rather than a one-time offering) to describe worship? How does this connect to the idea of "everyday surrender"? [41:20]
The sermon contrasts cultural values like perfectionism and busyness with spiritual practices like prayer and retreat. How do these cultural pressures hinder the "renewing of the mind" described in Romans 12:2? [54:50]
In Psalm 139, David moves from awe at God’s presence to confessing hidden anger. Why is acknowledging both God’s character and our struggles necessary for surrender?

Application Questions

What is one area of your "ordinary life" (e.g., commute, chores, budget) where you struggle to see it as worship? How could you intentionally offer it to God this week? [45:37]
The sermon mentions "embodying" Christ’s love by reflecting on His sacrifice. What practical step could you take this week to dwell on the cross in a way that moves from theory to heartfelt devotion? [50:46]
Cultural "scripts" like perfectionism or busyness often feel unavoidable. What is one small rebellion (e.g., prayer over planning, journaling spirals) you could practice to fix your attention on God? [53:55]
The Examen prayer includes noticing God’s presence and surfacing hidden struggles. Which of the four steps (gratitude, reflection, confession, invitation) feels most challenging? How could you try it this week? [56:27]
Hebrews 12:1 urges believers to "throw off" weights. What habit, fear, or mindset has God recently brought to your attention that you need to release? What would it look like to surrender it daily? [01:08:16]

Sermon Clips

33s

#OfferTheOrdinary

“And I came back to this verse, take what you already have, the ordinary, the everyday reality, and offer it. What can I do with my 1929 craftsman style house in Hale's Corners for the kids in my son and daughter's lives? Right? How lucky that God doesn't ask for more money. How he doesn't ask for more time or more energy. He says, take what you have, your ordinary, your everyday, right now, that is what you can choose to offer as worship.”

36s

#LoveThroughSacrifice

“Now multiply that by so much more pain as he hung there. And then when I process what all of those words on the pages say and what that felt like in his body or what I imagine it felt like, and then why he did it. The fact that he loved me so much that he took the pain I was supposed to have, and he stayed there. I I am filled with such a desire to love him the same way.”

34s

#EvaluateYourPriorities

“My calendar is filled with so many good things that I often don't have time to do normal things like clean my house or fold laundry or go to the dentist, just overrun with all the good things. Right? And over the past few weeks, I've been feeling really challenged to take all of those things and really evaluate what I have, how I spend my money, how I spend my time, where do I put my energy and my attention. And I've been feeling God stir up this question in me that's like, how are my outward actions reflecting my inward worship?”

26s

#BaptismAsRecommitment

“And some people get married really young, and by the time they've walked through a lot of hard stuff, they're kinda they've, you know, stuck through it together. They wanna renew their vows. And so maybe baptism is like that for you. You chose it as a child or a youth, but there's been so much growth in life, and and you wanna make that recommitment. You're not required to. You're still married. Right? But it's just symbolic of that next season.”

38s

#OrdinaryLifeWorship

“There's a couple of key parts of this passage I wanna focus on today. Number one, take your ordinary life. Take your everyday ordinary life. Worshiping God in this life, it's not always comfortable. Right? It's not always Instagram worthy or polished. You may not have a 6 figure income that you can use to give generously to all the good things. You may not have the biggest, best home to welcome all the neighbors into. You may work full time and have a house to run and family members who need you, and an aging parent or friends that need frequent visits.”

15s

#BaptismLikeWeddingRings

“For me, baptism is kinda like exchanging wedding rings. When I've talked about baptism back in the kids area, this is the analogy I give. Okay? So I'll pull my rings off and I'll say, oh, I'm not married anymore. And the kids will go, no. You're still married. Right?”

32s

#WorshipInEveryDecision

“Right? Am I worshiping God with all the decisions of my life or am I worshiping myself and my desires? Do people see a disciple of Jesus when they meet me or am I just do I look like everyone else? Justin and I often talk about how it's so easy to get caught up feeling like life is happening to us, that the choices are not ours to make, like inflation and our kids' schedule and the way that culture expects us to give of our time and energy is the only acceptable way.”

37s

#EmbodyWhatHeDid

“The second part I wanna highlights highlight is the part that says, embrace what he's done for you, and that's the best thing you can do for him. Embrace it. A synonym for embrace is embody it. So let it become who you are more than a knowledge level. Like, I think some a lot of us, a lot of us, most of us, read this for knowledge at first. And then this verse is saying embrace it, embody it, let it become who you are. Right? For me, it was really getting to the place of imagining, like, really imagining what Jesus went through to get to that cross.”

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Everyday Surrender: Practicing the Examen and Worship

Devotional

Day 1: Wedding Rings and Eternal Promises

Day 2: Attics Full of Unnecessary Burdens

Day 3: Crafting Worship in a 1929 Home

Day 4: The Examen of Hidden Hurts

Day 5: Sabbaticals and the Idol of Productivity

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Everyday Surrender: Practicing the Examen and Worship

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