Honoring God: A Call to Sincere Worship
Summary
Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Cornerstone Church is a momentous occasion, a testament to God's faithfulness and the journey we've embarked on together. Reflecting on our beginnings at Sinaloa Junior High School, it's incredible to see how far we've come. Yet, as we celebrate, it's crucial to revisit the foundational principles that guided us from the start. Our focus has always been on creating a God-centered service, where our worship and actions are pleasing to Him, not just a routine or a performance for human approval.
Drawing from Malachi 1, we are reminded of the importance of sincere worship. The Israelites had fallen into a pattern of offering God their leftovers, bringing blind and crippled animals for sacrifice, which God found contemptible. This serves as a powerful reminder for us today. We must examine whether we are giving God our best or merely the remnants of our time, energy, and resources. God desires and deserves our wholehearted devotion, not just the scraps of our lives.
The challenge is to ensure that our worship is genuine and that we honor God as our Father and Master. This means aligning our actions with our words, treating God with the reverence and respect He deserves. It's about prioritizing Him in our daily lives, giving Him the first and best of everything we have. This is not just about avoiding God's displeasure but about opening ourselves to His blessings. God promises that if we return to Him and give Him our best, He will pour out blessings beyond measure.
As we move forward, let's commit to being a church that God looks upon with pleasure, a community that truly honors Him. Let's strive to be a place where worship is not just a ritual but a heartfelt offering, where we give God the best of our time, talents, and treasures. In doing so, we align ourselves with His will and open the door to His abundant blessings.
Key Takeaways:
1. Sincere Worship: Worship should never become routine or half-hearted. God desires genuine worship that reflects our love and commitment to Him. We must ensure that our worship is not just a ritual but a heartfelt offering that honors God as our Father and Master. [03:46]
2. Giving God Our Best: Like the Israelites, we can fall into the trap of offering God our leftovers. God deserves the best of our time, energy, and resources. By prioritizing Him, we demonstrate our reverence and open ourselves to His blessings. [12:40]
3. Aligning Words and Actions: It's easy to call God "Father" or "Lord" in prayer, but our actions must reflect this relationship. True worship involves aligning our lives with God's commands and treating Him with the respect He deserves. [07:42]
4. God's Desire to Bless: God's call for us to return to Him is not just about avoiding His displeasure but about experiencing His blessings. When we give God our best, He promises to bless us abundantly, beyond what we can imagine. [30:33]
5. Reverence for God: We must maintain a reverence for God, recognizing His holiness and power. God is not to be treated casually or with contempt. He is a great God who deserves our utmost respect and devotion. [28:28]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:15] - Celebrating 10 Years
- [01:49] - Reflecting on Our Beginnings
- [02:55] - Revisiting Malachi
- [03:46] - The Danger of Routine Worship
- [04:54] - God-Centered Services
- [05:22] - Honoring God as Father and Master
- [07:42] - Aligning Words and Actions
- [09:42] - Offering God Our Best
- [12:40] - Avoiding Leftovers in Worship
- [17:29] - God's Call for Genuine Worship
- [20:51] - God's Greatness Among Nations
- [26:20] - Consequences of Insincere Worship
- [30:33] - God's Desire to Bless
- [32:55] - Giving God First Place
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
- Malachi 1:6-14
- Luke 6:46
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Observation Questions:
1. What were the Israelites doing in their worship that God found contemptible, according to Malachi 1? [09:42]
2. How does the sermon describe the initial worship services at Cornerstone Church, and what was the primary focus? [04:13]
3. In the sermon, what analogy is used to describe how people often give God their leftovers? [15:29]
4. What does God promise if we return to Him and give Him our best, as mentioned in the sermon? [30:33]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of honoring God as a Father and Master challenge the way we approach worship and daily life? [07:14]
2. What does it mean to align our words and actions in the context of calling God "Father" or "Lord"? [07:42]
3. How does the sermon illustrate the difference between genuine worship and routine worship? [03:46]
4. What might be the implications of God desiring to bless us when we give Him our best, as discussed in the sermon? [30:33]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your current worship practices. Are there areas where you might be giving God your leftovers? How can you change this? [12:40]
2. Consider your daily schedule. How can you prioritize giving God the first and best of your time and energy? [32:55]
3. Think about a specific area in your life where your actions might not align with your words of faith. What steps can you take to bring them into alignment? [07:42]
4. How can you cultivate a deeper reverence for God in your daily life, recognizing His holiness and power? [28:28]
5. Identify one way you can offer God a sincere and heartfelt act of worship this week. What will you do differently? [03:46]
6. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's blessings after prioritizing Him. How can this encourage you to continue giving Him your best? [30:33]
7. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your worship is God-centered and not just a routine or performance? [04:13]
Devotional
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Quotes
"God is saying you guys are so insulting, he says you guys insult me, you defile me, you despise my name, and the priests are gone. What do you mean, God? Well, yeah, we don't despise you, we don't defile your altar. I mean, we worship you, we come, and you gotta understand these priests were religious. These people came, and they came, and they worship God every time they're supposed to. They would bring the animals, they would bring the sacrifice, and they were there religiously to serve to worship God." [10:10]
"God says, look, the government won't even take it, and you're gonna give it to God? Who do you think I am? The things you won't even do for your own government, your own governor, you give to me, the creator of your government, the creator of this world? Are you kidding me? And you think that I'm in heaven rejoicing because I look at it as evil, I look at it as wrong." [14:37]
"God would rather you not worship Him at all than to insult him with toss him your leftovers. God doesn't want our leftovers. He says, why don't you shut the doors to that place? Won't you close the gates? I'm not pleased. You know, he looked at those people. I mean, that was in Jerusalem. That's the temple. That's the Holy of Holies." [18:15]
"God says from heaven, listen, I'm a great God. I don't care what you think of me or what you think you deserve, but I am a great God, whether you think so or not. And whether you worship me or not, there will be people on this earth all around the earth that will give me the praise that is due my name." [21:17]
"God says, you know, if you don't repent, I'm gonna curse you. In fact, I've already cursed you, and I'm not blessing you. And he says, and if you don't change, he says, I'm going to take the offal from your sacrifices and spread it on your face, and you'll be carried out with it. The offal, the offal." [26:40]
"God says, I the Lord do not change. Okay, so make sure you understand that the same God back then is the same God we worship today. He doesn't change. And he says, so you O descendants of Jacob are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers, you've turned away from my decrees and have not kept them." [29:21]
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Then look what he says, test me in this as a lord almighty and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you'll not have room enough for it. Why did God want these people to return to him?" [30:08]
"God says, well, you're not giving me the full ten percent for one. You're giving me these lame, crippled animals, these diseased things. You throw it up there, you're giving me half of what I deserve. Why don't you try giving me what I deserve? Bring the whole tithe in the storehouse and see what I do for your life." [30:50]
"God just, he wants to bless me. He loves me. He's crazy about me, and I don't know that I totally understood that when I started. I've shared that before. I didn't understand that love and that relationship with God. I understood the fear part, understood the reverence, but I understand how badly he just wanted to bless me." [31:57]
"When we give him our best, he's saying, you know, all I want you to do is just to test me, show me that you have faith to me, show me that you believe in me, and watch what I do for you. Give me your best and see what I give you. God's not gonna be out giving you." [32:28]
"Give God first. That means that wake up in the morning, give him your first hour so you don't come to the end day as I always spent all my time. No, give him the first. Wake up early, wake up an hour earlier, take a shower, do some push-ups, run around the block, get wide-awake, and then just say, God, here's the best." [32:51]
"First thing I do with every check is I give the first 20% back to God, say, God, this is yours, it's all yours. And then you know what happens? I get blessed beyond belief. I've never been in need. Man, I look at people that make 10 times what I make, and they're miserable. They never have enough." [33:48]
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