Where Did It Fall? | My Soul Sings Week 3

Devotional

Day 1: The Ax Head That Sank and Surfaced

When spiritual vitality feels lost, we often chase novelty rather than retracing our steps. The prophet’s question—“Where did it fall?”—invites us to pinpoint the moment our passion dimmed. Just as the borrowed ax head sank beneath familiar waters, our zeal can slip away during routine acts of service or worship. God’s miracle didn’t demand a new tool but revealed His power in the place of loss. Returning to where we drifted reconnects us with His presence. [19:07]

“As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water. ‘Oh no, my lord!’ he cried out. ‘It was borrowed!’ The man of God asked, ‘Where did it fall?’ When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float.”
(2 Kings 6:5-6, NIV)

Reflection: What specific season or habit once fueled your hunger for God that now feels distant? How might you intentionally return to that “place” this week?

Day 2: When Worship Becomes Simon Cowell Syndrome

Critiquing worship’s “pitchiness” reveals a consumer heart. The danger isn’t in disliking a song but in evaluating God’s worthiness based on personal preference. Over time, even faithful attendees can shift from participants to judges, measuring services by emotional payoff rather than sacrificial offering. True worship disarms critique by recentering on His worth, not our whims. [06:07]

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”
(Revelation 2:4-5, NIV)

Reflection: When have you recently critiqued a worship moment instead of engaging it? What one step could shift you from critic to contributor next Sunday?

Day 3: Dating Your Faith Again

Marriages grow stale when couples stop courting. Similarly, faith atrophies when we rely on rituals over relationship. Jesus’ rebuke to Ephesus wasn’t about their service but their surrendered awe. Reigniting first love means revisiting early practices: raw prayers, unguarded singing, time spent savoring rather than strategizing. [11:42]

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!”
(Psalm 100:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: What “dating habit” from your early faith (journaling, spontaneous worship, etc.) have you neglected? How could you reintroduce it this month?

Day 4: The Wire Brush in the Jordan

Losing a borrowed tool mirrors how we misplace spiritual urgency. The neighbor’s grace in the pastor’s story mirrors God’s response to our faltering worship: He replaces our guilty offerings with grace. Our job isn’t to repay lost zeal but to receive His mercy where we’ve grown mechanical. [16:14]

“Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
(Psalm 100:3, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you avoided worship because of guilt over “lost” passion? How might accepting God’s grace free you to engage again?

Day 5: When the Stick Makes Iron Float

Elisha’s stick didn’t explain the miracle—it activated obedience. Throwing wood into water seemed foolish, yet God used it to recover what was lost. Our worship, even when halfhearted or confused, becomes the “stick” God uses to resurrect dormant passion. The miracle starts when we act, not when we feel. [19:42]

“Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. ‘Lift it out,’ he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.”
(2 Kings 6:6-7, NIV)

Reflection: What simple act of worship (singing aloud, kneeling, etc.) feels awkward but could be your “stick” this week? Commit to trying it once.

Sermon Summary

Worship is not just a few songs before the Bible opens. Worship is war. Worship is the way God’s people say, “God, I’m on your team,” in the middle of a cosmic battle that is already going on. Worship also has a cost, because the deepest worship often happens when a person gives, serves, sings, or shows up when feelings are not cooperating.

Worship is not about the worshiper. Worship is for him and him alone. The set list is not there to make somebody feel good, and the room is not gathered so a person can act like Simon Cowell and decide whether the band was “a little pitchy.” Worship is not for a person, but worship will do something to a person. Everything depends on how a person shows up.

The danger is that church can become both the safest and the most dangerous place. The church is safe for the doubter who keeps showing up with questions, because the presence of God can nail a guarded heart in the best possible way. The church is dangerous for the coasting Christian who has been around so long that showing up gets confused with spiritual life. A person can believe something in theory and still never experience it in practice.

The loss of spiritual fire is not usually solved by chasing something new. Elisha’s question to the young prophet who lost the borrowed ax head cuts straight to the issue: “Where did it fall?” The miracle did not begin with a new ax, but with returning to the place where the old one was lost. Jesus says the same thing to the church in Ephesus: “You have forsaken the love you had at first.” The answer is not a new insight, a new Bible, a new group, or a new church. The answer is repentance and a return to the things done at first.

Psalm 100 gives the path back into the presence of God. The Psalm calls for a joyful noise, glad service, singing, thanksgiving, and praise. Scripture helps a person understand God, but worship helps a person experience God. Religion is belief without worship. Relationship is an ongoing back and forth encounter with the presence of God. A vibrant faith comes from a lifestyle of worship, not just Sunday worship.

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Key Takeaways

1. Worship belongs to God alone Worship is not built around taste, mood, preference, or whether a song “does anything” for a person. Worship gives God what he is worth, even when the heart has to be dragged into obedience before it catches fire. That shift from consumer to participant is where the soul stops evaluating and starts offering. [03:49]
2. Routine can hide spiritual flatlining Church attendance can look faithful while the inner life has quietly gone numb. The danger is not merely absence from worship, but presence without hunger, belief without practice, and habit without heartbeat. Spiritual deadness can wear the clothes of responsibility and still need resurrection. [08:57]
3. Return to where love fell Elisha’s question, “Where did it fall?” refuses the illusion that the next new thing will restore what was lost. Jesus gives the same mercy-filled diagnosis to Ephesus by naming the forsaken first love and calling the church back to first works. Renewal often begins not by moving forward, but by honestly returning to the place where affection went off the tracks. [25:24]
4. Singing brings the heart near Psalm 100 treats singing as more than musical preference. God has given the voice as a way for the whole person to come into his presence, remember who he is, and stop meditating on fear. Praise reorders attention until the size of God becomes more real than the pressure of problems. [29:58]
5. Daily worship keeps faith alive A Sunday gathering cannot sustain a soul that is starving all week. Scripture gives understanding, but worship brings the heart into fresh encounter with the God being understood. A vibrant faith grows when worship becomes a daily rhythm instead of a weekly event.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:55] - Worship Jolted Out of Routine
[03:12] - Worship Is For Him
[05:00] - Worship Changes the Worshiper
[06:44] - Safe for Seekers, Dangerous for Coasters
[10:11] - Familiarity Can Weaken Worship
[14:03] - Elisha and the Lost Ax Head
[20:19] - Where Did It Fall?
[24:20] - Jesus Calls Ephesus Back
[28:27] - Psalm 100 and Joyful Praise
[32:48] - Scripture Understands, Worship Experiences
[34:18] - Religion Is Belief Without Worship
[37:16] - Adding Daily Worship Rhythms
[40:17] - Dry Seasons and Renewed Presence

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 100
“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” [28:31]

Observation questions

In Psalm 100, what are the specific actions God’s people are called to do as they come before him?
What contrast is made between showing up as a participant in worship and showing up as a consumer or critic? [05:32]
What are some signs that a person may still be around church things but has become spiritually flat on the inside? [08:57]
When the ax head was lost, what was the first question asked, and why does that question stand out? [20:03]

Interpretation questions

Psalm 100 connects singing, thanksgiving, praise, and glad service with entering God’s presence. What does that suggest about worship being more than music or personal preference? [29:58]
Church can be a safe place for a person with doubts and a dangerous place for a person who is coasting. Why can the same place have such different effects depending on how a person shows up? [06:44]
Jesus’ words to Ephesus focus on forsaking first love, not merely stopping activity. What is the difference between continuing religious activity and actually walking in love for God? [25:24]
“Where did it fall?” points backward before anything moves forward. Why is returning to where love was lost often more important than chasing a new solution? [23:51]

Application questions

Has worship quietly become something to evaluate instead of something to offer? What usually pulls the heart into that consumer mindset? [03:49]
Where does spiritual life feel most routine right now? Is there an area where faithfulness on the outside may be covering over flatness on the inside? [09:00]
If the honest question is “Where did it fall?”, what moment, season, distraction, hurt, or shift in priorities might explain why love for God does not feel as alive as it once did? [23:19]
Jesus calls people back to the things done at first. What were some “first things” that marked earlier love for God—singing, gratitude, time in his presence, eagerness to gather, simple obedience—and which of those may need to be revisited now? [25:48]
Psalm 100 says to come into God’s presence with singing and thanksgiving. What would it look like to practice that in an ordinary day, not just in a church gathering? [30:24]
A vibrant faith grows through a lifestyle of worship, not just a weekly moment. What simple daily rhythm could help keep the heart awake to God this week? [35:02]
If God has not moved, but distraction and routine have dulled the heart, what is one honest step toward his presence that feels needed right now? [40:25]

Sermon Clips

33s

#FaithIsRelationship

“And you could say, I believe. amazing. Scripture tells us even the demons believe in Jesus. Here's what I think religion is. Religion is belief without worship. No. No. I believe in God. I'm a Christian. I prayed a prayer once. I believe. That's great. That can be religion. Relationship is an ongoing back and forth encounter with the presence of God.”

45s

#LifestyleWorship

“And what God's been teaching me this year, and I'm gonna be honest with you. What's really birthed this series is what God's been actually teaching me, and that is this, that a vibrant faith comes from a lifestyle of worship, not a Sunday worship. A vibrant faith comes from a lifestyle of worship, not a Sunday worship. Is this important? I think so. But if this is all you got, don't be surprised when your relationship with God feels stale.”

39s

#WorshipTransforms

“``Now, with that being said, here's what I want you to hear. Okay. This is important. Worship isn't for you, but it will do something to you. That's what I wanna talk about. Worship is not for you, but I promise you when you step in and you come and you engage and you bring your voice and you lift your hands and your heart is in it. Listen. Worship isn't for you, but it will do something to you. It all depends on how you show up.”

45s

#ScriptureAndWorship

“Scripture will help you understand God. We need this. It'll also help you understand you. And let me say this. We need this more than just Sunday. This can't be all you eat, the meal that I prepare to serve. You got to eat more than this or you will starve. And you'll keep looking for something new, and eventually you'll think, I need a new church. No. You need to go back to what caused you to fall in love with him. Scripture helps us understand God, but worship is the key to experiencing God. And that's why I say, you can show up and not engage.”

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Where Did It Fall? | My Soul Sings Week 3 | Pastor Tim Moore