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Jesus said – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mtt.22)    Nothing is more important than that! Ts the First commandment!  If you learn to love God, and you let God love you, then your life has fulfilled its primary meaning and purpose. If you miss this – then you’ve missed the very reason that God created you and put you here on earth – to love and be loved. 

The term in the Bible for expressing this love for God is called “worship”  So any time you are expressing your love for God – you’re worshipping, whether your in a small group, by yourself, or in a large crowd. So worship is about how we develop that love affair with god.!

Now many people find it hard to express their love to others. And some may have never really thought about how we express our love for God, so today I’m going to talk about this. But what I don’t want you to miss is that expressing our love for God is not only something we can do individually, it is something which we do together!  In fact – its better and much easier together.

One experience of worship is described in the last book of the bible  - the Book of Revelation. This book  gives us a glimpse into worship in heaven. John, the author, describes a day in the future around the throne of God when millions of angels and believers are gathered for worship. Listen to John’s description:- Rev.5: 11. “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might, and honour and glory and blessing.”Its mind boggling to try and imagine what that day will be like with that many worshipping together. But in the meantime, each Sunday, we get the opportunity to come together and in worship express our love for God.  Worship is BETTER TOGETHER.

This morning I want to outline just 5 or 6 ways in which we can worship God – that is - show God that we love Him, and this list is not exhaustive, by any means.

1. The first way is one we’re really good at here – and that is by SINGING  to him .

 You’ve probably noticed that music and love go together because the best music comes from the heart. It is not just something intellectual. Did you know that there are more love songs written to Jesus Christ than any other subject?  Christianity is a singing faith because its not about religion, its about a love affair, a relationship with God. That’s why our music is so important – it is an act of worship. – its an expression of our love for God. The Bible says “O come, let us sing unto the Lord! Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation” , and many other verses in scripture tell us the same.  The bible encourages us to sing our praises to God.- and while we don’t have to be in church to do that – because we can sing our praises to God wherever we find ourselves. In the car; at home; at work; or doing the vacuuming. – its always BETTER when we show our love for God through singing praises TOGETHER. So when you join in the singing – make it an expression of love towards God. Some people like to close their eyes – if they know the words – others like to raise their hands in praise as they sing , or clap their hands, …others even like to dance – hey!  that’s ok! Whatever you are comfortable with as an act of love towards God – that’s fine with me!  And by the way – I don’t think its up to us to criticize or judge how others express their love for God.  

2. Secondly; you can express your love for God by TALKING  to Him.   Just as marriage is about communication, so is our love affair with God, our worship. On those days in our marriage when we have a deep significant talk with our spouse – or even just a loving and caring chat together – our relationship grows. So the same happens when we TALK with God.- our relationship with Him grows.  So what do you talk to God about if you want to express your love to God?  Well – anything you’d talk to your best friend about. Everything. Your hopes, your fears, your dreams, your anxieties, your finances, your ambitions, your hurts  - every part of your life – because God cares for you, and loves you. If your Christian life has lost its spark – perhaps its because you need to start up a conversation again!  And that’s what we do when we come together for worship – we sing praises , and we also talk to God –  In our worship this morning there are words /prayers of praise, prayers of intercession, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of confession. There are prayers which remind us of the great things God has done and how thankful we are. Make prayer a priority for your life and for your small group. And I want to encourage you to practice praying together with others.  I find it easier to pray when I’m praying Together with someone!

3 The THIRD  way we can express our love for God is by LISTENING to Him.

Listening is one of the greatest gifts we can give anybody. When you listen to someone you’re saying , “You matter to me”. , I value your opinion, You’re important to me.  The same is true for God.  Every time you listen to God you’re saying  “God, You matter to me. I value what you have to say.”  Prayer is not just Talking to God – that’s only a small part of it!  LISTENING  is also important – probably even more important. We listen to God when we set aside  time to for God. We can listen to God as we read the bible; we listen to God as we reflect on our experiences of life – our trials and difficulties; we listen to God when we connect with the impressions which God may put into our minds. We can listen to God as we listen to the godly advice of other Christians who have a care and concern for us. How much attention do you give to listening to God. That’s how you show Him you love Him. That’s how you can worship Go – cultivate your love affair with God; .and we can do that better together.

4. The FOURTH way in which you can express your love for God is by PUBLICLY IDENTIFYING with Him. – by not being ashamed of him at work, at home, at school, or university, or in the neighbourhood.  You see, if you love somebody, you’re not ashamed of them. You publicly identify with them.    Again, this is where ‘community’ helps me worship God. When I join with  others who take their stand for Christ, it gives me courage to do the same.  We cant say we love Jesus Christ, and yet be ashamed of him.  Jesus said, in the gospel reading today, “If anyone is ashamed of Me and My teachings then I will be ashamed of him when I come in the glory of My Father.”  Mk.8;38.  The fact that you are here today is a good indication that you are prepared to identify personally with Jesus Christ. You are prepared to be seen here in this place.

Lets keep on praying for one another that we might express our worship to God by identifying with Him, standing up for Him this week.

5The fifth  way in which we express our love to God is by BEING COMMITTED to Him. .

In the Bible we often read about the people of God corporately making commitments. And love is really about commitments. You don’t really love somebody unless you’re committed to their best. Love shows itself most clearly when commitment goes beyond the ordinary and the expected to greater lengths and deeper sacrifice.  It has been said that weak people are defined by their circumstances; But strong people are defined by their commitments. The bible tells us in 2Chron 16:9 that God is looking for people whose hearts are fully committed to Him so that he can bless and can use them. Our commitments are kept better as we worship together.  And

6 The sixth way you can tell God you love Him is by GIVING  to Him.  “Gifts” is one of the five love languages. It’s a universal way of showing another that we love them.  So we show God our love by Giving to Him. The first generation of Christians were givers. And they did it together.  Giving, at its core, is the essence of love.  When you love someone, you want to give to them. As the saying goes, you can give without loving, but you cant love without giving. 

If you say that you love God, then its going to show up in your generous lifestyle.  God tests the sincerity of your heart by the way you give. Giving is an act of worship.- its one of the ways in which you show God you love Him.   Now God doesn’t NEED your time , or your money or your gifts -  – He already owns all there is! – but He does want your heart, your commitment.- and that’s what your giving represents. Giving is an act of worship. Its as much an act of worship as is singing, praying, thanking, listening or anything else.. Its saying  ;= “God , I love you so much I want to give back to You.  You saved my life – I want to give it all back to you.” 

Today, and in the future, may our worship – privately and as a community - include  those six ways in which we show our love for God.- Singing, Talking, Listening, Publicly identifying, being committed to and Giving to Him.  All are done Better Together.- all are important in our worship together as we fulfil this Purpose for our Life Together.