Through the years people have been willing to die rather than worship other gods. Consider Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who said,
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. (Dan. 3:17-18)
Would you do the same? What about your students? What will it take to get to that point in our worship of God?
Teaching Students to Worship Must Be About More than the Act of Worshiping
If you want worshiping God to be such a priority in your students’ lives, then you need to help them get beyond the mere act of worshiping. The following acrostic provides the kind of perspective and heart attitudes to promote when teaching students to worship.
W – Wholehearted
Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. (Ps. 103:1)
O – Ongoing
I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. (Ps. 34:1)
R – Reverential
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Heb. 12:28-29)
S – Sacrificial
offer your bodies as a living sacrifice … this is your true and proper worship (Rom. 12:1)
H – Humble
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. (Ps. 95:6-7)
I – Indebted
Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? or from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. 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. (Rom. 11:35-12:1)
P – Personal
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. (Ps. 95:6-7)
This acrostic of the word ‘worship’ is included in the Sowing Good into Our Lives Discipleship Acrostics resource that emphasizes the good motives, attitudes, and other traits that need to be sown into what we might consider “Christian activities” so we’re like that good tree that bears good fruit (Matt. 7:17).