“More Than a Feeling”
This is an adapted excerpt from “Worship and Holiness“ for our Seven Sermon Summer Surfin’ Spectacular.
Have you ever admired someone so much — a parent, a mentor, a teacher — that you started to become like them? You picked up their habits, you started talking like they did, and you even began to see the world through their eyes. Jesus spoke to this deep truth when he said, “everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). As his disciples, the more we get a sense of who he is and how incredible he is, a deep sense of honor and respect — reverence — starts to grow.
But this isn't a stuffy, formal feeling that creates distance. It’s what happens when our hearts see his greatness, and it naturally shows up in two big ways: our worship and our holy living.
The Big Idea: When you see God for who he truly is, a life of worship and holiness is the only natural response.
Part 1: Worship is All About Worth
You’ve probably seen the old shampoo commercials with the tagline, “Because you’re worth it.” They want you to splurge because you have value. But what if we flipped that script? Instead of asking what we deserve, what if we asked: what does God deserve? What would we give, do, or say for the God who is truly worth it?
That’s the core of worship. In fact, a great way to think of it is “worth-ship” — it’s how we show God how much he’s worth to us. We become like what we worship (Ps. 115), so it’s vital we get this right. If we give our hearts to things that can’t speak or save, we start to become lifeless too. But when we center our worship on the living God, we become more alive, more like him.
The New Testament gives us a couple of angles on this:
Your Posture Says It All. One key idea of worship is about physically bowing down (proskuneo). When the twenty-four elders in heaven see God on his throne, they fall down, cast their crowns, and declare, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power” (Rev. 4:11). When you bow, you’re saying without words, “You are great, and I am not.” It's about bowing our hearts to show him homage, just like those who physically fell at the feet of Jesus. It's an act of respect and humility reserved only for God.
Your Life is an Offering. Another side of worship isn't just one action, but how we live our whole lives (latreo). Paul tells us in Rom. 12:1 to offer our bodies as a “living sacrifice.” This means our daily life is an act of worship. Our prayers are like fragrant offerings (Rev. 5:8), our financial gifts are sacrifices that please God (Phil. 4:18), and our simple acts of doing good are a powerful form of worship (Heb. 13:16). This is what Jesus meant when he told the woman at the well that true worshippers will worship "in spirit and in truth" — not in a place, but with their whole being, every day (John 4:23-24).
Part 2: Holy Living is Being Ready for God to Use
Most of us have something special, like "fine china," that we keep packed away so it doesn’t get damaged. We set valuable things apart. In the same way, God sees us as his fine china. As his followers, we are “a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy” (2 Tim. 2:21). Being "holy" simply means being uncommon — set apart for God’s special purpose, like a cup used only in the temple versus a common one used at home.
Just like those special dishes were meant for more than storage, God's people are set apart for sacred, meaningful use.
But here’s the amazing part: God doesn’t set us apart to stick us in a box. He wants to use us! He knows that when we're out in the world, we might get a little chipped or show some wear and tear, but he's okay with that. He calls us to "cleanse our hands" and "purify our hearts" (James 4:8) not to be put on a shelf, but to be ready to go out into a crooked world and show people what he's really like. We are a "chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9), and our holy living allows others to see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).
Your Turn
True reverence for God is so much more than a feeling; it’s a life of action. It’s a life that says in everything we do that God is worthy. How can you show God he’s worthy this week — maybe through prayer, generosity, or obedience? And where might he be calling you to holy, set-apart living — right in your everyday world?
