Transformation Church Pastor: What Do People Who Worship Their Whole Life Look Like?
Christians can live out their whole life as a form of worship, the pastor of Transformation Church in South Carolina said in a sermon.
While delivering the latest installment of the "Hope Dealers" series, Pastor Paul Allen of Transformation Church, a multi-ethnic, multi-generational congregation, discusses how Christians can live out their worship through acts of services.
The purpose of worship, Allen says, is that "we find our love, significance, identity, and source of power from Jesus."
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Knowing that worship is the heart of our identity as Christians, Allen points to three ways in which a modern Christian can worship, including seeing life through the lens of Jesus' mercy, becoming a living sacrifice, and using your gifts to benefit your local community.
For the first point, seeing life through the lens of Jesus' mercy, Allen says it is important to note that all of our talents and gifts come from God, and we should use them to glorify His name.
Additionally, we can worship God through our actions by becoming a "living sacrifice."
While some may equate "sacrifice" to "death," Allen asserts that becoming a living sacrifice actually means giving up all of your sins and flaws on a daily basis so God's will can be lived out through you.
The pastor points specifically to the letter in Romans 12:1-9 written to the multi-ethnic churches in Rome by Paul, which calls on Christians to be a "living sacrifice."
The verse states in part: "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" (NIV).
We as Christians can still use Paul's letter in our churches today, as all of our life can be a form of worship, and "we keep God's name holy through worshipping him."
When we wake up and agree to be a living sacrifice, we're sacrificing pride, laziness, jealousy, and all other unsavory feelings in exchange for God's plan.
"We sacrifice ourselves, and we ask Christ to live in through us," Allen writes, adding that "when we sacrifice […] we allow God's will."
Christians can also worship daily by helping their local congregation, thus "[taking] the gifts that God [has given you] and [serving] one another."
Quoting Transformation Church's head pastor and former NFL player Derwin Gray, Allen says "teamwork makes the dream work," and we as Christians need to use our God-given gifts to serve one another and our local church body.
All of our gifts are equally important in the eyes of God, Allen continues, citing Romans 12:3: "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."
By keeping the mentality that "no gift should be lifted up higher than another," we are able to serve better because we see all of our God-given gifts as equally valuable.
Allen concludes his message by stating that the Christian church is "one body," and each member belongs as a servant to all other members of the same body.
