Monday, March 21, 2022

Sermon (March 20/Lent) by Rev. Robert McDowell



     During this 40 day season of Lent, we are focusing on the theme, “The Making of a Disciple” and looking at eight essential aspects in what it means to be followers of Jesus. 

     These include being hope-filled, being generous, and today, our focus is on being worshipful. While all of the eight aspects are essential in being followers of Jesus, I would have to say that being worshipful is the foundational block from which all the others are based.

     Why is being worshipful so important in what it means to be a disciple of Jesus? Here’s the short answer, even though this will not effect the length of today’s sermon. We become what we worship. We become what we worship. And I define worship as that which we give our highest allegiance. 

     If our jobs are the most important thing in our lives, than that is what we worship. If sports are the most important thing in our lives, than that is what we worship. If shopping is the most important thing in our lives, than that is what we worship. If power and prestige are the most important things in our lives, than that is what we worship. 

     Notice that I didn’t say that any of those things are not important, just that they should not be the most important things in our lives compared to our worship of God. We are told from the very beginning of the Bible that we were created in God’s image. Part of what it means to be created in God’s image is that we worship the one who has created us.

     And the One who has created us is the Triune God, one God known in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Father refers to God as a loving heavenly parent. The Son refers to Jesus who was the embodiment of God who lived, died, and who rose again for our sake. And the Holy Spirit is the presence of the Risen Son who empowers us to be disciples of Jesus.

     This is who we worship when we gather together on Sunday mornings; a creating, redeeming, and sustaining God. This is why worship is the foundation of all of the other aspects in what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

     There are two important aspects of worship, communal and personal. First of all, worship is meant to be communal because God calls us to be a community of faith. We worship on Sundays because Jesus was risen on a Sunday. The early Christians referred to Sunday as a little Easter to remind us that every time we gather for worship, we are an Easter people.

     In Jesus’ day, Sunday represented the first day of the work week like Mondays are for us today. Imagine those early Christians gathering every Sunday morning, on the first workday of the week. 

     They would have had to worship early in the morning before they would then go to work for the day. Just imagine how those who weren’t Christians would have found this to be a strange thing to do, but this is what those early Christians did. They woke up early on that first day of the work week to remember that they were an Easter people and to worship the triune God. This is the tradition that we continue to this day.

     Communal worship includes this basic pattern of four components. These include 1) Gathering 2) Proclamation and Response 3) Thanksgiving and Communion, and 4) Sending Forth

     Here at Athens First, our gathering includes everything from people greeting people as they enter the building, our opening gathering music, our responsive call to worship, our opening hymn, and our opening prayer of confession. That’s what is part of The Gathering.

     Our Proclamation and Response includes our scripture readings, the sermon, and our ministry of music.

     Our Thanksgiving and Communion includes the pastoral prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, the offering, the doxology, and the Sacrament of Holy Communion which we observe on the 1st Sunday of each month. This is all in response to the Proclamation and Response portion of worship. 

     Our Sending Forth includes the closing hymn, the closing benediction, and the closing music.

     Think of our weekly Sunday worship like the function of a person’s lungs. We inhale by being gathered to worship as God’s people and we exhale by being sent forth to live out our faith during the week. This is our weekly cycle. Inhaling and exhaling. Being drawn together to worship as God’s people and exhaling by being sent by God into the world to be Jesus’ disciples.

     To summarize, weekly Sunday worship invites us to gather, to praise God, to confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness, to hear the scriptures read and proclaimed, to respond to God’s Word through prayer and the offering of our gifts, and then to receive God’s blessing as we are sent forth into our community to live out our faith.

     And if we are faithful in participating in weekly Sunday worship, we end up following the life and ministry of Jesus for the entire year. This is known as the church or liturgical calendar. 


     The church year begins with the four weeks of Advent in preparing for the birth of Jesus as well as his 2nd coming when he will return to set up God’s kingdom here on earth. This leads to the Christmas season, also known as the twelve days of Christmas that begins with Jesus birth and concludes with Epiphany Sunday when the Wise Men come to offer gifts to the Christ Child. 

     Following the Christmas season, we enter into several weeks of Ordinary Time where the focus is on Jesus’ teachings and healings. 

     This leads to the 40 day season of Lent beginning in late winter which we are observing now. During the six weeks of Lent, we follow Jesus to Jerusalem where he will share in the Last Supper with the disciples, die on a cross and then be placed in a tomb.

     And of course, this leads to Easter Sunday and the Season of Easter also known as the Great Fifty Days in which we focus on when the Risen Jesus spends time with the disciples before he ascends to his heavenly throne. Pentecost Sunday is the last day of the Easter season when God sends the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and the early church. 

     We then celebrate Trinity Sunday in which all of the church year is tied together as we explore the mystery of the holy trinity; God known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

     And this begins the longest of the church seasons known as Ordinary Time which will last through the summer and into late November. During this long stretch, the focus is on Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry and that steady growth in what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.

     This is the cycle of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that we repeat year after year based on appointed scripture readings for each Sunday that is known as the lectionary. These scriptures are meant to keep us centered on these important seasons of the church year. 

     This is why weekly communal worship is so important. It helps us to follow the life of Jesus for the entire year and it provides us with a holy rhythm. 

      I was thinking of a pastor friend of mine who served as a spiritual mentor to me during my early years of pastoral ministry. He told me the story of how he went to High School in Philadelphia and was on the crew team where Jack Kelly, father of the famous actress and princess, Grace Kelly was the coach.

     He said how Jack Kelly was a very demanding coach and how he required them to practice as a team even on Sunday mornings. My friend said that he knew that there was no way that his very faithful Methodist parents were going to allow him to miss church on Sunday mornings to go to crew practices. So, he went to Coach Kelly and said, “Coach, I won’t be able to practice on Sunday mornings because I can’t miss church.”

     And Coach Kelly, not backing down said, “It’s not an option, Teller. You have to come to practice Sundays or you can’t be on the crew team.”

     And my friend said, “Then I’ll just have to quit the team, coach because I am not allowed to miss church on Sundays.”

     And Coach Kelly, surprised that he was getting this push back and looking out at his entire crew team said in a gruff voice, “Alright then, since Teller can’t make Sunday practices, we won’t practice on Sundays.”

     That’s a great story about the importance of worship. But the other side note to this story is that my friend said that he actually danced with the coach’s daughter, Grace Kelly thee Grace Kelly at a school dance. I don’t know which story is better! But for our purposes today, let’s go with the first one about the importance of worship.

     So much more can be said about communal worship and how it can help us to grow in what it means to be disciples of Jesus, but there is only so much time.

     In addition to communal worship, there is also what I would call personal worship. Personal worship is the daily time that we spend alone with God. There are many ways to do this but it usually includes a time during each day where we can pray and read scripture. This spiritual discipline of personal worship is also known as daily devotions. 

     Our church always has Upper Room devotionals which is our denomination’s devotional resource. Each day includes a scripture reading, a short commentary about the scripture written by a layperson, a thought for the day and a closing prayer. These Upper Rooms come out every two months.

     We also provide sermon discussion questions from the previous Sunday to use during the week. These can be used as part of your daily time with God and are also used in our small groups just as a way to continue to reflect on the previous Sunday’s worship theme.

     I love how today’s Psalmist from Psalm 63 refers to this daily approach to worship by saying, “So I will bless your name as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.” The Psalmist is referring to what it means to be worshipful. Being worshipful is simply being aware of God’s presence throughout our day and especially when we gather each Sunday for worship as God’s people. 

   We become what we worship. This is why being worshipful is at the heart of being a disciple of Jesus.

     Anglican Bishop and bible scholar NT Wright says, “worship is the glad shout of praise that arises to God the creator and God the rescuer from the creation that recognizes it’s maker, the creation that acknowledges the triumph of Jesus the Lamb. That is the worship that is going on in heaven, in God’s dimension, all the time. The question we ought to be asking is how best might we join in.”

     I think this is a great question to end with today as we seek to be disciples of Jesus. How best might we join with all of heaven, in worship of the one true God known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? 

     Disciples of Jesus are worshipful.


The Making of a Disciple: Worshipful

Sermon Discussion Questions
Psalm 63:1-8
March 20, 2022

During this 40 day season of Lent, we are focusing on eight essential aspects of being a disciple of Jesus. So far, we have looked at being hope-filled and generous. This week, our focus is on what it means to be a worshipful disciple of Jesus. Pastor Robert offered this statement: “We become what we worship.” This means that we become whatever is most important in our lives.

What are your thoughts about the statement, “We become what we worship.”

In the creation story found in the Book of Genesis, we are told that God made humankind in his image. This means that we are to reflect this image of God outwardly to others as well as to God in worship. When we worship God, we are worshiping the triune God known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God known in three persons. If we become what we worship and we worship the triune God this means that we become more caring, loving, forgiving, holy.

In what ways have you become more caring, loving, forgiving, and holy by worshiping God?

Our appointed Psalm reading from Psalm 63, offers two ways for us to worship God. The first way that we worship God is in community. Notice that in verse 2, the Psalmist says, “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” This is referring to worshipping God with the congregation in the Temple. Here at Athens First UMC, we offer weekly Sunday worship services. Think of our Sunday worship service as us inhaling and drawing together. At the end of the service we exhale and are sent forth to serve others in the community. 

How does this image of weekly congregational worship in which we inhale (come together) and exhale (go forth to serve) help you in your understanding of the importance of Sunday worship together?

Our weekly worship follows the annual seasons of the liturgical calendar based on the life of Jesus that include 1) The Advent Season 2) The Christmas Season 3) Ordinary Time 4) Lent & Holy Week 5) The Great 50 Days of the Easter Season 6) Ordinary Time.

How does following the yearly cycle of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus provide a holy rhythm for your life?

In addition to worship in community, the Psalmist also refers to the personal worship of God. In verse 4, the Psalmist says, “So I will bless you as long as I live, I will lift up my hands and call on your name.” He also refers to thinking about God during the night while in bed. There are a variety of ways that we can worship God in a personal way. Some people take time each day to reflect on the previous Sunday’s worship theme which these weekly sermon discussion questions seek to provide. Others might use the daily United Methodist devotional resource, “The Upper Room” which we have available at the church or you can find online. There are many other ways to spend time each day in prayer and in the scriptures.

What are some ways that you spend time in daily personal worship?

Offer this prayer from this past Sunday’s worship service to remind you of the importance of being worshipful as disciples of Jesus:


O God, we confess that we sometimes go through the motions of worship. We want to be more like the Psalmist whose soul thirsted for you as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. We look upon you in the sanctuary and behold your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, our lips praise you. We bless you as long as we live and we lift our hands and call on your name. Prepare us to be a sanctuary, O Lord. Amen.


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