Why do we do that? - Worship and Communion (Green Eggs and Ham)

Series: Why do we do that?
Worship and Communion (Green Egg and Ham) by Rich Shurtz – May 27, 2007

Today, Rick talked about the role of worship and communion for a follower of Jesus. He started by quoting Maya Angelou’s comment about how having an “untold story” within us can be an “agony”. He then explained how, at least in part, he believes her message is: ‘I was created for something grander than this, but it has not been’. Since those of us who follow Christ, believe Jesus is our creator, this is a good place to start the discussion.

1. Is there any “untold story” about what you were created for that is still “inside you” rather than in the reality of your life? (i.e., What things do you think you were “created” for that have not been realized yet?). Spend a few minutes sharing about this in your group. (10 minutes)

2. Next, Rick talked about worship. He asked a question that is worth talking about more: In the context of Gateway’s “extended worship” 180 Service, he asked, “How appealing does the idea of ”extended worship” sound to you?”. So, what about it? What’s your true answer to that question? In the group, try to come up with a list of the reasons that “extended” periods of worship can sound unappealing to people (in general…. don’t feel like you need to explain your own feelings unless you want to). (10 minutes)

3. To give more context, Rick took us to the story of Jesus with the Samaritan “woman at the well”. (For the whole story, read John 4: 1 - 42). He explained how the woman mistook Jesus’ discussion of spiritual water for actual water. Rick then said we can look at the idea of the woman’s husbands from a spiritual perspective as well. Jesus told her she had five husbands – and was with a sixth that she was not married to. Rick then asked us to look at what we may have been “married to” in a spiritual sense…. things we have latched onto to satisfy our spiritual thirst. So what about that? Do any of Rick’s items listed below, or another, ring true of your "commitments"? (Check as many as apply)

_____ Job
_____ Adventure
_____ Thrills (pleasure)
_____ Doing good
_____ Eating
_____ Health
_____ Other ____________________

Have you ever gone from one thing to another looking for something to be the match with what you were created for… an answer to your “thirst”? Spend 10 -15 minutes talking about any personal experiences you’ve had in seeking to quench a spiritual thirst.

4. Now, let’s try to tie some of these thoughts together: Rick says of worship: “It’s not whether we worship. It’s what we worship: We will worship whatever "god" is at the center of our lives… whether it is God Himself or something else. If you are here, you probably have had at least a some point when you felt your heart tuned into worship of God Himself and wanted more. Is that true for you? If so, you probably thought that you wanted/need to come to the well that is Jesus regularly. But one characteristic that we all seem to share is that we are (to use Rick’s words) “pushed or pulled by life” to go into directions different from what we’ve intended. If that is true of you, think about that for a minute, and then write down some things that keep you from following through on your intentions. In the group, try to come up with a list of the pushes and pulls of life that make us “prone to wonder” from our intentions (to use the words from the Robinson song “Come Thou Fount” that Rick talked about), and note if there are others that ring true for your life. (10 minutes)

5. The good news is that God knows we are easily distracted, and so, He directed us to regular “remembrances” of Him. (In the 10 Commandments, God directs the Israelites to remember the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8 – 11) and Jesus directs His disciples to regularly remember His sacrifice through Communion (Luke 22:19), and the Bible is full of other examples of events that God directs His people to remember regularly). So what about you? Do you have any practices that help you to regularly seek and worship God? Spend some time first talking about different things that “work” and then stop for personal reflection. Rick suggests we take God’s “Sam I am” challenge… Psalm 34:8 has the challenge: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Is there any specific way that you can take the challenge this week? If God is prompting you, write down a practice that you want to begin, and then pray for Him to protect you from the pushes and pulls of life that pull you away. (10 minutes)

Bible verses from this message:

“Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (And Jesus said ) “Go, call your husband and come back.”
John 4: 15 – 16

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Jeremiah 2:13

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 17:23

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
John 4:13-14

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Psalm 34:8

Related Next-Step Resources:

• Case for Faith by Lee Strobel (available at Gateway Bookstore)
• Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (available at Gateway Bookstore)
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (available at Gateway Bookstore)
• Letter from a Skeptic by Gregory A. Boyd (available at Gateway Bookstore)

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Check out more information about Christianity at Knowing God available at Gateway's Way of Christ Next-Steps Website

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