Indescribable: True Worship

• Worship is a way of life, not an event. True worship isn’t confined to a Sunday service — it’s the continual orientation of our whole life toward the worth of God, Monday through Saturday included.
• What we worship reveals what we believe about God. From a tortilla to a grilled-cheese sandwich to a princess, people worship all sorts of things without realizing it. True worship requires knowing the true God — holy, almighty, and eternal.
• Glory belongs to God, not to us. Creation, the four living creatures, and the twenty-four elders all exist to give glory to the One who sits on the throne. Worship was never meant to be about what we get out of it.
• True worship humbles us and puts us in our place. When we truly see God as holy, we see ourselves rightly, and every “crown” we’re tempted to wear — achievements, reputation, talent — gets cast down before His throne.
• Worship means giving, not taking. Like Bach signing his manuscripts “Soli Deo Gloria,” true worship gives God the glory in every circumstance, good or bad, instead of asking what we can get from Him.

Icebreaker

When you hear the word “worship,” what’s the first picture that comes to mind — and where do you think that picture came from?

Introduction

Scripture References: Joshua 1:9, Revelation 4:8-11, John 4:23

Brief Summary As a new school year begins, students and parents are reminded that God goes with them wherever they go — and that the best way to influence our schools and our world is to make worship a lifestyle. The trouble is, we often don’t know what worship actually is. The true story of Maria Rubio, who in 1977 found what she believed was the face of Jesus on a burned tortilla and built a shrine that drew tens of thousands of visitors, is one of several strange “holy image” stories from the late twentieth century. These stories aren’t really about tortillas or grilled cheese; they’re a warning about how easily we fall to our knees in front of the wrong thing. As the Indescribable series comes to its conclusion, the thesis for today is simple: when you behold an indescribable God, the only proper response is worship. Yet Jesus told the woman at the well that true worshipers must worship in spirit and truth — meaning it’s entirely possible to worship without worshiping truly.

Discussion Questions

• The message points out that our problem often isn’t that we don’t worship — it’s that we don’t know what worship is. How would you have defined “worship” before today, and how might that definition need to grow?
• The tortilla, grilled cheese, and Nun Bun stories are almost comical, but they made a serious point. Why do you think people are so drawn to give devotion to things that clearly aren’t God?
• Jesus told the woman at the well that true worshipers worship “in spirit and truth.” What do you think that phrase means, in your own words?

Application Questions

• Where in your life might you be going through the motions of worship without your heart actually being engaged?
• What would it look like this week to “wear your faith on the outside” in the places you spend the most time — school, work, home?

1. True Worship Never Stops

Scripture References: Revelation 4:8, Psalm 51:17, Colossians 3:17, Matthew 6:33

Brief Summary The four living creatures around God’s throne worship day and night without rest — to them, worship is their very existence. A story about grandparents, lifelong hymn-lovers, choosing to attend a contemporary service to show the younger generation that true worship comes from the heart, not from a style preference, illustrates the point. The lesson: we’ve reduced worship to a Sunday time slot, and in doing so we’ve made it another thing we consume rather than an offering we give. Real worship isn’t primarily about us and our needs — it’s about God and His glory. Sunday morning shouldn’t be where our worship starts; it should simply be the continuation of a worship that has been happening all week, in how we treat our family, forgive a friend, and give our resources.

Discussion Questions

• “Don’t spiritualize your preferences” is the lesson drawn from that story about worshiping with old hymns versus modern songs. What are some worship or church preferences we tend to treat as if they were biblical commands?
• The message names some common complaints — “I wasn’t being fed,” “the service didn’t speak to me.” Why is it so easy to slip into a consumer mindset about worship, even without meaning to?
• What does it look like practically for “worship” to show up in ordinary moments like doing dishes, sitting in traffic, or responding to a difficult coworker?

Application Questions

• Think back over the last week. Where did your worship overflow into a Monday-through-Saturday moment, and where did it stay stuck at church?
• Pick one ordinary area of your life this week — work, family, a hard relationship — and intentionally treat it as an act of worship. What would change about how you approach it?

2. True Worship Sees God as He Is

Scripture References: Revelation 4:8-9, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Ephesians 3:20, Psalm 19:1

Brief Summary How we worship is determined by how we answer the question, “Who is God?” The angels around the throne answer it clearly: God is holy (the threefold “holy, holy, holy” is Hebrew for the highest possible emphasis), He is almighty (the sovereign Lord over all creation, including whatever insurmountable problem we’re facing right now), and He is eternal (“who was and is and is to come”). The deaths of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa within a week of each other in 1997 illustrate the point that even Christians can end up worshiping people or things without realizing it. Because God is holy, He deserves our obedience; because He is almighty, He deserves our trust; because He is eternal, He deserves our very life — and because of all of it, all glory belongs to Him alone, in creation and in heaven.

Discussion Questions

• A.W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” How would you describe your honest, everyday picture of God — not the Sunday-school answer, but the one you actually live from?
• The angels describe God as holy, almighty, and eternal. Which of those three feels most real to you right now, and which one do you tend to forget?
• The message points out that even good Christians can slip into worshiping something or someone other than God without noticing. What are some subtle, socially acceptable things people worship today?

Application Questions

• Of the insurmountable problem, grief, or fear you’re currently facing, how does it change things to remember that God is Lord “even over that”?
• What is one practical step you can take this week to see God more accurately — through Scripture, a sermon, a book, or a conversation — rather than settling for a casual or ordinary view of Him?

3. True Worship Puts Us in Our Proper Place

Scripture References: Revelation 4:9-10, Isaiah 6:3,5

Brief Summary When the living creatures give glory to God, the twenty-four elders respond by falling down before Him and casting their crowns at His feet. Their worship is contagious — one act of true worship stirs another. It also produces humility: like Isaiah, who cried “Woe is me” the moment he saw the Lord’s holiness, true worship acts as a mirror that shows us who we really are. And it leads us to cast down our own crowns — our achievements, reputation, talent, or title — everything we’re tempted to point to and say, “look what I have done.” Those crowns came from the Lord to begin with, and true worship gives them back.

Discussion Questions

• The elders’ worship was sparked by the living creatures’ worship. Have you ever experienced worship being “contagious” — where someone else’s devotion stirred your own? What was that like?
• Isaiah’s reaction to seeing God’s holiness was “Woe is me.” Why do you think a right view of God so often produces humility rather than confidence in ourselves?
• What is a “crown” today — something people wear as a badge of self-sufficiency instead of laying it before God?

Application Questions

• Ask yourself this diagnostic question honestly: when was the last time you said or thought, “look what I have done”? What crown does that point to?
• What would it look like this week to name that crown out loud — to God, or to someone you trust — and take a step toward laying it down?

4. True Worship Gives God What He Deserves

Scripture References: Revelation 4:11

Brief Summary The elders’ declaration — “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power” — leaves no room for us to keep asking what worship gives us. We’re challenged to retire phrases like “I didn’t get much out of worship today.” It was never about us. Johann Sebastian Bach is a fitting example — he wrote “J.J.” (Jesus, help me) at the start of his manuscripts and “S.D.G.” (Soli Deo Gloria, “to God alone be the glory”) at the end. The challenge for the week ahead: whatever happens, good or bad, respond with S.D.G. — giving God the glory in every circumstance rather than taking any of it for ourselves.

Discussion Questions

• Bach began his work with “Jesus, help me” and ended it with “To God alone be the glory.” What would it look like to bookend your ordinary days the same way?
• Why do you think it’s so tempting to hold onto credit, praise, or recognition instead of giving it to God?
• Revelation 4:11 says God is worthy because He created all things and all things exist by His will. How does remembering that truth change what you think you’re owed?

Application Questions

• Try the S.D.G. experiment this week: every time something good or bad happens, consciously think or say “Soli Deo Gloria.” What do you expect that to change?
• Is there a recent “win” you’ve been quietly taking credit for? What would it look like to give God the glory for it out loud, to someone else?

Day 1: The Danger of a Misplaced Bow

• Scripture Reference: John 4:19-24
• Key Focus: Sincerity isn’t the same as truth. True worship requires the true God.
• Reflection: In 1977, a New Mexico woman found what she believed was the face of Jesus burned into a tortilla, and within two years 35,000 people had visited the shrine she built for it. She wasn’t being foolish on purpose — she was sincere. But sincerity isn’t the same thing as truth. Jesus told the woman at the well that true worshipers worship the Father “in spirit and truth.” It’s entirely possible to fall to our knees in devotion and still miss true worship, if what we’re bowing to isn’t the true God. Before we can worship rightly, we have to ask honestly what — or who — we’re actually bowing to.
• Application Question: Is there anything in your life right now getting the devotion, attention, or trust that only God deserves?
• Prayer Prompt: Lord, show me anywhere I’ve settled for sincerity without truth. Turn my heart fully toward You.

Day 2: A Worship That Never Clocks Out

• Scripture Reference: Colossians 3:17
• Key Focus: Worship is the continual orientation of our whole life toward God’s worth, not a Sunday time slot.
• Reflection: The four living creatures around God’s throne “do not rest day or night” in worship — to them, it’s not an activity, it’s their very existence. We tend to reduce worship to eight-thirty or ten-forty-five on Sunday morning, and in doing so we quietly turn it into one more thing we consume rather than an offering we give. Paul’s instruction in Colossians is far bigger than a service time: whatever we do, in word or deed, is meant to be done in Jesus’ name, with thanks to God. That includes the commute, the inbox, the laundry, and the hard conversation you’re avoiding.
• Application Question: Name one ordinary task on today’s calendar that you can consciously offer to God as worship.
• Prayer Prompt: Father, I don’t want my worship of You to start and stop with a service time. Make my whole day an offering.

Day 3: Seeing God as He Truly Is

• Scripture Reference: Revelation 4:8
• Key Focus: How we worship is determined by how we answer the question, “Who is God?”
• Reflection: The angels around the throne describe God with three words: holy, almighty, and eternal. Each one changes something about us. Because He is holy, He deserves our obedience. Because He is almighty — sovereign over the cosmos, over you, over whatever insurmountable thing you’re carrying right now — He deserves our trust. Because He is eternal, He deserves our very life, not the leftover time and energy we hand Him after everything temporary has had its turn. A.W. Tozer said what we think about God is the most important thing about us. Today, let the angels’ words correct any casual or shrunken picture of God you’ve been carrying.
• Application Question: Which of the three — holy, almighty, eternal — do you most need to remember today, and why?
• Prayer Prompt: Holy, almighty, eternal God, forgive me for the times I’ve made You smaller than You are. I trust You with what I’m facing.

Day 4: Casting Down Our Crowns

• Scripture Reference: Revelation 4:10; Isaiah 6:5
• Key Focus: True worship humbles us, shows us ourselves rightly, and asks us to give back what was never really ours.
• Reflection: When Isaiah saw the Lord’s holiness, his immediate response wasn’t confidence — it was “Woe is me.” The twenty-four elders in Revelation respond to God’s glory the same way: they fall down and cast their crowns before the throne. Those crowns represent honor, achievement, and authority — all things that came from God in the first place. The question worth sitting with is simple: what is your crown? Your career, your children’s success, your ministry, your reputation? Whatever you find yourself pointing to and thinking, “look what I have done,” is a crown that belongs back at His feet.
• Application Question: Name your crown honestly today. What would it look like to lay that specific thing before God rather than wear it?
• Prayer Prompt: Lord, I give back to You what was always Yours. Humble me the way true worship humbled the elders.

Day 5: Soli Deo Gloria

• Scripture Reference: Revelation 4:11
• Key Focus: True worship gives God what He deserves in every circumstance — not just the good ones.
• Reflection: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the initials “J.J.” (Jesus, help me) at the start of his manuscripts and “S.D.G.” (Soli Deo Gloria — to God alone be the glory) at the end. As this series on God’s glory comes to a close, the challenge is to live the same way: let every good report and every hard one start with a dependence on Christ and end with glory given back to Him, instead of keeping the credit — or the complaint — for ourselves.
• Application Question: Try it today: whatever happens, good or bad, respond by thinking or saying, “Soli Deo Gloria.”
• Prayer Prompt: To You alone, Lord, be the glory — in what I’ve been given and in what I still don’t understand. S.D.G.