We tend to separate worship from daily life. In the thinking of many, on Sunday mornings we leave home and go to worship.
But in the Christmas story, after the shepherds found Christ, they returned home worshipping.
That’s what Luke wrote: “The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (2:20). Did you catch it? Yes, they knelt before the Christ child in the manger, but then worship continued as they returned to daily life.
In light of this little verse, maybe some of our Christmas carols need updating:
O leave, all ye faithful!
Joyful and triumphant!
O leave ye, O leave ye from Bethlehem.
O leave, let us adore him
O leave, let us adore him
O leave, let us adore him
Christ the Lord!
There’s a serious point here. While you should come to worship, you should leave worshipping, too.
This is hard, I know.
In a worship service we sing all these glorious statements about God’s power and care. But then maybe we leave the service and return home to not-so-glorious living. It’s not easy to return home worshipping when your marriage is strained, or your kids disappoint you, or there’s tension in your workplace, or you’re fighting cancer, or there’s financial anxiety.
But what you experience from worship music and from Bible study should rearrange your priorities, attitudes, and choices in daily life. Declaring gospel truth in a worship service is scrimmage; living out the implications of gospel truth throughout the week is where the real game is won.
Let’s go deeper into this truth on the Lord’s Day. Join us at Hillcrest at 10am!
One more thing: When you bring people to Hillcrest this December, they can pick up their own free copy of the book John Parker and I wrote. It’s called Repeat the Sounding Joy: The Four Christmas Carols of Luke’s Gospel. Or you can buy copies for them as “stocking stuffers.” The books cost $3.99 at Amazon (https://amzn.to/3ijkZQm), or purchase them in the church office during the week and save shipping.
Tom
Tom Goodman serves as pastor at Hillcrest Church in Austin, Texas. His sermons are available on YouTube and the HillcrestToGo Podcast and you can find him on Facebook and Twitter. If someone forwarded this email newsletter to you, sign up here to receive Tom’s weekly devotional in your email inbox.