Sunday, February 16, 2025

Unhindered Worship:
Panel Discussion

Read Revelation 2:2-5

Through different seasons in our lives, we can experience hindrances to our worship. If we are not fully engaged in worship, we must ask ourselves: what blockages or barriers are preventing us from thanksgiving and devotion?

In Sunday’s discussion, we explored personal stories from members of our church community that revisited themes and key lessons from the whole series.

Five Key Lessons for Unhindered Worship:

1. We Must Learn to Return to Our First Love

• Like the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:2-5), we can be diligent in faith but lose our awe and delight for God.

• Worship starts with a heart fully engaged in love for God.

• We must remember what it was like – how we felt and acted – when we first discovered Jesus.  
  

2. We Must Learn to Shift Our Focus

• Worship isn’t about how we feel; it’s about God’s holiness and worthiness.

• True worship happens when we realize we are not the center; God is.

• Tim Keller: “Worship is seeing what God is worth…and giving Him what he’s worth.”

• We must shift our focus from the troubles or the priorities of our lives, and start living more focused on Him.
  

3. We Must Learn to Stop Striving, Start Surrendering

• Worship isn’t about performance—it’s about yielding to God’s grace so we can receive the promise of peace.

• True peace comes through letting go of the things we seek to do in our own strength and trust in God.

• While our natural tendency is to work to earn God’s approval or reward, we are already saved by grace.

• Jesus says, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30)
  

4. We Must Learn to Pursue Real Connection

• Knowing about God isn’t the same as knowing Him personally.

• Singing songs and quoting scripture

• Worship must move beyond routine into a genuine relationship.

5. We Must Learn to Worship Through the Storm

• Worship isn’t dependent on circumstances but on God’s unchanging worth.

• Like Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16), worship should not be dependent on our current circumstances, but on who God is.

• Worship keeps our hearts anchored in the midst of trials.

Discussion Questions

1. In your own life, how have you learned to recognize when distractions—whether idols, comparison, or busyness—are hindering your worship and connection with God? What helps you realign your heart when you notice this happening?

2. Can you share a time when worship felt difficult—whether due to difficult circumstances, disappointment, or spiritual dryness? How did you continue to pursue worship in that season?

3. Talk about a time you’ve struggled with feeling like you need to perform for God rather than simply surrender in worship. What has helped you shift from performance to a posture of surrender?

Closing Prayer

• Pray together, thanking God for his goodness, holiness, faithfulness, and his worthiness in our worship.

• Lift up any specific prayers relevant to tonight’s discussion.

• End with a prayer of blessing, asking the Holy Spirit to seal this time and continue His transforming work in each heart.