Whole-Person Worship

Overview
Generally when we speak of worship, we mean the time set aside for songs during our Sunday services. But worship is really so much moreit is the response of every part of our being to the worth of God, all the time! Jesus teaches that what matters most, the greatest commandment, is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourself. (Luke 10:27) That love for God and, in light of Gods mercy, love for neighbor, is worship. We often find ourselves fragmented, however. Our mind might be aware of Gods goodness, but our soul is restless and fractured. Our heart wills to follow God, but our body is trained to run toward immediate gratification. How can we come to bring our whole person to worship God? This practice aims, first and foremost, at just getting familiar with the various parts of our humanitymind, heart, body, social context, and souland tasting how each part plays a role in worship. For more from the Bible, look at Psalm 86:11; Romans 12:12; Psalm 19:7; Romans 6:12-13; Colossians 3:12-14.

For more on these practices, visit www.fbcslo.org/pages/online-resources

Practicing
The following are mini-experiments to try out. Theres lots of room for creativity here! You might try one experiment a day for a set period; alternately, you might take a day with God and move through them in a natural progression (mind -> heart -> body -> soul -> social context). Love God with Your Mind Memorize a short bit of scripture that catches your attention. After you have it memorized, mull over it word by word. Allow your meditation to move into talking with God. Love God with Your Heart (Will/Affections) Fasting is a useful discipline in training our heartby abstaining for a short period from something good, we discover that Gods presence is more important than even food. Then we are prepared to follow God rather than our desires. Fast from two meals in a row. Allow your hunger to be a reminder that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (You might also use the time to to mull over the verse you memorized.) Love God with Your Body Spend some time alone in prayer and worship, using your body to express your words. Kneeling, bowing, sitting in silence, lying facedown, dancing, standing with arms outstretched, even lying down for a nap could all be meaningful expressions of what your words and heart are saying. See if using your body helps your enter your prayer more fully. Love God with Your Soul Your soul brings all of your various parts into one coherent life; the disordered soul cant pull it together, and needs God to restore it. (Ps 23:3) Largely, the soul needs to rest in Gods rule and presence. Try a breath prayera repeated prayer that is said with the rhythm of your breathsuch as, Abba,/ I belong to you, or, Into your hands/ I commend my soul. Return to this prayer throughout your day, releasing your life into Gods hands. Love God with Your Social Context Spend a day intentionally listening to others. In fact, try to be silent as much as is possible without being rude. When others are talking, pay attention rather than thinking of your own story or response.