Yesterday we defined worship as giving worth to God, or in other words, acknowledging he is at the center of our lives, or we want him there if he isn’t.

Worship is about practicing God’s Presence.  We can forget God is there in our busy lives, and something tangible can help.  A friend of mine mentioned Elf on the Shelf on Facebook.  Elf on the Shelf is a small elf doll that parents are supposed to hide somewhere in the house every night, claiming he is a “scout elf” who reports back to Santa.  The elf becomes a visible symbol for small children who might forget that Santa is watching.

Worship is meant to be a visible symbol for those of us who might forget God is watching.

In the busyness of our everyday lives, we cannot always remember that God is with us.  In spite of our best intentions we may find ourselves living and acting without regard to the fact that God is present in every aspect of our lives.

Sometimes we think something in our lives is coincidence, but God is actually doing something incredible.  Sometimes we will find resources are suddenly supplied that we needed, and will think it was luck or our skills, when it was in fact God’s provision.

We want to develop an increasing sensitivity to God’s presence with us. We know that we develop skills and get better at things by practicing: an old saying reminds us practice makes perfect.  It would be more truthful to say that practice reinforces, but in this case reinforcement is good enough. We need a way to reinforce our awareness of God’s presence in our lives.

Question: When have you seen God working in the last week?  What seeming coincidences were there?

Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - March 6, 2014

Thursday - Act On It - Reset Family

Families learn through routines. One blog author wrote: “What families regard as important is evidenced by the manner in which they spend their time.” How do we spend our time? Watching TV, playing video games, or shopping? Sadly, many families devote more time to these things than they do teaching their children about God, or just simply spending quality time together.” http://theresurgence.com/2009/08/19/discipleship-starts-at-home-part-1 Yesterday we talked about teaching Christian values in day to day life, but what about teaching them the source of those values? Today we’ll focus on reading the Bible together. Here are some tips from http://theresurgence.com/2009/08/22/discipleship-starts-at-home-part-2 Find a good children’s Bible. Remember to have fun with your children while learning the Bible. Keep the time brief to hold the child's attention. Recite the verse several times a day in your child's presence so it becomes familiar to them. Make flash cards with Scripture on one side and the book, chapter, and verse on the other. Put the verse to music or rhythm. Your child will enjoy singing and clapping their hands. Think of fun activities to make the verse fun and easy to remember. Tell them you are proud of them and have them recite it to someone else, like a grandparent or teacher. Pray with your children every day at meals and before they go to bed at night. Some other resources: http://www.sermons4kids.com/ and http://www.dltk-kids.com/ Challenge: What routines will you introduce into your personal and/or family life to practice Christian faith? How can RTC support you as a family? What kind of church community would help you disciple your children? Complete our survey here: Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8TS7K93

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