Optional Kids Practice
Invite the kids in your group to be with the adults for a few minutes. Once they seem ready to engage, talk to them about the following prompt. If you think it would be helpful, explain to the kids that the grown-ups will be talking about how we can worship even when things in life feel difficult or painful, and you want to include them by talking about it with them for a few minutes.
Jesus experienced the painfulness of life and expressed both anger and sadness at times. In Mark 3, Jesus wanted to heal a man with a hurt hand, but some other people thought he shouldn’t because it was the Sabbath (a day for everyone to rest). Jesus got angry and sad because the people were so stubborn and didn’t want the man to be healed. But Jesus healed him anyway!
- Can you describe a time when life felt painful and you were angry or sad?
- When Jesus was angry or sad, how do you think he responded? How do you think he feels when you’re angry or sad?
Jesus responded to his emotions by bringing them to his Father and doing what the Father called him to (like healing the man with the hurt hand). In that way, he was still able to worship God even when he was angry or sad!
Begin with prayer
Gather together as a Community in a comfortable setting. Take a moment in silence, in the presence of Jesus and each other. Have one person read Ephesians 4v25-27 over the group and then pray to ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide your time together.
Debrief the most recent teaching
- What did you take away from the teaching, and how has it added to what God is doing in your life?
- What did you do this past week to intentionally show your love and devotion to God? How did that time go?
Read this overview
When we think about Worship, chances are we don’t often think about pain, anger, or sadness. Remember, we’re defining Worship as the expression and display of love and devotion to someone or something that is ultimate in a person’s life.
But think about this in the context of any other relationship you have. If you are experiencing anger or sadness with a friend, family member, or significant other, that doesn’t mean your displays of love and devotion to that person stop. In a healthy relationship, you can still come to that person in love and, at the same time, express the reality of your pain and emotions.
It’s no different with God; he can handle all our emotions! Expressing the reality of our sadness, anger, frustration, and brokenness to God can actually become an avenue for worship. In bringing those things to God in vulnerability, we’re expressing that our hope and security are found in him, and that our love and devotion belong to him first.
Discuss the following prompts
- Spend a moment thinking about how you typically respond when something painful happens in life that leads to sadness, anger, or another difficult emotion. Then, go around the room and share what came to mind.
- What would it look like for you to bring all your emotions to God while also keeping an attitude of worship?
- How does Scripture talk about our anger and sadness? How do we see people in the Bible bring their emotions to God in worship?
Practicing right now:
If your Community has time tonight, take a handful of moments to reflect and respond to Psalm 13.
Have one person read through the Psalm slowly. As it’s read, notice what emotions are being expressed. Sit quietly reflecting on this for a moment.
Have the person read the Psalm slowly again. This time, focus primarily on the final two verses (5-6). What is the Psalmist’s ultimate response towards God, even in the face of pain? Sit quietly and reflect on this for a moment.
After a moment, take a few minutes to discuss as a group how bringing your pain and emotions to God can be an act of Worship. If you find it difficult to worship in the midst of life’s difficult circumstances, talk about ways your Community can support and encourage you as you seek to worship God in all your emotions.
Practicing this week:
This week, you will set aside time to write your own Psalm that expresses the true emotions you are feeling. This could be a Psalm of lament (expressing your sadness or the difficulties of your life, like Psalm 13 that we read above) an imprecatory Psalm (one that expresses your anger and calls for God to express his own anger and act in judgement, such as Psalm 35), or a Psalm that expresses any other emotion.
The goal here is not necessarily to be poetic or use fancy language. Your Psalm can be as simple or complex as you want, as long as it expresses your true emotions to God. If it helps, you can think of this exercise as simply writing out a prayer addressed to God, much like you might do in a journal entry.
Towards the end of your Psalm, include some lines expressing your gratitude and love for God, acknowledging that he’s willing to listen to even your most difficult thoughts and emotions.
Be ready to share how your experience went the next time your Community meets. If you’re willing, even consider sharing your personal Psalm with the group.
Close in prayer
End by having someone read Hebrews 4v14-16 over the group.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.