Superbowl Sunday
I learned today that the average 30-second commercial during the Superbowl costs 4.1 millions dollars. Last year, the Superbowl had 111.3 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched programs on television. It is estimated that 8 millions pounds of guacamole and 14,500 tons of chips will be consumed this coming Sunday. That puts Superbowl Sunday in second place for the most food purchased and eaten in one day...after Thanksgiving. More than likely, you already have plans to purchase some Velveeta and head on over to a friend's house this Sunday for some hearty snacking, fellowship, and football. This just goes to show you just how crazy people will go over the Superbowl.
We see it everywhere.
People go crazy over their favorite sports teams. They paint their chests, fill out brackets, and jump all over each other when their team scores. People go crazy over their favorite actors and actresses. They hang posters on their walls, watch all the award ceremonies, and know all the trivia. People go crazy over their favorite movie releases. They request off work months in advance, wait in line outside the theater for the midnight showing, and dress up like their favorite characters.
We see it everywhere.
The other night while I was working, one of the nurses went absolutely berzerk over a winning score for the Razorbacks' basketball team. I heard her screaming all the way down the hallway. She came rushing in the nursing office, out of breath with excitement, trying to explain to us that it was one of the greatest plays she had ever seen. "I can't believe you missed it!" And so she pulled up the play on her phone, and we watched it over and over again. I have to admit, it was pretty cool.
But half the fun was just watching her frenzied excitement. She just couldn't get over it. "You guys probably think I'm crazy," she confessed, "but this just gets me so excited! I mean, what makes you excited like that? Is there anything that just makes you this happy?"
And so we see it everywhere: the craving for worship.
We long to admire and adore our favorite teams and celebrities because we were wired to do just that: adore and admire something or someone beyond ourselves. All the hype, all the celebration, all the exaltation...it all points to our innate wiring for worship.
Worship at it's heart is giving something of value and excellence the worth that it is due. I've heard it said that worship is worth-ship, that is, giving something worth. Buried deep within every human heart is the desire for worship. That's why we go crazy over our favorite celebrities and sports teams. That's why we love big events like the Superbowl and the Grammy Awards. That's why we dress up for midnight showings. We crave worship. We want to praise and value things that we perceive are of excellence and worth. This is evidence of the Creator God's mark on us. We were created to worship Him, but somehow in the middle of a broken world, people have exchanged the worship of the Creator for the worship of lesser things.
Now don't cancel your plans for the Superbowl party or feel guilty for dressing up as a vampire for the last Twilight movie. I love watching people get excited and go crazy about the things that they love because it can actually point us back to this one important thing...we were created to worship, and Jesus is worthy of all the hype, celebration, exaltation, and adoration that we can give.
"What makes you excited like that? What makes you want to scream and shout and jump up and down?" she asked. What if I had said, "Jesus!"? She probably would have looked at me like I was crazy. But isn't that what we did at Passion two weeks ago? We worshiped with singing, shouting, dancing, and jumping up and down. The glory and grace of God makes us that excited - even more excited than any touchdown or three-pointer ever could. For God is the most valuable, excellent, and worthy being in the whole universe. He is the greatest treasure and the only one worthy of absolute worship.
The fullest definition of worship revolves around Him: giving praise, glory, and admiration to the one who is most excellent, valuable, and worthy. If there was one thread that ties every story in the Bible together, it is the thread of worship. From the beginning, God created humanity to be a multitude of worshipers. That's why He originally said, "Be fruitful and multiply". He doesn't seek worship for Himself because He is selfish or insecure, but because He knows His own worth, and He also knows that our fullest joy is found in Him. And so he created us for worship, knowing that our pursuit of worship (our pursuit of Him) would actually be our pursuit of utmost happiness.
From the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, God's purpose has been to gather for Himself a global community of worshipers. That's why He called Abraham's family, the people of Israel, to become a missionary family to the nations. That's why He led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. "Let my people go," Moses said, "so that they may go and worship me." David and Goliath. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel and the Lions' Den. God performed these extraordinary events for a purpose, and in each story you will find a verse along these lines: "so that the nations will see there is a God in Israel". God acted in these miraculous ways to show the observing people that He alone is God, and perhaps they would worship Him. The prophets prophesied so that the nations would know and worship Him. Christ came to make God known so that he could be worshiped. And Revelation proclaims that the end result will be a global gathering of worshipers from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation (Rev 9:7). So the whole Bible is about worship.
And so our whole lives should be about worship.
It all makes sense. This is why people want to worship things. We were created to worship. This is also why people who don't know Christ are still searching for something to worship - because we were created to worship Him. This is why God has acted the way He has all throughout history - because He is worthy of worship. This is why my heart is so satisfied when I go to Passion or worship with other believers at church or in homes - because we were created to worship. And this is why I want to do missions - so that God will be worshiped.
God is still in the process of gathering together a global community of worshipers, and we get to be a part of that mission. That's what life has to be all about. Worship.
So grab your Velveeta, Rotel, and chips from the store and thoroughly enjoy your Superbowl Sunday. I personally will be enjoying the guacamole and commercials more than the game itself, but in all the hype and hoopla, remember one thing. Maybe even share it with your neighbors who come to your house to watch the second most-viewed sporting event in history. We are wired for the worship and enjoyment of Jesus. That's what its all about.
We see it everywhere.
People go crazy over their favorite sports teams. They paint their chests, fill out brackets, and jump all over each other when their team scores. People go crazy over their favorite actors and actresses. They hang posters on their walls, watch all the award ceremonies, and know all the trivia. People go crazy over their favorite movie releases. They request off work months in advance, wait in line outside the theater for the midnight showing, and dress up like their favorite characters.
We see it everywhere.
The other night while I was working, one of the nurses went absolutely berzerk over a winning score for the Razorbacks' basketball team. I heard her screaming all the way down the hallway. She came rushing in the nursing office, out of breath with excitement, trying to explain to us that it was one of the greatest plays she had ever seen. "I can't believe you missed it!" And so she pulled up the play on her phone, and we watched it over and over again. I have to admit, it was pretty cool.
But half the fun was just watching her frenzied excitement. She just couldn't get over it. "You guys probably think I'm crazy," she confessed, "but this just gets me so excited! I mean, what makes you excited like that? Is there anything that just makes you this happy?"
And so we see it everywhere: the craving for worship.
We long to admire and adore our favorite teams and celebrities because we were wired to do just that: adore and admire something or someone beyond ourselves. All the hype, all the celebration, all the exaltation...it all points to our innate wiring for worship.
Worship at it's heart is giving something of value and excellence the worth that it is due. I've heard it said that worship is worth-ship, that is, giving something worth. Buried deep within every human heart is the desire for worship. That's why we go crazy over our favorite celebrities and sports teams. That's why we love big events like the Superbowl and the Grammy Awards. That's why we dress up for midnight showings. We crave worship. We want to praise and value things that we perceive are of excellence and worth. This is evidence of the Creator God's mark on us. We were created to worship Him, but somehow in the middle of a broken world, people have exchanged the worship of the Creator for the worship of lesser things.
Now don't cancel your plans for the Superbowl party or feel guilty for dressing up as a vampire for the last Twilight movie. I love watching people get excited and go crazy about the things that they love because it can actually point us back to this one important thing...we were created to worship, and Jesus is worthy of all the hype, celebration, exaltation, and adoration that we can give.
"What makes you excited like that? What makes you want to scream and shout and jump up and down?" she asked. What if I had said, "Jesus!"? She probably would have looked at me like I was crazy. But isn't that what we did at Passion two weeks ago? We worshiped with singing, shouting, dancing, and jumping up and down. The glory and grace of God makes us that excited - even more excited than any touchdown or three-pointer ever could. For God is the most valuable, excellent, and worthy being in the whole universe. He is the greatest treasure and the only one worthy of absolute worship.
The fullest definition of worship revolves around Him: giving praise, glory, and admiration to the one who is most excellent, valuable, and worthy. If there was one thread that ties every story in the Bible together, it is the thread of worship. From the beginning, God created humanity to be a multitude of worshipers. That's why He originally said, "Be fruitful and multiply". He doesn't seek worship for Himself because He is selfish or insecure, but because He knows His own worth, and He also knows that our fullest joy is found in Him. And so he created us for worship, knowing that our pursuit of worship (our pursuit of Him) would actually be our pursuit of utmost happiness.
From the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation, God's purpose has been to gather for Himself a global community of worshipers. That's why He called Abraham's family, the people of Israel, to become a missionary family to the nations. That's why He led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. "Let my people go," Moses said, "so that they may go and worship me." David and Goliath. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel and the Lions' Den. God performed these extraordinary events for a purpose, and in each story you will find a verse along these lines: "so that the nations will see there is a God in Israel". God acted in these miraculous ways to show the observing people that He alone is God, and perhaps they would worship Him. The prophets prophesied so that the nations would know and worship Him. Christ came to make God known so that he could be worshiped. And Revelation proclaims that the end result will be a global gathering of worshipers from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation (Rev 9:7). So the whole Bible is about worship.
And so our whole lives should be about worship.
It all makes sense. This is why people want to worship things. We were created to worship. This is also why people who don't know Christ are still searching for something to worship - because we were created to worship Him. This is why God has acted the way He has all throughout history - because He is worthy of worship. This is why my heart is so satisfied when I go to Passion or worship with other believers at church or in homes - because we were created to worship. And this is why I want to do missions - so that God will be worshiped.
God is still in the process of gathering together a global community of worshipers, and we get to be a part of that mission. That's what life has to be all about. Worship.
So grab your Velveeta, Rotel, and chips from the store and thoroughly enjoy your Superbowl Sunday. I personally will be enjoying the guacamole and commercials more than the game itself, but in all the hype and hoopla, remember one thing. Maybe even share it with your neighbors who come to your house to watch the second most-viewed sporting event in history. We are wired for the worship and enjoyment of Jesus. That's what its all about.
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