Why We Worship God: Adoption, Redemption, and Hope
This teaching explored why we worship God and what happens when we recognize who God is and what He has done for us through Jesus. Ephesians 1:3–14 reminds us that we have been chosen, adopted, redeemed, and given an inheritance, giving us a reason to live with gratitude, hope, and praise.
This Week’s Sermon: Why Worship?
Key Takeaways
- Why we worship God begins with recognizing that He is at the center of reality and our lives make more sense when we put Him there.
- God has chosen, adopted, and redeemed us through Jesus, not because we earned it but because He wanted to bring us into His life.
- Worship is more than singing; it is the natural response that flows from seeing God accurately and recognizing His goodness.
- God does not simply rescue us from something; He rescues us for something, giving us an inheritance and a future with Him.
- Understanding why we worship God can reorient our perspective and help us live with greater hope, purpose, and gratitude.
Sermon Highlights: Why We Worship God
Have you ever found yourself doing something simply because everyone else seems to be doing it? Maybe that is how church worship can feel sometimes. We sing, we pray, we take communion, but have you ever stopped to ask, “Why are we doing this?”
That question is at the heart of this week’s teaching. Why we worship God is not simply about singing songs or participating in a church service. Worship is about recognizing what is most valuable, putting God at the center of our lives, and allowing that reality to reshape how we see everything else.
Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching
The big idea is simple: we worship because God is worthy, and because recognizing His goodness reorients our lives.
The sermon described worship as “worthship,” the relationship we have with something we value. God is not asking us to worship because He needs compliments or affirmation. We are the ones who need worship because when something other than God becomes the center of our lives, everything else can become distorted. When God is at the center, our vision begins to line up with reality.
“But when you put God at the center where he actually is, and when your mind fits with the real world that’s around you, everything else falls into place.”
That gives us an important starting point for understanding why we worship God. Worship isn’t about giving God something He lacks. It is about seeing Him for who He is and allowing that truth to change us.
Key Scriptures
Ephesians 1:3–14
Paul begins his letter with an extended expression of praise, celebrating what God has done through Jesus. The passage highlights adoption, redemption, inclusion in God’s plan, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1
Used to connect our identity and future with God’s original purpose for humanity. We were created in God’s image to participate with Him in caring for and developing the world He made.
Matthew 25 and Revelation
Were referenced to point toward the future God is moving history toward: His people receiving an inheritance and participating in His renewed creation.
1. Worship Starts with Seeing God Clearly
The sermon began with a question many of us have probably asked in one form or another: Why does God need so much praise? The answer is that God doesn’t need our worship. We do.
When we make something other than God the center of our lives, everything else gets skewed. Work, relationships, money, success, comfort, approval, and even our own struggles can become bigger than they were meant to be. But when God is at the center, everything else can find its proper place.
This is one reason why we worship God in ordinary life, not just during a Sunday gathering. Worship helps us pay attention to what is actually true.
2. Worship Is Rooted in What He Has Done for Us
Ephesians 1 gives us several reasons to praise God. We are told that God chose us, adopted us through Jesus, redeemed us, and included us in His larger purpose.
The picture of adoption in the sermon is especially powerful. God didn’t create humanity because He was lacking something. He created humanity because He wanted to share the goodness, love, and relationship that already existed within Father, Son, and Spirit. The invitation is to become part of that relationship.
That changes the way we understand our identity. We don’t have to spend our lives trying to prove that we belong. In Christ, we have already been welcomed to the table.
3. Worship Includes Redemption and a New Purpose
The sermon also explored the meaning of redemption. In the biblical picture, redemption involves being bought back from a situation of slavery and brought into freedom. Through Jesus, God doesn’t simply rescue us from something. He rescues us for something.
That distinction matters. Following Jesus isn’t only about being forgiven for the past or escaping punishment. It is about being brought into God’s family, receiving an inheritance, and becoming part of what God is doing in the world.
“When God gave us Jesus, he gave us adoption. He gave us redemption. And he gave us an inheritance.”
This gives everyday life a different kind of purpose. Our story is bigger than our mistakes, our disappointments, or our current circumstances.
4. Worship Points Us Toward the Table
One of the most memorable images from the teaching was the picture of God’s presence as a table. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are pictured in relationship, sharing life together, and we are invited into that relationship. The image communicates something deeply personal: God doesn’t merely tolerate our presence. He welcomes us.
That same picture came into focus during communion. We come to the table because Jesus has made a place for us. The bread and wine remind us that God’s invitation is not abstract. God has given Himself to us.
Understanding why we worship God means learning to see our lives through that invitation. We are not outsiders trying to earn our way in. We are people who have been welcomed.
Practicing This Week
- Start each morning by naming one thing about God that you are grateful for.
- When worry or frustration takes over, pause and ask what has become the center of your attention.
- Read Ephesians 1:3–14 slowly several times and notice the things Paul says God has done for you.
- When you take communion, picture yourself coming to God’s table with Jesus rather than approaching God as someone who has to earn His welcome.
- Look for one ordinary moment when you can respond to God’s goodness with praise.
Questions for Reflection
- What tends to become the center of your attention when life feels uncertain?
- How does understanding why we worship God change the way you think about worship?
- Which part of Ephesians 1:3–14 most encourages you right now: being chosen, adopted, redeemed, or receiving an inheritance?
- What would it look like to live this week as someone who already knows they are welcomed at God’s table?
- Where might God be inviting you to notice His goodness instead of remaining focused on your circumstances?
Why we worship God ultimately comes back to Jesus. Through Him, we have been welcomed into God’s family, redeemed from what enslaves us, and given hope for the future.
We don’t have to manufacture gratitude or perform our way into God’s presence. The invitation has already been extended. So perhaps worship begins with simply paying attention. Pay attention to who God is, what He has done, and the grace that has already been given.
And then, like Paul in Ephesians 1, perhaps praise becomes less something we have to force and more something that naturally rises from seeing the truth clearly.
