Apr. 26, 2026

Thanksgiving is good, Thanks-living is better! That is, "Worship is a Lifestyle."

 Pastor Dave's sermon begins at 18:20 min into the video. The music “Crown Him With Many Crowns ", "I will worship (I will worship)", "Be Unto Your Name", “What a Beautiful Name”, and “Refiner's Fire” are licensed under CCLI Copyright #2723035 and Streaming Media #22024223 licenses.

Romans 12:1–2 anchors this message, and the theme is straightforward: worship is not something we do for an hour on Sunday morning — it is a God-honoring life, lived daily in relationship with Him. Pastor Dave opened the third week of a post-Easter series asking the congregation to think carefully about why we gather and what worship actually means.

1. In View of His Mercy - Pastor Dave walked through several passages from Romans that Paul had already laid before his readers before arriving at chapter 12: justification and peace (Romans 5:1), ongoing safety in salvation (Romans 5:10), being made alive to God (Romans 6), no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1), and nothing separating us from God's love (Romans 8:38–39). The point was cumulative — before Paul says do this, he reminds us of everything God has already done. As Pastor Dave put it, "People who don't worship God are people who don't acknowledge that God has been good to them." Awareness of God's mercy is what fuels a worshipful life.

2. Present Yourself — An Act of the Will - The language of Romans 12:1 is deliberately sacrificial, but with a twist. In the Old Testament, the lamb had no say in the matter. Pastor Dave noted with a grin, "I guarantee you there were no lambs lined up saying, 'Pick me today.'" But Paul calls us to something different — a willing, ongoing surrender. "It's not forced, it's not coerced, it's not manipulated. It's something you make a conscious choice to do." This is not a one-time event but a continual, daily dedication of our whole selves to God.

3. Holy Means Set Apart, Not Rule-Keeping - Pastor Dave was careful to reframe the word holy. It is not a checklist of dos and don'ts — it is a life set apart for God's purposes. He used the illustration of a room in a home so nicely furnished that guests weren't even allowed to step on the carpet. "That's what the word holy means. It means set apart to some service." He applied the same idea to the church building itself: it's not a barn, not a garage, not a bar — it's dedicated to a specific purpose. Our lives, he said, are meant to be dedicated the same way.

4. Whatever You Do — All of It - Weaving together Colossians 3:23–24, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:17, Matthew 5:16, and 1 Corinthians 6:20, Pastor Dave built a case that worship covers every corner of life — speech, work, eating, relationships, sexuality, money. He closed this section with a quote he'd found: "The Lord has many fine farms from which He receives little rent. Thanksgiving is good, but thanks-living is better."

Conclusion - Pastor Dave closed with a quiet moment of personal prayer and dedication, inviting the congregation to use the printed prayer on their outline as a surrender of their will to God. The challenge was simple and weighty: in view of everything God has done for you, the least — and the most logical — response is to offer your whole life back to Him. That, he said, is worship.