What makes the singing time at church special and important?  How can I participate in worship if I’m not a good singer or musician?  What’s the correct way to bring my emotions into worshiping God?  This week we’ll explore the connection between worship and music and practice whole-heartedly engaging in worship together. 

Groups Discussion Guide

To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here.

To view a .docx version of this guide, click here.

Introduction 

Take a few minutes to connect with your group. How is everyone doing?  

Last week we talked about looking for ways to prioritize God in your life and worship him in ways besides the common notion of worship being only through music. How have you been able to worship God throughout the week? 

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.  

Key Verse for the Week 

*Read this verse, then encourage the practice of memorization through the week. 

Psalm 146:2 

“I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.” 

**When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us. 

Connect   

• How do you express how you are feeling to those around you? 
• How important do you think body language is in a person’s life? What are some examples of this in your life? 
  • How does loving someone or something deeply affect how you interact with the person or item? 
• What usually affects your ability to express yourself to God throughout the day or with other followers of Jesus? Why are these factors important to you?  

Opening Thought  

 Throughout the bible we read about multiple examples of how worship is tied to music and open expressions of gratitude and praise to God, yet sometimes in our church culture it can be seen as something that isn’t always necessary. We can get into the thought that we all worship in diverse ways. While this is true, and though worship is intended to be a lifestyle and heart condition, that does not exempt believers from the command and example in Scripture to worship with music and song.  

This leads us to our big idea for this week:  

Big idea for the week
We can use music and song to bring God the praise he deserves. 

Unpack 

The first section of verses we are reading comes from the book of Psalms, which is written by various leaders of Ancient Israel. Ask 1 person to read through these verses. Listen as the verses are read and respond to the questions afterwards.  

Read

Psalm 146:1-10  

Unpack

• According to the verses you just read, what is there to praise God for? How often do you think about these reasons to praise God?  
• Why do you think we tend to become numb to the praiseworthy characteristics of God?  
  • What other things do you find yourself making more important than God throughout your daily life? 

Read

Psalm 96:1-3 

Colossians 3:16-17 

Psalm 105:2 

Psalm 149:1-5 

Unpack

• Why do you think external and creative expressions of praising God are emphasized often in the Bible? 
• Why do you think people normally only associate worship through music with a church building? What do these verses say about when and where we should praise God? 
  • How can praising God with our whole body help us orient our lives towards Jesus better? 
• What does it look like to others when you love something with everything you have? How often do you show your love for God like this? 
  • How does consistently participating in open worship of God inspire others around you to follow suit?  

Apply 

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be: 

• Beginning this week, how will you integrate worshipping God through music into your life? 
• How will you take a vulnerable step toward participating in worship through music this week? 
• How will we as a group take steps to draw closer to Jesus in the way we take part in and interact with musical worship? 

Closing 

Read the first section to your group, then read the verse out loud to the group, and finally, move to the Prayer and Verses section: 

Participating in worship through music and song is one way that we can praise God for the things he has done and express our emotions to God. As we whole-heartedly spend time in worship to God, we can show our expectation that God is going to respond by both drawing us closer to him and inviting those around us to spend time with God in the same way. Let’s all do this together!  

Prayer and Verses 

Ask for prayer requests and conclude your time with prayer then share the Key Verse for the Week and Daily Devotional Verses with the group.Daily Devotional Verses  

Daily Devotional Verses

Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below. 

Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. 
Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? 
Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? 
Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned. 

Day 1: Psalm 49:4 

Day 2: Psalm 96:1-2 

Day 3: Psalm 33:2 

Day 4: John 4:24 

Day 5: Psalm 150:4 

Day 6: Psalm 5:11 

Key Verse for the Week  

Psalm 146:2 

“I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.”