Challenge: Reflect on how you are uniquely created by God. What ways do you think you uniquely connect best with God?

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” Mark 12:30 NLT

Each of us is uniquely created to connect with worship in different ways. Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Pathways, describes nine different ways we might be created to worship.  Take a moment to look through the list.  Which one(s) do you relate to best? There might be more than one!

• Naturalists — love God best outdoors. These people worship in the midst of God’s creation. They celebrate His majesty and discover spiritual truths through nature.

• Sensates — love God through their senses. These people worship through sensual experiences — sights (like art), sounds (music), smells, and more.

• Traditionalists — love God through religious ritual and symbols. These people worship through traditions and sacraments of the Church. They believe structure, repetition, and rigidity, like weekly liturgy, leads to deeper understanding of God and faith.

• Ascetics — love God in solitude and simplicity. These people worship through prayer and quiet time, and the absence of all outside noise and distraction.

• Activists — love God through confrontation, fighting for godly principles and values. They worship through their dedication to and participation in God’s truth about social and evangelistic causes.

• Caregivers — love God by serving others, and worship by giving of themselves. They may nurse the sick and disabled, “adopt” a prisoner, donate time at a shelter, etc.

• Enthusiasts — love God through mystery and celebration. These people worship with outward displays of passion and enthusiasm. They love God with gusto!

• Contemplatives — love God through adoration. These people worship by their attentiveness, deep love, and intimacy. They have an active prayer life

• Intellectuals — love God with their mind and their hearts are opened up to a new attentiveness when they understand something new about God. These people worship through intense study, apologetics, and intellectual pursuits of their faith.

For more information on these nine ways to worship, check out these links:

• https://garythomas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/sacredpathways.pdf

• https://media.focusonthefamily.com/fotf/pdf/fof_daily_broadcast/2014/ffde-20140416-9-sacred-pathways-final.pdf https://garythomas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/sacredpathways.pdf

Challenge: Create a playlist of your favorite worship songs.

“Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy! Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song, with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn. Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King!” Psalm 98-4-6 NLT

All over scripture we see examples of people using song to worship God. Even if you’re not musically inclined you can still worship through song by listening along! Use Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon music or something else to create a playlist of worship songs. Put on this playlist when you’re driving or doing dishes and let ordinary moments become moments of worship!

Looking for some music inspiration? Check out Fusion’s playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0belwRcoACoS531UTBcciZ?si=Vc6o5peDQHWW8YtwSwnmQg

Challenge: Discuss with a family member or friend a quote from Fusion’s Sunday message that stuck with you.

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NLT

The things we learn about God aren’t meant to just be kept to ourselves! We are meant to talk about them in community and help each other live them out! Proverbs 27:17 (NLT) says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Talking about what we are learning helps us sharpen each other. So today we challenge you to take what you’ve learned on Sunday and discuss it further with friends and/or family throughout the week.

For kids: Discuss what you learned at children’s church!

Bonus: Take this challenge step further by posting your favorite Sunday quote on social media and use the hashtag #FusionLentChallenge.

Challenge: Invite someone to worship with you either by coming with you in person or by sharing the livestream with them.

“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another” Hebrews 10:25 NLT

Everyone likes to be invited! And everyone desires a place to belong. Especially in this season, some might feel like they are lacking that encouragement that comes from being in community. Sometimes all it takes is an invitation from a friend to find that community and encouragement again. We know that right now meeting looks differently for some, but we can still find fellowship with each other online too! So however is best for you in this season, encourage someone to join you in our Fusion community in person or online.

Challenge: Draw an image that represents something that stuck out to you from worship.

The Bible is full of imagery and metaphors that help us picture who God is a little bit better. Sometimes images help us to understand things better than just words alone can do! Today draw an image that represents something that stuck out to you from worship. It could be a lyric from a song, a story from scripture, or a phrase or thought shared in the message. See how you understand God in a different way through this practice!