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You must not worship the Lord your God the way those nations worship their gods\u201d (Deuteronomy 12:4).

Our text requires us to stop and ponder. It\u2019s the kind of instruction which needs quiet reflection. Here\u2019s why. Israel was coming out of Egypt and going into the promised land. For 400 years they had watched the Egyptians worship their gods. Now they were going into new territory where the gods were worshipped differently. Since there was no established worshipping tradition in Israel it would be natural to worship God by imitating the Egyptians or to adopt some of the practices they would see in Canaan.

But Moses says, \u201cDon\u2019t do that, do not adopt the religious practices of the nations around you.\u201d It is a word we need to hear as well. No, I am not suggesting that we currently follow Egyptian or Canaanite worship practices. But I am suggesting that we pick up bad practices along the course of our lives. Let me suggest some ways. But you will need to ponder your own life to determine if you worship God well.

While Pastor Anthony was on Sabbatical, I used Romans 12 as my preaching text. It begins by telling us \u2018to offer our bodies as living sacrifices\u2026this is the right way to worship. Don\u2019t live like the world does.\u2019 Doesn\u2019t this sound like Moses in our text? Some of us still limit our religion to Sundays. If we give God time on Sundays and maybe a few quick prayers during the week, God should be happy with us. Proper worship of God, as they say, is 24/7.

This also reminds me of Isaiah 58 in which the prophet tears a strip off Israel. They are going through all the proper motions of worship at the temple, but once they leave, they return to their unholy living. Their business practices and personal relationships are rooted in evil. They have no concern for living justly. The same can be true of us. We turn away from the poor and ignore the calls to live more stewardly on this earth. We fail to acknowledge that natural disasters always have the greatest negative impact on the poor.

The Bible is quite clear, God will not accept worship from people that ignore the plight of the needy. We can get all the rituals and traditions right, but if our hearts do not pulse with the mercy of God than all our worship is just smoke and mirrors. God hates it (Amos 5:21).

JFK is famous for his line, \u201cAsk not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.\u201d We do well to rephrase this for our relationship with the church and its worship services. Of course, we all ought to benefit from being part of a Christian community. But if our primary motivation is to \u2018get something\u2019 out of the church or her worships services, the church will disappoint. Our motive ought to be, \u201c'It is more blessed to give than to receive\u201d (Acts 20:35).

So how do we worship God properly? As Paul says, \u201cIn view of God\u2019s mercy\u2026\u201d (Romans 12:1). We approach God because he has already come to us in Jesus. The only appropriate response to an act of such mercy is awe and thanksgiving. Among the many themes that show up in Christian worship services these ought to stand out. We do not worship to get something from God, he has already given us everything. Rather, by worshipping him we respond to his goodness. The Christian life is worship 24/7. \u2018In view of God\u2019s mercy, we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God\u2014this is our true and proper worship.\u2019