Lessons from the Garden

In 2020 you would have never guessed that the Pannell family would begin to take care of and obsess about keeping a garden. We did not have green thumbs and our past efforts of taking care of plants had resulted in…DEATH. (Poor plants) But, there were lessons in the garden.

We started learning and continued to appreciate all the little items about planting and harvesting. I had no idea that when you plant your seeds that it comes with an eclectic array of bugs. Apparently, when you plant squash, it comes with a squash vine burrow bugs that eat your plants from the inside out. (Careful everyone…it’s a harsh world out there!)

Cultivating deep roots and soil takes a lot of hard work and daily attentiveness.

The gardening journey started to become a more joy filled experience when we started to recognize and enjoying the little things. Even if our plants didn’t grow as planned we still rejoiced in the process.

So, we learned that the journey and destination both matters. Without growing deeper in our gardening skills we would have never enjoyed the bounty of a good harvest. In our worship lives I would say the same is true. Lessons from the garden.

Our Destination: To love him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Or as our church puts it “Glorify God by Following the Jesus Way “

The Journey: Learning how to Worship God every day.

Easily said but hard to live out. Here are 3 tips to help. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list. But a list that can springboard a deeper worship filled life.

Understand that worship is more than a song

Church goers do a disservice to God if they think that singing is the totality of Christian Worship. Many of us use the word’s interchangeable (worship and music) but music is only one form of our expression of worship. Our understanding must go deeper and connect it to the way we live our lives as an act of worship. We must understand that our hearts and behaviors must be aligned with God’s word to present our lives as a living sacrifice to God.

Read theological books on worship

When you want to grow deeper on a subject you have got to read authors who have dedicated their lives to the study of God’s word. Here are some of the books I recommend for people wanting to understand Christian worship.

Warren Wiersbe: Real Worship: Playground, Battleground, or Holy Ground?
Franklin M. Segler: Christian Worship: Its Theology and Practice
David Peterson: Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship

3. Develop a morning/night worship routine

Psalm 1:2 “But whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.”

Our routines in life matter to our health. They have impactful consequences. To develop a worship routine, start with the word of God, journal, pray, practice spiritual disciplines to begin your day focused on God. Offer Him your worship from the get-go! When we build our life on Jesus it can’t just be sung about, we’ve got to literally build in habits and routines to make it happen!

Till next time. I am praying for you to live a Jesus-focused worship filled life. May we all learn lessons from the garden.

Charlie Pannell

Charlie Pannell led the FBCA Contemporary Worship ministry for over 5 years. In that time, he made great progress at expanding the vision of Contemporary Worship at FBCA and for our people. Now you can find him serving in Central Texas.