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What is worship? For many of us, the word brings to mind church services, worship songs, raised hands, prayer, or gathering together in a particular place. Those things can all be genuine expressions of worship—but what if worship itself is something much deeper? In this episode of Bean Hour, we explore the idea that worship begins with recognizing God's presence and recognizing Him as the source of our life. Creation—including our own existence—is a gift from the Creator. And what better way to honor a gift giver than by truly receiving and enjoying the gift they've given? When we recognize our lives as gifts from God, gratitude naturally follows. And when we enjoy those gifts without losing sight of the One who gave them, our gratitude and joy can become expressions of praise. We explore Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman, Paul's description of our everyday lives as an offering to God, the importance of gratitude, Psalm 100, “taste and see that the Lord is good,” and Paul's instruction to do everything—including something as ordinary as eating and drinking—to the glory of God. The question isn't simply whether we're performing the outward acts of worship. It's whether we're actually awake to God's presence, receiving His gifts with gratitude, and learning to enjoy the life He has given us. Worship begins with recognition. Recognition becomes gratitude. Gratitude becomes joy. And joy becomes praise. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. In Part 2, we'll explore the danger of wanting the gifts without wanting the Giver—and what happens when we lose sight of the One from whom every good gift comes.

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The Heart of the Gospel concludes with an invitation: come home.

In Parts 1 and 2, we explored God as love, the sovereignty of God, and Jesus as the revelation of the Father. But revelation isn't where Jesus stops. He says, “Follow me.”

In Part 3, we move from revelation to participation.

What does it mean to lose our lives in order to find them? What if following Jesus isn't about manufacturing a better version of ourselves, but letting go of the false identity we've constructed apart from God? What does it mean to abide in Christ, to live from God rather than merely trying to live for God?

We explore Jesus' invitation into communion with God, Paul's declaration that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,” the biblical imagery of Christ and His people becoming one, and the promise that all things are being reconciled in Christ.

Finally, we return to the story of the prodigal son—a child who leaves his father in search of life on his own, only to discover that finding himself means returning home.

The Father isn't waiting for us to negotiate our way back. He runs to meet us.

This is the heart of the gospel: God is love, and love is calling everything home.

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In Part 1 of The Heart of the Gospel, we looked at two foundational truths: God is love, and God is sovereign.

But what does that love actually look like?

In Part 2, we turn to Jesus—the one who makes the invisible God known. If seeing Jesus is seeing the Father, then the life of Jesus shows us what God's love looks like when it takes on flesh and enters the world.

And what Jesus reveals is radically different from the way of the world.

We look at Jesus' love for enemies, His willingness to serve rather than be served, His embrace of sinners and outsiders, and ultimately His response to the very people who crucified Him: "Father, forgive them."

Along the way, we also talk about prayer, learning to live from God's love rather than trying to earn His approval, the freedom of surrendering the identities we construct for ourselves, and what it might mean to truly believe that God's love can heal the human heart—and the world.

The Heart of the Gospel will conclude in Part 3 as we look at Jesus' invitation not simply to admire this love, but to follow Him into it—to actually live it.