“Worship: Shalom Restored”

Sermon Title: Shalom Restored

Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:12-13 ESV

Introduction

Today’s sermon is part two of last week’s sermon on worship. However, let’s take a quick look at today’s main passage first.

The greater context of today’s passage in the book of Deuteronomy is Moses giving his final sermon to the Israelites as they near the end of their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The first generation who rebelled against the Lord has passed away, and the second generation now stands ready to enter the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. Moses is reminding and renewing the covenant between God and His people, calling them back to love and faithfulness so that it may go well with them in the land.

Just before this passage in chapter 10, Moses recounts Israel’s failures—the golden calf and many other blunders. Israel broke the covenant again and again, yet it was God who sustained the covenant through His mercy and steadfast love.

Then the Lord invites His people to respond: to fear Him, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve Him with all their heart and soul, and to obey His commands. These are not separate tasks but one whole life. In other words, worship. And if you remember last week’s sermon, you’ll recognize that the same foundations appear in Romans 12:1–2.

Last week we talked about what worship is. Today I want to talk about why we worship.

God loves worship, but He does not need our worship. He does not need people to praise Him to satisfy insecurity or ego. Worship is not for God’s benefit but for ours—for our good, as Deuteronomy 10:13 says. God is already perfect and complete. Worship is His gift to us.

Why We Worship

First, worship creates unity.
Worship brings us together as one people and one voice before the Lord. As we worship, we are united not only with one another but with God Himself. It builds up our faith and strengthens the church.

Second, worship displays who God is.
Worship teaches us who God is and what He has done through Jesus Christ. It deepens our knowledge of Him and grows our relationship and intimacy with Him. We don’t simply learn about God—we learn to live with Him and celebrate Him.

Third, worship connects us to truth.
Worship anchors us to the truth of the gospel so that we may worship in Spirit and truth. It challenges our hearts to ask whether what we sing, pray, and hear is something we actually believe and live out. Worship trains us to discern what is truly good and acceptable according to God’s Word.

Fourth, worship blesses others.
Worship is obedience and submission to God’s lordship. As we walk faithfully with Him, our lives become a blessing to others. The greatest blessing God gives is faith in Jesus Christ—a faith that cannot be shaken by fear, despair, or even death.

Fifth, worship blesses God.
Psalm 16:7–8 reminds us that we can bless the Lord by setting Him always before us. God is not an impersonal force; He is personal. He delights in relationship with His people. When we place Him first, when we prioritize Him with our lives, it brings Him joy. Like a child making a simple card for someone they love, what matters is not perfection but the heart. When we choose God as our priority, it blesses Him.

Sixth, worship gives life.
God is the source of life, and worship brings us into His presence where His life, grace, and power flow. This is why Jesus came, so that we may have life abundantly (John 10:10). Sometimes worship costs us something. Each of us carries a cross as we follow Christ. Yet following Him always leads to true life now and eternal life to come. In worship, we experience the downpour of God’s life and strength.

Something Greater: Shalom Restored

As important as these six reasons are, there is something even greater that God allows us to participate in through worship: the restoration of His shalom.

Shalom is often translated as peace, but it means far more. It speaks of wholeness, completeness, harmony, well-being—everything being the way God intended. It is the perfect alignment of all things with God.

This was the world before the Fall. The Garden of Eden was the embodiment of God’s shalom—relational harmony with God, harmony with one another, abundant life, and unbroken communion with Him. When Scripture says creation was “good,” it describes this fullness of shalom.

But through sin, that shalom was broken. Separation from God, the source of life, brought decay and death—both physical and spiritual. Like a plant pulled from the soil, humanity began to wither.

Yet God did not leave us there. Because of His love, He sent His Son. Jesus paid the price through the cross so that death would lose its ultimate power over us. This is the gospel. And restoring shalom comes at that cost—the cost Christ paid for us.

This is why we worship. Worship is about Jesus. It is about responding to the mercies of God. It is about participating in the restoration of Eden—healing what is broken and living as citizens of God’s kingdom while we await Christ’s return.

Whenever we glorify God with our lives, honor His Word, walk in obedience, love Him in our homes, and make time for His presence, His shalom begins to take root. Worship allows us to live in that shalom again and again as His grace fills us.

Walking with God

So how do we worship so that shalom can be restored? Deuteronomy 10:12 gives us one key word: walk.

The Hebrew word is halakh. It simply means “walk,” but spiritually it describes a way of life with God. It is about nearness, faithfulness, and daily life in His presence.

Walking with God was worship from the very beginning. In Eden, God walked with His people. There was delight, closeness, and communion. Worship is still that same thing today—how we walk with God day by day, according to His ways, humbly and faithfully. Scripture teaches us how to walk with Him.

And God promises that one day He will not only restore what was lost but make all things new.

Revelation 21:1–7 and Revelation 21:22–27 remind us that God will dwell fully with His people, remove sorrow and death, and fill everything with His glory. This is the final restoration of shalom.

Until that day comes, we wait with hope.

So let us be a church that becomes a small picture of Eden—a place where we walk with God daily, where worship is not just something we do on Sundays but the way we live, and where His shalom dwells among us.

Amen.

Reflection:

Brothers and sisters, the Lord invites us into a deeper life of worship so that we may know Him and Hiis goodness, to experience God’s shalom.

But life is not easy, there are many things - distractions, temptations, struggles, and pain - and we have an enemy who desires to distract, disturb, and break your worship, to break your shalom in the Lord.

Are there areas of your life that you have yet to submit and obey to the Lord?

Is there a part of your life, or a secret sin, an idol that you have placed in your heart, that you have allowed into your life.

The Lord your God invites you to renew your life to him and walk with the Lord day by day, with reverent fear, love, all of who you are, humble