• Holy Path of Doing

    Psalm 147:12-20, 1 Chronicles 28:1-10, 1 Corinthians 3:10-17

    “[God] has not this for every ; they do not know his judgments…”
    Psalm 147:20

    “Realize now that the LORD has you to build a house for the sanctuary. Be strong and do it.”
    1 Chronicles 28:10

    “If anyone destroys God’s , God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.”
    1 Corinthians 3:10-17

    Israel was chosen. From the time of Abraham, its was to bless the world. There was a time when it seemed that all was . Solomon had been chosen as king, and had been chosen to build the Temple. Solomon knew what his tasks and paths were. Yet, he wandered off. Israel, through Jesus, ultimately fulfilled God’s to bless the world, but not without many generations failing and paying the price of not following God.

    Each of us has been chosen for a task. If we have been blessed (especially with discernment), we may know what task God has chosen for us. Otherwise, we could be blessed with people who know us, and are able to guide us onto God’s chosen path. Then there is the most frustrating path of all: doing your best, and not knowing if that is God’s path for you.

    does provide some guidance for us, if we are able to accept it. Our path is to be God’s holy temple here on earth. All of us. “,” you may say, “how can I be a holy temple?” Let God build the temple inside of you. “Wait,” you may say, “what am I supposed to do?” That’s the rub, isn’t it. Do? Let God build the temple inside of you. Do? Let God build the temple inside of you, while the world attempts to destroy it from the outside-in.

    Do? Be strong.

    1) Why do we often feel inadequate unless we are “doing”?

    2) In of God building the temple inside of you, how do you now , “be still and know that I am God”?

    3) In what new way can you be strong to allow the building of God’s temple inside of you?

    KD) If God’s temple inside of you was an actual building, what would it look like?

  • The Right Food

    The Right Food

    Psalm 130; Isaiah 28:9–13; 1 Peter 4:7–19 The Psalm is a cry to people to hold onto God. Not the “opiate of the masses” that Karl Marx spoke of, but an active holding on that requires us to meet intimately with God, and pay attention to what God says to us. Our whole being is…

  • No or Many Blessings

    No or Many Blessings

    Psalm 20; Numbers 6:22–27; Mark 4:21–25 You may know the song, “Count your blessings, one by one…” The “Aaronic” blessing outlined in Numbers is one of my favorites. As a pastor, I will default to it at appropriate times (such as the end of a church service). First, of course, it is the one used…

  • Loving Presence

    Loving Presence

    Psalm 20; Exodus 25:1–22; 1 Corinthians 2:1–10 “…so that I am present among them.” (Exodus 25:8) It seems like a strange statement to us as Christians. Our theology talks about God’s omnipresence (God is everywhere), so a tent doesn’t really change that. The tent was, however, the place set aside for meeting God. As part…

  • Worship Even Here

    Worship Even Here

    Psalm 20; Numbers 9:15–23; Revelation 4:1–8 Trusting God is hard. Trusting that all things work for good is hard. How can COVID be good? How can a bad economy be good? How can not being able to be with our loved ones be good? A lot of this hasn’t been good. For the psalmist, that…