Devotion.al

Tag: worship

  • You…Priest…You

    Malachi 2:1–9, Colossians 3:5–17, 1 Peter 2:1–8 (read online)

    In a number of bibles (both translations and iterations), this passage in Malachi has the header of Warning to the Priests. You may have read that yourself. This passage is indeed to the Israelite priests, who fulfill the forms of worship, , supplication, and , but do not fulfill the of any of it. Tying the heart of worship to honoring God’s should any of us pause. Look at what God is equating to the behavior of their hearts: animal poop and entrails. In other words, what’s coming out of them is crap. Pretty harsh.

    The problem that many Christians have reading this passage is, “this doesn’t apply to me.” Except if you read ‘s and Peter’s letters, the category of Israelite/Jewish Priest actually does apply to all of us. Paul’s letter removes the -based barriers between people. Peter removes the concept of non-priest. In other words, the warning of Malachi does apply to each of us.

    Now, we could say that the Law doesn’t apply to us. Okay. Yet, the “Law” of (love the Lord your God) would seem to wipe that argument out in context. While we use and have the titles of priest, pastor, reverend, minister, and while they have a certain place within the church, that does not spare us from the priesthood of all believers.

    Re-read Malachi. Replace “you” with “me”, and “your” with “my”. Take this personally.

    1) How have you violated what God calls on us to do/be according to the words in Malachi?

    2) Scripture is pretty down-to-earth. This passage in Malachi shows it (along with a little rephrasing). Why is it important that the are so down-to-earth? What happens when we over gentle the Word of God?

    3) Barriers are a common tactic. Why do you think it is important that Paul and Peter removed them? What barriers need to be removed in your , particularly with how you categorized and interact with other people?

  • All the Saints

    Luke 20:27–40, Hebrews 11:32–12:2, Revelation 7:9–17

    Veneration of the Saints has a long history in the . Due to misunderstandings (cultural, interpretive, arrogance, ignorance), it has often been a source of claims of heresy and . It has been abused and misshapen into disguised pagan worship. In addition, there is also the practice in other religions and traditions that have a form of ancestor worship. While there is no question that veneration of saints and even ancestors has been twisted into false teaching, this is one of those many cases of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

    This becomes significant as the stories of the saints and martyrs of the church are not (generally) part of Evangelical Protestant worship or practice. There are some minor exceptions. There was a popular song by Michael W. Smith about Cassie Bernall who was shot and killed because she would not deny Jesus to the shooters at the Columbine High School. There are some famous missionary stories such as of the Spear about missionaries who died in the field, but whose murders later repented and turned to Christ. By and large, though, the concept of saints and martyrs is talked about in generalities.

    Martyrs, in many respects, are easier to talk about than saints (though many saints were martyrs). The “romantic” concept of for one’s , especially here where we are free and protected, pervades Western Christianity. It’s not romantic for those who go through persecution and martyrdom.

    Saints are harder. Part of this is the historical Protestant antagonism towards Roman Catholicism and the central place the Virgin Mary and the Saints have in Roman Catholic practice. Sadly, though, we (as Protestants) have lost 2 important things when it comes to how the saints fit into our practices.

    First, saints are a great example to follow. Just like us, they aren’t perfect. Just like us, they try to be like Jesus but often failed. We can all say (and probably do) we can’t measure up to Jesus but it’s harder to say that about saints (though we still try). Their lives are also worth reading about as they had struggles just like we do, and they provided some of the greatest reflections on God.

    Second, the of saints is far-reaching. Many saints weren’t “official” saints, but that Sunday School teacher that put the seed of Jesus in our heart. It could be that believer that just loved you where you were at. It could be a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, neighbor whose drew you to Jesus. When we recognize the legacy of saints, we often about ourselves, and we see more of God in us due to all the streams of faith that pour into our lives. This gives us not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge, and a place to belong.

    1) What are your first thoughts when you think about saints? Why do you think that is?

    2) Who are some so-called “real” “church” saints you can think of? What were they famous for? What do you think their legacy is?

    3) Who are some “real-life” saints in your life? What made them that way? How did they you?

  • Power of Service

    Mark 10:42–45, John 21:15–17, 1 Peter 4:7–11

    Power to control. That’s what Jesus is talking about in the passage in Mark. The Gentile “rulers” (though the same applied to many of the Pharisees and scribes, as well) lorded their power, influence, and wealth over others, and controlled them. When this passage is used, often we get “stuck” on our servant part, rather than seeing the underlying relational . Those with power, influence, and wealth are held at a distance (even by those with power, influence, and wealth themselves). Servants are close at hand. In a place of , servants are able to influence and nurture others. One really can’t say that about those with power, influence, and wealth.

    Service is strongly implied in Jesus’ words of the of Peter: Feed (twice) and . Used twice, βόσκω (boskō) can mean feed, take to pasture, or take care of. Used only once, ποιμαίνω (poimainō) means shepherd, take care of, and guide. Feed appears to be more of the immediate concern, while shepherd is more along the line of long-term thriving. This is a great picture for pastors to concern themselves with. It is also the picture every one of us should be using as a lens to look at others with. We are called to “feed” their immediate need twice as much as their thriving. Many of us concern ourselves with the thriving, and neglect the immediate.

    Service isn’t an option. How you serve is your expression of service as . Peter passed along the call to serve, “…as good stewards of the varied of God.” That is an interesting concept. Often we talk about stewardship in regards to money. Peter talks about being stewards of God’s grace. God’s grace is poured out on the just and unjust, just as it is poured out on the saved and unsaved. Just because there’s plenty, does not mean we are not responsible to steward it.

    1) Our culture claims to value servants. It doesn’t. The seems to reflect the culture. How can we improve how we value the servants of the church? Who are the servants of the church? Who aren’t the servants of the church?

    2) Why do you think there is that 2-to-1 ratio between feeding and shepherding? How should that inform your ?

    3) How will you serve tomorrow? How will you serve today? How will you serve next month? Does the service always have to be the same?

  • Outside Praise

    Psalm 84:8-12, James 2:14–26, Romans 12:1–8

    Depending on your preferred translation of the , Psalm 84:10 may or may not about standing at the threshold of God. In a previous devotion, we connected this to our Welcome Team, as those who were the transition between the outside and the inside of the building. Doorkeepers were security, and they could also be welcomers and announcers (of who enters). However, sometimes the person “at the door” never enters the actual House of God to .

    From a symbolic standpoint, some people are at “”, but didn’t enter into the courts of/to worship. They may sing the songs and they may listen to the message, but they may never worship. What people “do” in church does impact their ability to worship. The “do” is important. In older church traditions (now often called “high church”), the gathered body participated in the liturgy. Nowadays, we have this particular concept of “liturgy,” and it’s incomplete. The origin definition of liturgy is “work of the people.” Now liturgy has been siloed to a specific form of worship (even while every church has a liturgy, by definition).

    The concept of “work of the people” is also often lost. When you worship with song or by listening to the sermon, you are doing “the work” of the church. However, the work of the church is not just worship and listening and learning. The work of the church is also doing the . In fact, the true work of the church (i.e., true liturgy) is only complete when it includes what happens outside the walls.

    Perhaps, a better way of thinking of the courts of is to turn the church inside out; what was once the outside is now the courts of praise.

    1) How would thinking of the world outside of the church as the courts of praise affect how you entered and interacted with the world?

    2) How could worship be outside of the church, especially as the world appears to be less positive toward Christianity?

  • Strong Protecting Love

    Isaiah 26:1–6, Psalm 18:1–9, Nehemiah 6:15–16

    is measured in many ways. When you’re the one being attached, often it is by fists (or equivalent). Another way is deterrent. In other words, what will be the cost to attack? When a strong city is called out, it is a city that, yes, can defend itself. It is also a city that would not want to attack. This particular city, Jerusalem, had God as its ultimate defense.

    What country or military power would want to attack God? This was the hope of the Israelites, that God would protect them.

    God does want to protect those who love God, and and honor God. The phrasing, however, gets odd when we talk about . Jealousy always seems to be bad. Even when we say God has a jealous love for us, it sounds bad.

    Rev. George Harrison calls jealousy the shadow of love. That doesn’t sound much better. However, he notes that what we often jealousy is actually love corrupted by envy. True jealousy—or jealousy—is when wholesome love and devotion are denied, betrayed, or destroyed.

    God, then, is jealous when the love due by right (as Creator) and relationship (whether Israelite, or the not quite) is no longer. God’s jealous love is the heart of one betrayed. As the one whose love is faithful and never-changing, God would do just about anything for those God loves.

    1) Re-read the last paragraph. What do we have of this?

    2) Re-read the with this understanding of God’s jealous love. Does your understanding ?

    3) What is important to understand God’s jealous love and our lives, and how we live them?

  • Worship Heart-Fully

    2 Kings 23:4–20, Ezekiel 42:13‭-‬14

    King Josiah had a mess to clean up. Over the years, his kingly predecessors and the priestly predecessors had put a lot of stuff that didn’t belong in the . A lot of it was pieces for worshipping gods instead of worshipping God.

    If you really want to be overwhelmed, number the items, and then realize that the list was summarized (e.g., all the high places from Geba to Beer-sheba). It is not an exhaustive list! There was more that didn’t get listed! How far the people had fallen!

    King Josiah went so far as to desecrate graves so as to totally desecrate all the high places dedicated to other gods. Yet, the underlying story is how the religious leaders had added thing after thing to the temple, and the things they added had nothing to do with worshipping God. All the additions were to worship anything other than God.

    It might seem odd to go from this cleansing to a simple statement about proper priestly behavior in the post-exile temple (our passage in Ezekiel). However, there is something that needs to be addressed. Often, in our zeal (much of this inherited by Puritan thinking) to have a “pure” temple, we “” things because of their association with what we think is contaminated worship.

    Take the clothing of the priests mentioned in Ezekiel. The priests are supposed to wear special clothes that are only to be used during their priestly duties in the temple. If you didn’t catch this, in modern terms, that is seen in Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, some Anglican/Episcopal, some Lutheran, and some Presbyterian churches. The priests/pastors in these traditions will often wear special clothes that are only worn in the . They don’t, for example, wear them to the supermarket.

    Yet, we American “Evangelicals” have inherited a Puritan thought process that opposes such clothing, because the Roman Catholics and Anglicans (the Puritan primary opposition) wore them.

    We have two opposite mindsets presented here, which is something we as Christians and as a church need to think through, not just accept everybody else’s thoughts. “Right” worship has been a long-term issue in the church, from to extemporaneous , no music to A Capella to hymns to contemporary music. It is good and reasonable to ponder what “right” worship looks like. We just have to be careful that we don’t throw out (or bring in) good and/or biblical just because. And we have to be careful not to condemn practices that do just because.

    1) Where do you think you see non-God honoring practices entering worship? What makes it not God-honoring? Is your stance Biblical (find it) or is it cultural?

    2) Where do think more God-honoring practices could be introduced? Why do you think they are not being done? How do they build up the body of believers?

    3) Will adding prescribed and described practices in the Bible necessarily help worship? How do you balance so-called Biblical practices with cultural practices? Are you able to perceive the difference?

  • Path Selection

    2 Samuel 24:1–25

    What the reason was for inciting the census has remained a . Why God would incite David to do this, and thus punish the Israelites, is also a mystery. Some have claimed that this was still the penalty of David’s murder of Uriah and his affair with (and marriage to) Bathsheba. The implication is that while David was the empowered person who did wrong, the people also did wrong by standing by and doing nothing.

    When David could not choose a path and left it to God, God chose the supposed lesser penalty against the people. That David gave up the choice to God, and God chose this path strongly implicates the peoples’ in something. Why the plague for a census? That’s another interesting thing. In Exodus 30:11–16, there is a penalty for everyone if a census is taken and each man (males over 20) does not pay a half shekel. Apparently, there were many who could not pay the price.

    In the midst of his indecision, David’s (people against him for 3 months) resulted in the of his people, those for whom he was responsible. He obviously came to a point of remorse and regret and knew that the path taken was his responsibility. He chose to make amends the best way he knew how…sacrificial .
    Even the site and animal sacrifices (not inexpensive) were offered to him for free, but he chose the correct path and paid for it. The site of this saving ? It became the home of the built by Solomon. This site which was first used to atone for the census (and whatever else we don’t “see”) became the place where people “met” God.

    1) While we understand that “meeting” God happens in all sorts of places, no matter where we are, we humans like (some say need) places to God. What are your thoughts regarding how God transformed this place of sacrifice?

    2) How did God transform the suffering of the Israelites and David?

  • Unpolishing the Church

    Haggai 2:1–9, Matthew 16:13–20

    There is a lot of hand-wringing about the demise of the . To put things in , it is often better to read the Old Testament than the New. Yet people often skip all the prophets because it appears so dark and heart-wrenching. It is.

    God’s sadness, anger, , loss are all there in those pages. The hearts of the prophets are there, too. God and prophets yearning for the people to fully return to God.

    As the church looks around and sees its influence diminishing, and churches closing, and people leaving the church, and then the , it would seem that all is lost. The shininess is all gone, now.

    The was once big and shiny. It had lots of beautiful things. It had lots of worshippers and visitors. It had lots of priests. It didn’t last long. The church, on the other hand, has had a long run of it. Perhaps, just perhaps, it’s time for us to dispense with the shiny.

    Haggai’s message was that a shiny temple didn’t mean that God wasn’t present. In fact, God’s has nothing to do with the shiny temple.

    ‘ disciples didn’t have a shiny place. While they were tolerated, they were allowed to at the temple, but eventually (over time) that became dangerous. They couldn’t gather at they synagogues, either. They could only gather in private homes. The gatherings were about Jesus, not the place, just as the Jewish gatherings should have been about God, not the place.

    1)When you think about the “state” of the “church”, what do you feel?

    2) When comment or make a declaration about the “bad” state of the church, how do you ?

    3) Do you think your responses are based more on you, or on God?