Worship Devotion: Worship Blessings - Matthew 4:10

Matthew 4:10  Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.' " 

            I love worshipping God. It’s good to come among a group of like-minded people and sing together our praises of God. Being with Church family week after week gives me the strength, encouragement, and challenges to face whatever takes place during the next seven days. Without church, I don't know how I could live. Without worship, I don't think I would have any faith, hope, or love.

            Worship to outsiders looks like a dull religious thing. They don't understand the positive power and unique experience that being in God’s House each week creates. They think that worshippers are full of weak, unintelligent, and misguided people. They don’t know about the spiritual pull that God gives to His people to come together to be with Him. It’s a mysterious event where folks are drawn together by the bidding of the Holy Spirit and brought into the favorable, sacred presence of God. There’s nothing like it on Earth; there’s not even anything like it in Heaven because people are already gathered there.

            Going to worship on a regular basis does not make us superior Christians, but it does build up our faith in Christ and love of God. Worship helps us to humbly come before God to praise His Name, seek His forgiveness, and look for His guidance. It’s a filling station for empty spirits; it’s a sacred haven for troubled souls.

            When Christ confronted the devil about worship, He plainly and effectively stated that worship was meant to be directed toward God only. There is no other object of our worship; there is no other being that we are meant to focus upon. When we worship God, we are fulfilling our destiny, our purpose, as well as the meaning of our lives. We are created to worship God, so we are at our most complete when we come to church as believers and worshippers, as well as pilgrims and disciples seeking and receiving His love.

Questions for personal reflection

What does worship mean to me? How do I humbly serve God through regular worship?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, we are called to worship Your Father, our Creator, to serve His purposes, and to find meaning in His Kingdom. Thank You for boldly confronting the devil by declaring what true worship is. Help us to humbly and authentically worship God each day of our lives, as well as with Your gathered people. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, or ask questions, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest miniature paintings called “Christ Icon.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: Christ Icon.

Advent Devotions: Advent 3 - Sing to the Lord - Zephaniah 3 v 17

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."


I can remember someone asking me why Christians sing so often in their churches. It puzzled him that we spend so much time in worship using music and songs to convey our praise and prayers. “If you cut out the music,” he said, “everyone would get out at 11.30AM. It wouldn’t make any difference to God. He’s only interested in your prayers anyway.”

Obviously, this person hadn’t read the Bible. It’s full of songs and is written lyrically. The scriptures are meant to be sung – joyfully as in the Psalms, or dolefully as in Lamentations; loudly like the Angels on the hillside or quietly like Mary giving praise to God.

There’s even a verse in scripture, the one that we have today, which tells us that God Himself likes to sing! Music is an integral part of creation, heaven, and salvation. Song is a sacred vehicle of how we approach God, confess to Him, and praise His glorious Name. If we were to take out music from our worship, if we were to remove all singing, we would be left with something tedious, droll, and unfeeling.

Music captivates our hearts and connects with our souls, so that in turn, we may mystically connect with God. And one day, when all of His Son’s followers are gathered in eternity, we will hear the most beautiful voice and the most beautiful singing in all creation, because that will be the sacred moment when God sings and rejoices with those who are saved.

Prayer: Sing to the Lord a joyful song,
Lift up your hearts, your voices raise
To us His gracious gifts belong,
To Him our songs of love and praise. John Samuel Bewley Monsell

4 Minute Daily Devotions: Room for Hypocrites

Psalm 26:4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites;

Over the years, I’ve heard some people say, “I don’t go to church. It’s full of hypocrites.” My usual answer to that is: “Don’t worry. There’s always room for one more.”

There’s also no such thing as a perfect church on Earth because congregations are made up of imperfect people. We go to church because we know that. We seek the Perfect One in our lives. We know that only Christ is sinless and unhypocritical. We understand that we fail each day to live up to the demands our faith. We don’t go to church because we are spiritually holy; we go to church because we find the Holy Spirit there.

I’m amazed sometimes at people who publicly talk about God in their lives, but who never seem to get around to going to church on Sunday. I don’t get it, nor do I understand it. If God is so important to them, then why isn’t church on their timetable? Do they honestly believe that church is an option to their faith?

If they take time to read their Bibles, they would discover that church-going and being a Christian go hand in hand. From the earliest times of our faith, Christians would gather together on the first day of the week (Sunday) to worship, sing hymns, hear the Gospel, and share communion. They did it in defiance of the authorities, and in the knowledge that they could be arrested, persecuted, and even executed for such a simple gathering of faithful people. In the 17^th century, the Scottish Covenanters experienced the same thing, and in today’s China, Sunday Church groups meet together knowing that the police could break up their services at any time.

The church is full of hypocrites, but at least it’s full of people who prioritize their collective worship of God, especially on a Sunday morning. As for those other hypocrites who always talk about God but never get around to actually worshiping Christ on Sundays, we’ll leave the door open. After all, there’s room at worship for them, too.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, each week on the Sabbath Day, You were to be found in a local synagogue. Even though You are the closest being to God, You never treated worship lightly. Even Your first followers, who began worshiping on Sundays to recognize Your Resurrection, never stopped going to church, even though they were hunted down and persecuted, tortured and executed for defying the authorities. Help us hypocrites to find room at church on Sunday mornings. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

How the innovative worship style at a local Knoxville church influences other churches throughout the world.

Aaron's Beard

Psalm 133:2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes.

Audio version here

Every week, I write the prayers for our Sunday worship services. This usually takes place on Monday mornings because I like to have them done before anything else takes place during the week. It’s a good discipline for me, because the worship service is the most important congregational event in the weekly life of the church.

Over the years, the order of our worship service has changed. When I came here at first, a lot of the prayers were read and said by me on behalf of the congregation. These days, we have volunteer prayer guides and scripture readers who lead the people in the worship of God. Different people with different voices add to the variety in the service. And with the congregation reading aloud the prayers and scriptures responsively, everyone is involved in the worship. Our services are no longer spectator events; they have become participatory times of worship that helps everyone connect to God and one another.

But what’s all of this to do with Aaron’s Beard? Well, after I write the prayers and have given them to Leslie, our church administrator, I upload them to a weekly blogsite called “Aaron’s Beard.” (http://www.beardofaaron.blogspot.com/) Pastors and congregations from different places use these prayers in their own Sunday services, or perhaps read them to help them write their own worship prayers. In this week alone, church people from Toronto, Canada; Chesapeake, Virginia; Kilgore, Texas; Wilder, Idaho; London, United Kingdom; Kuching, Malaysia; Danbury, Wisconsin; Huntington Beach, California; and New Haven, Connecticut have all downloaded the weekly prayers. What began as a means of getting more people involved at Erin Presbyterian Church has become a way of helping other people worship in different states and countries throughout the world.

God’s ways are mysterious and His words are tremendous. He uses our gifts and makes positive differences in other people’s lives, even people that we do not know. Glory to God!

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for the gift of worship and for the variety of ways that people throughout the world praise Your Name. Bless our churches this Sunday with Your Holy presence and call new people to our sanctuaries, so that we may fellowship and worship with them. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

Wood Gatherer

Numbers 15:35 Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp."

It’s one of the hardest passages to understand in scripture (Numbers 15:32-41), and it’s equally hard to believe that God would call for the execution of one of His people just for picking up sticks.

I can remember when I first read this passage. It shocked me and I felt it was so unjust of God. It also made me afraid to do anything wrong on Sundays and, for a long time, I feared God’s retribution. The whole incident made me feel that instead of being a loving father, God actually was a supreme tyrant, whose darkest wishes and oppressive whims could never be challenged nor changed.

As the years have gone by and my knowledge of scripture has increased, I now understand that the man was defying God and causing the whole community to be tainted with sin. The act of gathering sticks on the Sabbath was a violation of the covenant God had made with the whole Israelite people. By collecting wood, the unfortunate man was publicly declaring that he was above God’s laws, God’s people, and God Himself. It was a simple act, but a terrible mistake, so the consequences were severe.

Sometimes, we all take God for granted and we are in danger of treating Him with familiarity and contempt. Through our own choices, we place ourselves in harms’ way by challenging God’s ways. That’s when the grace of Jesus Christ protects us, and shields us from God’s wrath. Without Jesus, we would be as guilty and as unfortunate as the Sabbath-breaking wood gatherer. Without Christ, we would be utterly destroyed by God.

It’s a hard lesson to face first thing on a Monday morning, but it should help us make better choices. And not because we fear God, but because we are truly thankful for Christ’s mercy and grace. We may make mistakes this week and face the consequences of our actions, but at least with Jesus as our Savior we will be forgiven, and we can be restored to God’s favor.

Prayer: Lord God, we confess that we fail to fulfill our faith-based obligations and our Christian responsibilities. We know that we are going to make mistakes every day, and that we will challenge Your ways by ignoring or disrespecting Your commands. We are sorry for being so human and weak at times. Forgive us through the power and authority of Your Son Jesus Christ, who carried wood on His back and turned it into a Cross of mercy and grace. In His Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Appointment

Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

Normally, when we think about the word ‘appointment’, it usually entails visits to the dentist, going to the doctor, or having a job interview. It’s a special time that we agree to set aside with a professional person or worker in order to get something done that will benefit us. We create appointments to manage our time and make best use of our resources. We mark them on our calendars or input them to our computers because they are important. And if we miss a scheduled appointment, then we may lose a special opportunity.

The Greek word for appointment that Luke uses in this passage from Acts is ‘tasso.’ It means to arrange in order, determine, appoint and ordain. It’s not just that the Gentiles turned up to hear Paul’s preaching and that God subsequently blessed them. They were ordained to be there. Long before that day began, God was already moving their hearts and spirits to ensure they would be at the right place, at the right time.

Sunday mornings are ‘appointed’ times, too. Did you know that our Session ‘appoints’ the hour of worship on Sunday? It’s a sacred time which is set aside to gather the people of God for worship. It’s an ordained moment in the week when we stop focusing upon ourselves and turn our eyes upon God.

But more than that, it’s also a time when God calls us from our homes, even when we’re tired and weary, and don’t want to go, to be given an ordained opportunity of His blessing. If we go to church, we receive it. If we stay away, we miss it. It’s only given at that moment in time. It’s only appointed to be experienced by those who hear and honor the word of the Lord that very day.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sometimes we take church for granted, and tend to come and go as we please. We don’t think of it as a place where special blessings are given, at special moments and sacred times. Keep us aware of what worshipping You really means and help us to honor those appointed times. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.