Daily Devotion: Constructive Worship - Psalm 57

Psalm 57:7      My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. 

Yesterday, a loud bang occurred that shook the entire church building. It wasn’t an earthquake or an explosion. It was the demolishing of the concrete entranceway to our sanctuary. We’re building a new carport that will allow our people to drive their cars to the front door. Our church rests upon a steep incline which makes it difficult for some of our seniors and families to walk from their cars to the sanctuary, especially when it is wet. Over the years, several people have fallen in slippery conditions, so we’re hoping to put an end to that by building the new entranceway with a car port.

The downside is that this demolition and construction is going to affect us for about four months. Our people will have to come into the sanctuary from a different set of doors. It will be inconvenient for a while, but the hope is that our people will still faithfully attend church each Sunday because they want to worship together in the sanctuary. Our hearts will be steadfast and we will sing and make music to the glory of the Lord.

This will also give us an opportunity to see what kind of priority our people give to worship. Churches exist purely to glorify Christ and praise the Name of God. Everything else that we do as a church is merely temporal and peripheral. Worship takes place in Heaven and on Earth. Worship goes beyond this world and on into the next. Worship is infinite; all else that we do is finite and limited to this one life. If we choose to be active in our faith community, but do not make worship a priority, then we are only serving ourselves and dishonoring God by robbing Him of the glory and praise due to Him for His work amongst us.

For the next four months, it will be interesting to see what happens to our worship numbers. I hope that the Holy Spirit will bless each of our people with perseverance and patience, enthusiasm and endurance so that by the end of summer, our worshipping community will actually be stronger, more faithful, and closer to God.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, thank You for the blessing of worship in our lives, churches, and communities. We praise You for such a divine privilege and we pray that we will never take it for granted. Throughout times of change and challenge, keep us consistently seeking to praise, glorify, and worship You. Both now and forever, 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, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is of John’s latest drawing called Sunsphere Celebration which depicts the Knoxville Sunsphere on Independence Day. If you would like to view a larger version online, please click the following link: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4698147293_f49d8d39a6_b.jpg

Daily Devotions: Skillful Players

Psalm 33:3      Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

I haven’t played my guitar in months, nor have I written a new song in years. At one time, I used to play every day and write about four new songs a year. These days, I hardly ever pick up the guitar or sing. I’m more into art than music right now, but perhaps that will change.

We used to have a great guitarist in our congregation. Steve could pick and play like no one I had ever heard before. He would just have to listen to a song once and then he could play it back. That was an amazing gift and one that we missed in church when he and his family left to live in another state. The nearest to that kind of expertise that we have in our church worship band is a young mandolin player called Josh. He has the same incredible gift of practically hearing and playing music instantly. It makes me wish that I had spent more time practicing when I was younger instead of just being content to ‘strum along.’

Some people do this with their faith, too. Instead of learning more about God and intentionally educating themselves about Christ and Christianity, they are just happy to come along to church and be spectators. They never really add depth to their beliefs and so they miss out on having a spiritually intense relationship with God. I sometimes wonder how happier they would be if they spent more time to be with God instead of being distracted by the world and its ways. Maybe if there were more Marys than Marthas in the church, Christianity would have a greater impact in the world. If we were more focused on Christ’s business rather than our own busy-ness, we would probably live more faithful lives.

I guess I need to go and dust down that old guitar of mine…

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we get so busy in our lives that we never take enough time to be with You. We become so self-centered and self-absorbed that we often take You for granted. Grant us the grit and determination to focus on our faith, and to build up our understanding, intimacy, and relationship with God through You. 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, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s drawings called “Jazz 4 July.” You can view a larger version here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/traqair57/1002682559/sizes/l/