God's Kingdom Has Come Near

Acts of Worship
Learning to Pray

A Model for Prayer

Luke 10:1-12  The Message

Lambs in a Wolf Pack

10 ^1-2 Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He gave them this charge:

“What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.
³ “On your way! But be careful—this is hazardous work. You’re like lambs in a wolf pack.
⁴ “Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.
“Don’t loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.
^5-6 “When you enter a home, greet the family, ‘Peace.’ If your greeting is received, then it’s a good place to stay. But if it’s not received, take it back and get out. Don’t impose yourself.
⁷ “Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves three square meals. Don’t move from house to house, looking for the best cook in town.
^8-9 “When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you, heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, ‘God’s kingdom is right on your doorstep!’
^10-12 “When you enter a town and are not received, go out in the street and say, ‘The only thing we got from you is the dirt on our feet, and we’re giving it back. Did you have any idea that God’s kingdom was right on your doorstep?’ Sodom will have it better on Judgment Day than the town that rejects you.

 
For Reflection
How does one campaign for the Kingdom of God?  Just as in Luke's day, not all people will respond well to the gospel.  Those that have been seduced by the promise of self-determination and are mired in the quicksand of common practice will see weakness where there is strength and folly where there is wisdom.
Some are so hogtied by fear that they are incapable of escaping the bonds of the material world.  Little is to be gained by the lamb batting heads with the wolf.

The faithful must begin with prayer.  Prayer engages the intimate relationship one has with God and confirms one's identity, purpose and mission as a healer, not a warrior. The faithful must act with integrity, forthright and consistent in faith, promise and act.  The kingdom of God is populated by those who are in need of spiritual restoration.  Harvest those who's time has come and whose blooms have turned to seed.

Pray

that you will be an authentic God whisperer.  Pray that you, by your action, will be recognized as a healer.  Pray that you will be a guide into the Kingdom of God for those who seek to be fulfilled.

Bless God's Holy Name

Acts of Worship
Learning to Pray

A Model for Prayer

Psalm 103:1-18  The Message

A David Psalm

103 ^1-2 O my soul, bless God.
    From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
    don’t forget a single blessing!

^3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
    He heals your diseases—every one.
    He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
    He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
    He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
    He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

^6-18 God makes everything come out right;
    he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
    opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
    nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
    so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
    he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
    God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
    leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
    eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
    as they follow his Covenant ways
    and remember to do whatever he said.

 
For Reflection
God is not the Holy Gotcha!  God does not lurk in dark corners, waiting to catch the unsuspecting engaged in sin.  God is not the moral cop.  God is the healer.  God acts in love.  God knows what is right and true and makes all things work for good.  God holds no grudges. God has our best interest as God's first interest.

Pray

prayers of praise for the living God.  Pray so that you may become more intimately related to the God who has made you.  Pray so that, by example,  you will carry God's will into the next generation. Pray so that you will become infected with the goodness of God and enlarged in love and thankfulness.

Whenever You Pray

Acts of Worship
Learning to Pray

A Model for Prayer

Matthew 6:1-13  The Message

The World Is Not a Stage

6 “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

^2-4 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Pray with Simplicity

⁵ “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

⁶ “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
^7-13 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

 
For Reflection
In this interpretation, the Lord's Prayer seems a bit pedestrian.  Perhaps that's precisely the point.  Prayer doesn't need a spiritually acceptable place, or a special  language.  Nor is prayer a production, or a means for manipulating God.  Prayer is your honest, humble recognition of the relationship between you and God.  Prayer is an intimate conversation with God.   The act of authentic prayer wipes away any and all barriers between you and God.  It doesn't matter how you pray -- it matters that you pray!

 

Pray

Pray frequently.  Pray in humility.  Pray so that you grow into grace.  Pray so that you fortify your faith. Pray so that what you think, say and do are acts or worship that glorify God.

Great Is Your Faith

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Matthew 15:21-31  The Message

Healing the People

^21-22 From there Jesus took a trip to Tyre and Sidon. They had hardly arrived when a Canaanite woman came down from the hills and pleaded, “Mercy, Master, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly afflicted by an evil spirit.”

²³ Jesus ignored her. The disciples came and complained, “Now she’s bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She’s driving us crazy.”
²⁴ Jesus refused, telling them, “I’ve got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel.”
²⁵ Then the woman came back to Jesus, went to her knees, and begged. “Master, help me.”
²⁶ He said, “It’s not right to take bread out of children’s mouths and throw it to dogs.”
²⁷ She was quick: “You’re right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master’s table.”
²⁸ Jesus gave in. “Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!” Right then her daughter became well.
^29-31 After Jesus returned, he walked along Lake Galilee and then climbed a mountain and took his place, ready to receive visitors. They came, tons of them, bringing along the paraplegic, the blind, the maimed, the mute—all sorts of people in need—and more or less threw them down at Jesus’ feet to see what he would do with them. He healed them. When the people saw the mutes speaking, the maimed healthy, the paraplegics walking around, the blind looking around, they were astonished and let everyone know that God was blazingly alive among them.

For Reflection
What are we to make of this story?  In my mind this is a "What If?" story.  What if Christ were to adopt the conventional wisdom of the Chosen People and acted according to their perception of God's exclusive favor?  Would Jesus, then, not act in ways that offered exclusive favor to the proud spiritual and political superior and ignore the inferior outsider? 

How does this Canaanite woman react to being disrespected by Jesus? She approaches in humility.  She is not angered by Jesus reaction.  She accepts her political status but pleas for her spiritual equality by evoking the name of  David, indicating that she, a Canaanite, recognized the God of Israel and, recognizing Jesus authority, begged mercy.  Because of her acceptance of Christ the distinction between Jew and Gentile is taken away

Pray

as did the Canaanite woman.  Ask God for mercy.  Recognize the authority of God.  Pray that you will worship God with patient expectation that God will answer your prayer. Pray for the healing power of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

A Mustard-Seed-Sized Faith

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Matthew 17:14-20  The Message

With a Mere Kernel of Faith

^14-16 At the bottom of the mountain, they were met by a crowd of waiting people. As they approached, a man came out of the crowd and fell to his knees begging, “Master, have mercy on my son. He goes out of his mind and suffers terribly, falling into seizures. Frequently he is pitched into the fire, other times into the river. I brought him to your disciples, but they could do nothing for him.”

^17-18 Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here.” He ordered the afflicting demon out—and it was out, gone. From that moment on the boy was well.
¹⁹ When the disciples had Jesus off to themselves, they asked, “Why couldn’t we throw it out?”
²⁰ “Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”

 
For Reflection
A little faith is a good thing.  A little faith will grow.  A little faith will begin a lifelong journey into righteous living in the hollow of God's hand.  Just a little faith will set you free.

 

Pray

for a little faith.  Pray for earth moving faith.  Pray for the confidence in God that comes from just a little faith.  Rejoice this Christmas Day in a little faith.  Give thanks to God for the gift of God's son.

I Believe, Help My Unbelief.

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Mark 9:15-24  The Message

There Are No Ifs

^14-16 When they came back down the mountain to the other disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion scholars cross-examining them. As soon as the people in the crowd saw Jesus, admiring excitement stirred them. They ran and greeted him. He asked, “What’s going on? What’s all the commotion?”

^17-18 A man out of the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they couldn’t.”
^19-20 Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here.” They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth.
^21-22 He asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been going on?”
“Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!”
²³ Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.”
²⁴ No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”

 
For Reflection
Reviewing recent National and world events, I wonder too, "What a generation! No sense of God!"  So many wars, so much fear, so much vendetta.  Christ came into the world to end fear, to end vendetta.  Christ came into the world to free us to follow an alternative path.  Christ's path leads to peace.

 

Pray

for those who follow the false Gods which foster hate and fear.  Pray for those who follow the false God of self-righteousness.  Pray that all will see the wisdom of forgiveness and peace.

Where Is Your Faith?

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Luke 8:19-25  The Message

^19-20 His mother and brothers showed up but couldn’t get through to him because of the crowd. He was given the message, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to see you.”
²¹ He replied, “My mother and brothers are the ones who hear and do God’s Word. Obedience is thicker than blood.”
^22-24 One day he and his disciples got in a boat. “Let’s cross the lake,” he said. And off they went. It was smooth sailing, and he fell asleep. A terrific storm came up suddenly on the lake. Water poured in, and they were about to capsize. They woke Jesus: “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
Getting to his feet, he told the wind, “Silence!” and the waves, “Quiet down!” They did it. The lake became smooth as glass.
²⁵ Then he said to his disciples, “Why can’t you trust me?”
They were in absolute awe, staggered and stammering, “Who is this, anyway? He calls out to the winds and sea, and they do what he tells them!”

 
For Reflection
Even more important than blood, Christ's obedience to his Father's mission is of paramount importance.  Christ's family already understood and were committed to God, but, the crowd who gathered needed to hear the good news.  The disciples once again misunderstood the priorities of faith.  It was not the conventional wisdom of family above all it was God above all.

Perhaps as much as Christ's family wanted to hear Jesus speak they knew that the crowd was more important and they stayed at the perimeter.  Like us, the disciples had a hard time with trust.  They were growing into their faith.

Pray
that we, like the disciples, will grow into grace.  Pray that you will listen to God in every day events, in scripture and in prayer so that you might continue to grow in faith and trust in God.

By Faith We Please God

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Hebrews 11:1-6  The Message

Faith in What We Don’t See

11 ^1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

³ By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.
⁴ By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That’s what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.
^5-6 By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

 
For Reflection
Fundamental, that which is so central that all other elements depend upon it; that is what belief in God is; A fundamental reality in which one must believe in order to accept the mystery that is our existence.  An act of faith requires a trust that is beyond empirical evidence.  An act of faith requires confidence in an anticipated outcome.  An act of faith requires courage to go forward into a tunnel of  darkness, knowing that one will emerge, unscathed, into light.

Pray

for the courage your belief in God requires.  Pray for the confidence in God that will propel you into tomorrow with anticipated joy.

Expecting a Child

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Luke 2:1-7  The Message

The Birth of Jesus

2 ^1-5 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David’s town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.

^6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.

For Reflection
Jesus, the long anticipated, yet unexpected gift Is born.  A young child of humble origin in conventional terms, but, in God terms, a King, a promise of Hope, not a warrior, but, a peacemaker, not an enforcer,  but, a healer.

Pray

that we all will make room in the hostel of our lives for God.  Pray that we will be healers in a world of dominators. Pray that we will make the lives of those we touch better having known us and God through us.

Our Hope of Sharing God's Glory

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Romans 5:1-5  The Message

Developing Patience

5 ^1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

^3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

For Reflection
God wants us made right! God has thrown open the doors to God's Glory.  God has invited us into his kingdom.  God has sent his son to give us the key for sharing God's glory.  Its not hard to understand. God has shared God's own creative power with us.  God has given us free will to choose to be creative people.  We have the capacity to invent good and righteousness selflessness in the face of the cultural pressure to be self-centered, unjust and destructive.  God wants us to create a kingdom of compassion, justice, peace and hope.

Pray

for the courage to be compassionate.  Pray for the wisdom to act justly.  Pray for peace that transcends the human condition.  Pray for the realization of God's Kingdom.

God's Glory Over All the Earth

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Psalm 108:1-6  The Message

A David Prayer

108 ^1-2 I’m ready, God, so ready,
    ready from head to toe.
Ready to sing,
    ready to raise a God-song:
“Wake, soul! Wake, lute!
    Wake up, you sleepyhead sun!”

^3-6 I’m thanking you, God, out in the streets,
    singing your praises in town and country.
The deeper your love, the higher it goes;
    every cloud’s a flag to your faithfulness.
Soar high in the skies, O God!
    Cover the whole earth with your glory!
And for the sake of the one you love so much,
    reach down and help me—answer me!

 
For Reflection
Imagine David, alone in his sleeping quarters.  Imagine David so full of the Holy Spirit that he can't help but to sing praises to God.  Imagine David joyful, exuberant, drunk with love and passion, steeped in the Glory of God, surrounded by the aura of holiness.  Can you imagine yourself engrossed in praise?  Imagine yourself before God's glory, asking for help and knowing that help is granted even before you had asked.

Pray

Praise God.  Approach God in love.  Pray that you will glorify God by using the gifts God has given you.  Open your heart to the spirit of God and glorify God with every breath.

The Heavens Proclaim God's Handiwork

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

Psalm 19 The Message

A David Psalm

19 ^1-2 God’s glory is on tour in the skies,
    God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
    Professor Night lectures each evening.

^3-4 Their words aren’t heard,
    their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
    unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

^4-5 God makes a huge dome
    for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun’s a new husband
    leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
    racing to the tape.

⁶ That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies
    from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
    warming hearts to faith.

^7-9 The revelation of God is whole
    and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
    and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
    showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
    and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
    with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
    down to the nth degree.

¹⁰ God’s Word is better than a diamond,
    better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,
    better than red, ripe strawberries.

^11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
    and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
    Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
    Keep me from stupid sins,
    from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
    scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
    these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
    on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
    God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

 
For Reflection
In the mountains of Virginia,  on an island off the coast of  Georgia, in a field in Kansas or anywhere far from the city lights one can gaze into the night sky and wonder at its depth and brilliance.  On a rainy day deep into a forest trail or after a rain when the mist rises from mountain valleys and the sun plays its warm shadow game as dark clouds disperse, one can stand in awe of the beauty of the natural order of things.

The time stolen from everyday pressures is time embraced.  It is time of refreshment and renewal.  It is time like no other time when God creeps into your soul. and you know the hope that drives you even if the path is not yet clear.

Pray

Steal time to pray.  Steal time to see God's handiwork.  Steal time to listen to the hope messages which surround you.  Pray so that time stolen becomes time renewed.

Give Thanks to God's Holy Name

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Glory To God in the Highest

1 Chronicles 16:35-42  The Message

^34-36 Give thanks to God—he is good
    and his love never quits.
Say, “Save us, Savior God,
    round us up and get us out of these godless places,
So we can give thanks to your holy Name,
    and bask in your life of praise.”
Blessed be God, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Then everybody said, “Yes! Amen!” and “Praise God!”

^37-42 David left Asaph and his coworkers with the Chest of the Covenant of God and in charge of the work of worship; they were responsible for the needs of worship around the clock. He also assigned Obed-Edom and his sixty-eight relatives to help them. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah were in charge of the security guards. The priest Zadok and his family of priests were assigned to the Tent of God at the sacred mound at Gibeon to make sure that the services of morning and evening worship were conducted daily, complete with Whole-Burnt-Offerings offered on the Altar of Burnt Offering, as ordered in the Law of God, which was the norm for Israel. With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and others specifically named, with the job description: “Give thanks to God, for his love never quits!” Heman and Jeduthun were also well equipped with trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments for accompanying sacred songs. The sons of Jeduthun formed the security guard.

 
For Reflection
Everybody needs a high status friend, someone in whom you can put your trust, someone who occupies a pivotal place in a line of authority,  someone who can listen to you and console you, someone who can offer wise council, someone who can smooth your path.  In my lifetime I have found many people who could fulfill one or more of those roles, but, I have found not any single person who could act in all capacities.  So I give thanks to God and pledge my allegiance and trust to the only one to can bring me into righteousness and save me from being gobbled up in this chaotic world.

Pray
Give thanks to God, whose love, council, and partnership never quits.  Pray so that God will keep you out of Godless places and firmly entrenched in God's glory.

A Sacrifice of Praise to God

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Make a Joyful Noise

Hebrews 13:6-15  The Message

^5-6 Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote,

God is there, ready to help;
I’m fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?

^7-8 Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be a consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn’t change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he’s always totally himself.

⁹ Don’t be lured away from him by the latest speculations about him. The grace of Christ is the only good ground for life. Products named after Christ don’t seem to do much for those who buy them.
^10-12 The altar from which God gives us the gift of himself is not for exploitation by insiders who grab and loot. In the old system, the animals are killed and the bodies disposed of outside the camp. The blood is then brought inside to the altar as a sacrifice for sin. It’s the same with Jesus. He was crucified outside the city gates—that is where he poured out the sacrificial blood that was brought to God’s altar to cleanse his people.
^13-15 So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.

 
For Reflection
In the quest to capture the material world one will always be disappointed.  Capturing the spiritual world first facilitates the wise capture of the material world.  Serving as a Christian is not an insider only vocation.  Christians serve all people not just other Christians.  Taking a share of God's and Christ's name means taking the sacrificial step to become a servant of God, one in God's angel army.

Pray

Praise God for the gift of righteous living.  Praise God for the opportunity to serve.  Praise God.

Ascribe Greatness to Our God

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Make a Joyful Noise

Deuteronomy 32:1-7  The Message

The Song

32 ^1-5 Listen, Heavens, I have something to tell you.
    Attention, Earth, I’ve got a mouth full of words.
    My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain,
        my words arrive like morning dew,
    Like a sprinkling rain on new grass,
        like spring showers on the garden.
    For it’s God’s Name I’m preaching—
        respond to the greatness of our God!
    The Rock: His works are perfect,
        and the way he works is fair and just;
    A God you can depend upon, no exceptions,
        a straight-arrow God.
    His messed-up, mixed-up children, his non-children,
        throw mud at him but none of it sticks.

^6-7 Don’t you realize it is God you are treating like this?
        This is crazy; don’t you have any sense of reverence?
    Isn’t this your father who created you,
        who made you and gave you a place on Earth?
    Read up on what happened before you were born;
        dig into the past, understand your roots.
    Ask your parents what it was like before you were born;
        ask the old-ones, they’ll tell you a thing or two.

For Reflection
It is not necessary to scream hell fire and damnation to bring new believers into the fold.  These days a good concept of Hell doesn't always do the trick.  God's words are gentle. Gods words are as brilliant as sun shimmering in the drops of a morning dew.  Gods words water the gardens of hope. God is ever lasting.  Ask your parents.  Ask the older folks in your midst.  They will tell stories of unexpected blessings.  Assign the blessings to God.

Pray

that you will see God's hand in your every day affairs.  Pray that you will conduct yourself as a child of God, confident in God's promise of the triumph of good over evil.

Worship with Reverence and Awe

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Make a Joyful Noise

Hebrews 12:22-29  The Message

^22-24 No, that’s not your experience at all. You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just. You’ve come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel’s—a homicide that cried out for vengeance—became a proclamation of grace.
^25-27 So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.
^28-29 Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!

For Reflection
Christ is killed and vengeance is turned to grace.  What could be more miraculous!  A culture that demanded an eye for an eye vengeance is changed to a culture which proclaims the Grace of God.

There is a lot of shaking going on in today's churches.  Our faith needs an occasional house cleaning.  Take some time to question your faith so that you will respond to the unshakable essentials.

Pray

that you will respond to the core principles of your faith, justice, compassion, forgiveness and peace.

Devote Yourselves to the Lord

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Make a Joyful Noise

1 Kings 8:54-63 The Message

^54-55 Having finished praying to God—all these bold and passionate prayers—Solomon stood up before God’s Altar where he had been kneeling all this time, his arms stretched upward to heaven. Standing, he blessed the whole congregation of Israel, blessing them at the top of his lungs:

^56-58 “Blessed be God, who has given peace to his people Israel just as he said he’d do. Not one of all those good and wonderful words that he spoke through Moses has misfired. May God, our very own God, continue to be with us just as he was with our ancestors—may he never give up and walk out on us. May he keep us centered and devoted to him, following the life path he has cleared, watching the signposts, walking at the pace and rhythms he laid down for our ancestors.
^59-61 “And let these words that I’ve prayed in the presence of God be always right there before him, day and night, so that he’ll do what is right for me, to guarantee justice for his people Israel day after day after day. Then all the people on earth will know God is the true God; there is no other God. And you, your lives must be totally obedient to God, our personal God, following the life path he has cleared, alert and attentive to everything he has made plain this day.”

^62-63 The king and all Israel with him then worshiped, offering sacrifices to God. Solomon offered Peace-Offerings, sacrificing to God 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. This is how the king and all Israel dedicated The Temple of God.

 
For Reflection
Solomon's blessing to the people of Israel is a prayer we all pray.  Sometimes we forget that Christianity is seated deeply in Jewish tradition.  The Old Testament is the foundation of our faith.  Christ came to show us God's way for us to enjoy righteous lives.  Let us all offer ourselves to the living God.

Pray

Pray the blessing of Solomon.

Hold Fast to God

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Make a Joyful Noise

Deuteronomy 13:1-10  The Message

13 ^1-4 When a prophet or visionary gets up in your community and gives out a miracle-sign or wonder, and the miracle-sign or wonder that he gave out happens and he says, “Let’s follow other gods” (these are gods you know nothing about), “let’s worship them,” don’t pay any attention to what that prophet or visionary says. God, your God, is testing you to find out if you totally love him with everything you have in you. You are to follow only God, your God, hold him in deep reverence, keep his commandments, listen obediently to what he says, serve him—hold on to him for dear life!

⁵ And that prophet or visionary must be put to death. He has urged mutiny against God, your God, who rescued you from Egypt, who redeemed you from a world of slavery and put you on the road on which God, your God, has commanded you to walk. Purge the evil from your company.
^6-10 And when your brother or son or daughter, or even your dear wife or lifelong friend, comes to you in secret and whispers, “Let’s go and worship some other gods” (gods that you know nothing about, neither you nor your ancestors, the gods of the peoples around you near and far, from one end of the Earth to the other), don’t go along with him; shut your ears. Don’t feel sorry for him and don’t make excuses for him. Kill him. That’s right, kill him. You throw the first stone. Take action at once and swiftly with everybody in the community getting in on it at the end. Stone him with stones so that he dies. He tried to turn you traitor against God, your God, the one who got you out of Egypt and the world of slavery.

 
For Reflection
How many attempts to lure you to some other "gods" do you observe in a single day?  The gods of good health?  The gods of possessions?  The false gods who advocate hate as a path to peace. The gods of fear that warn of inevitable disaster unless you turn from a just, righteous and forgiving path?  These are the gods who enslave you.  These are the gods that lure you into a sinful life apart from the living God. 

While I'm confident that I would not advocate violence against those who would lure you from God, I would advocate that you purge the evil god mongers from your company.  Close your ears to the preachers of hate.  Close your eyes to the paths of self righteousness.  Open your hearts to the offer of freedom from fear, death and destructive action.  Live in and for God.

Pray

that you will have the wisdom to quell the voices of false gods.  Pray for the courage to follow a God-centered life in the midst of the tyrannies of modern life.

Honor and Glory Forever

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Worship Christ's Majesty

1 Timothy 1:12-19  The Message

^12-14 I’m so grateful to Christ Jesus for making me adequate to do this work. He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry. The only credentials I brought to it were invective and witch hunts and arrogance. But I was treated mercifully because I didn’t know what I was doing—didn’t know Who I was doing it against! Grace mixed with faith and love poured over me and into me. And all because of Jesus.

^15-19 Here’s a word you can take to heart and depend on: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof—Public Sinner Number One—of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy. And now he shows me off—evidence of his endless patience—to those who are right on the edge of trusting him forever.

Deep honor and bright glory
    to the King of All Time—
One God, Immortal, Invisible,
    ever and always. Oh, yes!

I’m passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we’re in.

 
For Reflection

God trusts us with Jesus ministry.  God has given us the skills and provides guidance to foster God's Kingdom on Earth. God's work is passed on to us from all those who came before us and who have fought for the Kingdom.  We are the heirs of God's intention for human kind.  What could be a more important reason for our existence?

Pray

prayers of hope.  Pray prayers of thanksgiving and praise.  Pray so that you can fulfill the potential for righteousness God has given you.

My Son, the Beloved

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Worship Christ's Majesty

Matthew 3:13-17 The Message

^13-14 Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. John objected, “I’m the one who needs to be baptized, not you!”

¹⁵ But Jesus insisted. “Do it. God’s work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism.” So John did it.
^16-17 The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God’s Spirit—it looked like a dove—descending and landing on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

 
For Reflection
Matthew saw Jesus as the incarnation of God.  To worship Jesus, then, is to worship God.  To emulate Christ, then, is to take on the robes of God.  As mild as a dove, as hopeful, peaceful, and forgiving as Christ, as full of the living Spirit of God, we are agents of righteousness.  Our practice is defined by our confidence in the mystery that is God.

Pray

that you will fulfill the promise of your baptism.  Pray for the courage to follow the Spirit.  Pray so that you will remain steadfast.

First and Last, Beginning and End

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Worship Christ's Majesty

Revelation 22:8-15  The Message

^8-9 I, John, saw all these things with my own eyes, heard them with my ears. Immediately when I heard and saw, I fell on my face to worship at the feet of the Angel who laid it all out before me. He objected, “No you don’t! I’m a servant just like you and your companions, the prophets, and all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
^10-11 The Angel continued, “Don’t seal the words of the prophecy of this book; don’t put it away on the shelf. Time is just about up. Let evildoers do their worst and the dirty-minded go all out in pollution, but let the righteous maintain a straight course and the holy continue on in holiness.”

^12-13 “Yes, I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon! I’m bringing my payroll with me. I’ll pay all people in full for their life’s work. I’m A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and Conclusion.

^14-15 “How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they’ll walk through the gates to the City. But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies.

 
For Reflection
Think about the hope this passage generated. This is a vision of triumph.  This is a testament to the power of God working through us.  Not all people are working on a righteous path.  Holiness is our reward.  Let us all keep our robes of righteousness clean and refreshed.

Pray

to cleanse and refresh our faith and action.  Pray so you can be the bearer of God's overture of reconciliation and right living.

God the Almighty Reigns

Acts of Worship
Awe of God

Worship Christ's Majesty

Revelation 19:1-8 The Message

The Sound of Hallelujahs

19 ^1-3 I heard a sound like massed choirs in Heaven singing,

Hallelujah!
The salvation and glory and power are God’s—
    his judgments true, his judgments just.
He judged the great Whore
    who corrupted the earth with her lust.
He avenged on her the blood of his servants.

Then, more singing:

Hallelujah!
The smoke from her burning billows up
    to high Heaven forever and ever and ever.

⁴ The Twenty-four Elders and the Four Animals fell to their knees and worshiped God on his Throne, praising,

Amen! Yes! Hallelujah!

⁵ From the Throne came a shout, a command:

Praise our God, all you his servants,
All you who fear him, small and great!

^6-8 Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder:

Hallelujah!
The Master reigns,
    our God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Let us celebrate, let us rejoice,
    let us give him the glory!
The Marriage of the Lamb has come;
    his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown
    of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints.

For Reflection
These passages describe the vision of the triumph of good over evil. The cause for the defeat of evil is the marriage of Christ and the Church. The church is the residing place for all righteousness. Absolution, adoption, and enfranchisement are the gifts from God.  So great is the joy, so great the is the awesome power, so great is the work of God that all who believe are singing praises glorifying God.

Pray

Praise God from whom all good things spring.  Praise God from whom we have received the gifts of forgiveness.  Praise God from whom the gifts of compassion, forgiveness and justice are our blessings and our patterns for faithful, righteous living.