The King’s Daughter Loves David King Saul’s younger daughter is Michal. She loves David. David plays a critical role in the success of King Saul and the nation of Israel. The king should be grateful, yet Saul’s attitude toward David vacillates, with Saul often wanting to kill David out of jealousy. When Saul learns that […]
Examine Your Focus at Church This post isn’t about why you go to church or why you don’t attend church. It’s not looking at the purpose of church or the importance of church attendance. Instead it’s to ask the important question, what is your reason for church attendance? Yourself Most of us live in a […]
The prophet Amos had some condemning words for the people of Israel. Through Amos, God unleashed a lament against his chosen people. He says he despises their religious festivals, and their assemblies are a stench to him. Yeah, I get that. Those people sure rebelled against God. They deserved his stern rebuke. They went through […]
Worship and Revere The Bible says we are to fear God. But what does that really mean? I don’t think it implies God is malevolent or waiting for us to mess up so he can zap us, which would be legitimate reasons to fear him. Instead, God is benevolent and wants good things for us; […]
Look Up to the Mountains Psalm 121 is listed as “A song of ascents.” We may think of this as a subheading later added by translators, but it is not. It’s part of the original text. From nonbiblical sources, we learn that these songs were sung by the people as they climbed the hill to […]
Worship God Today’s passage: Revelation 22:7–11 Focus verse: “Worship God!” (Revelation 22:9) John identifies himself as the author of Revelation in the opening sections of the book. In case we forgot, he reminds us that he’s still here and this is his vision, which he’s dutifully recording for us to read. Overwhelmed by what he’s experiencing […]
He Is the Rock of Our Salvation Psalm 95 opens with a compelling call to worship. It starts with the simple invitation of “Come!” Yes, we are to gather to worship our Lord. Though we can also worship him ourselves, the numbers in our corporate gathering multiply our praise. We are to come together and […]
Anna is widowed after only seven years of marriage. A devout woman, she dedicates her life to God, spending as much time as possible in the temple fasting, praying, and worshiping him. Anna is at least eighty-four years old when Mary and Joseph show up to consecrate Jesus. First, she recognizes him as the savior […]
May Our Sunday Morning Practices Point Us to God I’ve been hearing of people opting for traditional churches with more formal, liturgical services. They desire to move away from the seeker sensitive services they grew up with. They don’t want to go to a performance every Sunday. They want to worship God in a reserved, […]
Praise and Worship Today’s passage: Revelation 11:15–19 Focus verse: And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God. (Revelation 11:16) With the second woe complete, the seventh angel sounds his trumpet. Whereas the first six trumpet blasts bring forth immediate death and destruction to the earth, […]