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, […]
Silence from the Seventh Seal Today’s passage: Revelation 8:1–5 Focus verse: When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (Revelation 8:1) Finally, Jesus breaks the seventh and final seal of Father God’s scroll. At the opening of each of the first six seals, something immediately happened in John’s […]
I enjoy nature and worship God through it, so a verse in Romans gives me pause. It talks about the error of worshiping created things instead of the Creator. I feel that I can worship God through my appreciation of nature, that I can better appreciate the intangible through the tangible. Yet this verse seems […]
Praising God as Worthy Today’s passage: Revelation 4:9–11 Focus verse: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power.” (Revelation 4:11) The four living creatures have affirmed God as holy, holy, holy. The twenty-four elders are there too. What are they doing as the four living creatures chant their praise? […]
Churches Move and Things Change We started visiting fifty-two churches the Sunday after Easter. We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus at our home church and then slipped away for a year, visiting a different Christian church every Sunday for a year. At least that’s the quick way to explain our journey. We doubled up on […]