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“Serve the Lord with celebration!”
“Serve the Lord with celebration!”
Monday, 31 July 2017
Psalm 100:1 (0) A psalm of thanksgiving:
(1) Shout for joy to Adonai, all the earth!
2 Serve Adonai with gladness.
Enter his presence with joyful songs.
3 Be aware that Adonai is God;
it is he who made us; and we are his,
his people, the flock in his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
enter his courtyards with praise;
give thanks to him, and bless his name.
5 For Adonai is good, his grace continues forever,
and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.
-------
Sometimes the sheer logistics of getting to a worship service leave us feeling hassled and worn out when we arrive. (This is especially true for families with small children, but is not limited to them.) Even worse, sometimes painful or frustrating life circumstances leave us feeling like doing anything but celebrating. Psalm 100 didn’t call us to celebrate our life circumstances, though—it invited us to celebrate because we “know that the Lord is God.”
• Worship invites us to lift our sights above life’s immediate circumstances. “The ideal king in the ancient Near East was likened to a shepherd, an image of care and protection…. The picture here is even more intimate, because Yahweh, the king (v. 3), is also viewed as one who created his people by his own hand.” * What helps you celebrate God as creator and king of your life even when life isn’t going the way you’d wish?
• The psalmist, like all human beings, must have faced life’s ups and downs. Trusting that "the Lord is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation” (verse 5) focused his thoughts on worship and gratitude. Despite the trials and uncertainties we all face, what can you choose to be grateful for in your life? What does it mean for you that “the Lord is God” and that you are a “sheep of his pasture”?
Prayer: Lord God, remind me today that you are good and your love lasts forever. Help that truth to shape my perspective on whatever happens this day. Amen.
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 124981-124984). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
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Donna Karlen
Donna Karlen serves in Communications at Church of the Resurrection by creating and managing social media content.
The words coming from my mouth were not shouts of joy. I was not thanking God. I was not praising God. I was not blessing his name.
The very thing I had worried about – prayed about over and over... on my knees, before I went to sleep, when I woke up, as I tossed and turned all through the night and fretted during the day – what I so did not want to happen… happened. I was mad at God and I wasn’t hesitating to tell him so.
Several years ago I had similar feelings and talked to my pastor about it. She told me God was much bigger than my anger and could take it. She said God would be there when I was ready. That God is always faithful.
God’s faithfulness... Psalm 100 says it lasts from generation to generation – forever! Well I wanted this “faithfulness” to mean God would answer my prayers in the way I wanted them answered – every time! I shouted, “what was the point of my even bothering to pray?!”
Marvin Hinten wrote a book, God Is Not a Vending Machine. I haven’t read it yet, but the summary states, “Making prayer effective… doesn’t mean getting what we want. Hinten tells how to use prayer to move from a desire for what we want to a desire for what God wants.” I struggle with this – obviously!
I was not thanking God. I was not praising God. I was not blessing his name.
It took me a little longer this time to reach out again to the God who is always, relentlessly, reaching for us. God waited for me – because God is faithful. We belong to him. God’s love lasts forever. And for this…
I thank God. I praise God. I bless his name.
-------
“True worshippers will worship in spirit and truth”
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
John 4:19-26
-------
Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman. “So what?” you might ask. First, most rabbis didn’t spend time teaching women—they tended to view them as simple creatures suited mainly for homemaking and childbearing. Second, Jews didn’t talk much with Samaritans—and vice versa. But Jesus took the woman’s question seriously. He didn’t argue the outward location for worship. He said what is in our hearts as we worship is what matters to God.
• Jesus said that beyond human disputes about the right place or right way to worship, the key was that people worship “in spirit and truth” (verse 24). How did “in spirit” focus attention on our inner being as shaping our worship? How did “in truth” point to the importance of honestly opening your whole life to God’s love and grace as you worship?
• Jews hated Samaritans; Samaritans hated Jews. The mistrust and dislike between the two peoples went back centuries. How does the way Jesus reached out to this Samaritan woman suggest ways that our openness to “worship in spirit and in truth” might bridge social, ethnic and cultural barriers in our world? In our city?
Prayer: Jesus, sometimes I shrink from being completely honest with you. Help me to embrace and trust the truth of your love and mercy so that I can more fully worship you. Amen.
-------
-------
“The joy from the Lord is your strength!”
Wednesday, 2 August 2017
Nehemiah 8:8-10, 9:5-6
-------
Since Israel had been in exile in Babylon for a generation or two, Ezra and Nehemiah believed a public reading of God’s law (possibly the book of Deuteronomy) would help get everybody “on the same page.” At the reading, though, some people wept, seeing just rules and work. But Nehemiah told them that the path to being God’s deeply committed followers ran through what he called “the joy of the Lord.”
• When Persia first let Israel’s exiles return to Jerusalem, it brought dizzying joy (cf. Psalm 126:1-3). But for too many Israelites the joy was apparently just about their physical circumstances, not about God’s role in their lives. That kind of joy faded in the face of the challenges of rebuilding their ruined land and capital city. What has helped you to see following God not as a joyless burden, but as a privilege pointing the way to true joy in life?
• The Babylonians, like most Middle Eastern peoples of that day, worshipped numerous deities. Nehemiah 9:6 in Hebrew was worded to teach that Yahweh, Israel’s God, was in a class by himself. In what ways have you found that God is more worthy of loyalty and worship in your life than any of the “gods” (e.g. materialism, success, personal pleasure) that our culture tends to serve?
Prayer: Lord God, I want to experience your deep joy in whatever life brings my way, because you are in the center of my life. Help me grow in my comprehension that you are truly in a class by yourself. Amen.
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-------
“Let’s love each other, because love is from God”
Thursday, 3 August 2017
1 John 4:4-10
-------
Who (or what) we worship shapes the kind of person we become. That was why John’s letter located the source of our ability to love, not within us (no matter how temperamentally “nice” we may—or may not—be), but in God’s self-giving, sacrificial love for us. We do not worship to earn God’s love, but in response to the amazing, saving love that God has already shown to us.
• Most Romans (we still have some of their writings) ridiculed a thought like “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” But we have the record of over 2000 years of history. How did God’s love, which lived in those early Christians through the Holy Spirit, not only survive, but in the end outlast, the Roman Empire’s military and economic power? Can God’s love, dwelling in us, still “defeat the world” today?
• The Christian message is truly “counter-cultural.” It calls us to draw our motivations and values from a God who exists before and beyond our culture. What are some ways, if any, that you have overcome hurtful cultural habits or patterns because of your faith in Jesus? What culture-based fears and pressures make it hard for you to offer your best to God? How can the principles in this passage strengthen you to resist those pressures?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you showed the transforming power of love and faith. Dwell in me, Holy Spirit, shaping the kind of love and faith that can change my world for the better. Amen.
-------
-------
“You have drawn near to Mount Zion…heavenly Jerusalem”
Friday,4 August 2017
Hebrews 12:18-24, 28-29
-------
The letter to the Hebrews originally spoke to Christians who faced severe persecution (cf. Hebrews 12:3-4). Under those conditions, they wondered if it was worth holding to their faith in Jesus. In answer, the writer contrasted the fearsome scene in Exodus 19:9-25 with their joy in worshipping Jesus. When the believers worshipped, they were a part of something truly awesome—a cosmic, world-changing reality worth any price they had to pay. • Verse 28 invited believers to worship God “with reverence and awe.” Which of the images in these verses speak most powerfully to your sense of awe? What are the moments in a worship service (if any) that most evoke in you a sense of respect and awe, an awareness of being in the presence of “the living God”?
• As you prepare to worship this weekend, ask God to lift your imagination beyond the earthly building, musicians and speaker. Pray for a spiritual glimpse of “countless angels in a festival gathering,” of offering worship and praise to the living God in “the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem.” Picture how God desires to transform you, and your surroundings, in Leawood, Olathe, downtown Kansas City or Blue Springs or elsewhere.
Prayer: Great God, in the awe-inspiring beauty of a baby’s face, of a grandparent’s wisdom, of a good friend’s care and concern—touch my heart. In the glory of worship and praise, increase my capacity for awe. Amen.
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-------
“Let every living thing praise the Lord!”
Saturday, 5 August 2017
Psalm 150:1-6
-------
The collectors and compilers of Israel’s psalms chose this vibrant poem/song of praise to cap the collection. In Israel’s context, it took in both traditional ways of worshipping (“the blast of the ram’s horn”) and more “contemporary” expressions (“drum and dance,” “clashing cymbals”). In the light of God’s “incredible greatness,” it invited God’s people to use the full range of their creativity to celebrate God’s mighty acts, to bring their best energy and skill to the act of worship.
• Pastor-scholar Donald Williams wrote, “This psalm is a little introduction to and summary of what real worship is: expressing joyful delight in the presence of God. Commentators identify this psalm as a hymn. Its author and date are unknown; it is timeless. The thought moves from what to do before God and where to do it (v. 1) to why to do it (v. 2) and concludes with how to do it (vv. 3–6).” * In what ways do your attitude about, and participation in, worship reflect the spirit of this psalm? In what areas do you want to ask God to help your worship experience grow toward this ideal?
Prayer: God of wonders and might acts, by your love draw me ever more fully into your awe-inspiring presence. Guide me to worship you more deeply in spirit and in truth. Amen.
* Donald Williams, The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 14: Psalms 73–150. Lloyd John Ogilvie, gen. ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989, p. 530.
Family Activity: Create a special worship box or chest for your home. (You can use a shoebox or other container or buy a plain one at a craft store.) Design the outside with words, pictures and symbols representing your family and faith. Inside, place objects that help your family worship together. You might include a Bible, a prayer cloth, a candle, items from nature, pictures, art supplies, and music. Each week spend some time worshipping together at home using the items in your box. You might also try going on a nature walk and praising God for creation, serving in a nursing home or soup kitchen, or even giving a worship box to another family to design and use. Give thanks to God for the blessing of worship!
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-------
You might also like
Beast: You came back. Belle: Don't leave me. I love you.
Lumiere: What if she is ‘the one’ who will break the spell?
Mrs. Potts to the Beast: “Must help her to see past all that”
Belle: He's no monster Gaston. You are!
Mrs. Potts to Belle: The master's not as terrible as he appears!
Or download this week's printable GPS.-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Pat Tackett and family on the death of her mother Betty Grayson, 7/25
• Jon Chamberlain and family on the death of his sister Roberta Landreth, 7/20
•Cran Cederlind and family on the death of his mother Alme “Jackie” Cederlind, 7/20
•Ryan Aldis and family on the death of his mother Sarah Gillman, 7/20
•Family and friends of Melissa Owen on her death, 7/20
• Jim Smith and family on the death of his sister Joyce Winters, 7/19
• Mary Shewmake and family on the death of her brother-in-law James “Jim” Hess, 7/5
•Steve Hechler and family on the death of his father George L. Hechler, 7/4
-------
Psalm 100:1 (0) A psalm of thanksgiving:
(1) Shout for joy to Adonai, all the earth!
2 Serve Adonai with gladness.
Enter his presence with joyful songs.
3 Be aware that Adonai is God;
it is he who made us; and we are his,
his people, the flock in his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
enter his courtyards with praise;
give thanks to him, and bless his name.
5 For Adonai is good, his grace continues forever,
and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.
-------
Sometimes the sheer logistics of getting to a worship service leave us feeling hassled and worn out when we arrive. (This is especially true for families with small children, but is not limited to them.) Even worse, sometimes painful or frustrating life circumstances leave us feeling like doing anything but celebrating. Psalm 100 didn’t call us to celebrate our life circumstances, though—it invited us to celebrate because we “know that the Lord is God.”
• Worship invites us to lift our sights above life’s immediate circumstances. “The ideal king in the ancient Near East was likened to a shepherd, an image of care and protection…. The picture here is even more intimate, because Yahweh, the king (v. 3), is also viewed as one who created his people by his own hand.” * What helps you celebrate God as creator and king of your life even when life isn’t going the way you’d wish?
• The psalmist, like all human beings, must have faced life’s ups and downs. Trusting that "the Lord is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation” (verse 5) focused his thoughts on worship and gratitude. Despite the trials and uncertainties we all face, what can you choose to be grateful for in your life? What does it mean for you that “the Lord is God” and that you are a “sheep of his pasture”?
Prayer: Lord God, remind me today that you are good and your love lasts forever. Help that truth to shape my perspective on whatever happens this day. Amen.
* HarperCollins Christian Publishing. NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, eBook: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Kindle Locations 124981-124984). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
-------
Donna KarlenDonna Karlen serves in Communications at Church of the Resurrection by creating and managing social media content.
The words coming from my mouth were not shouts of joy. I was not thanking God. I was not praising God. I was not blessing his name.
The very thing I had worried about – prayed about over and over... on my knees, before I went to sleep, when I woke up, as I tossed and turned all through the night and fretted during the day – what I so did not want to happen… happened. I was mad at God and I wasn’t hesitating to tell him so.
Several years ago I had similar feelings and talked to my pastor about it. She told me God was much bigger than my anger and could take it. She said God would be there when I was ready. That God is always faithful.
God’s faithfulness... Psalm 100 says it lasts from generation to generation – forever! Well I wanted this “faithfulness” to mean God would answer my prayers in the way I wanted them answered – every time! I shouted, “what was the point of my even bothering to pray?!”
Marvin Hinten wrote a book, God Is Not a Vending Machine. I haven’t read it yet, but the summary states, “Making prayer effective… doesn’t mean getting what we want. Hinten tells how to use prayer to move from a desire for what we want to a desire for what God wants.” I struggle with this – obviously!
I was not thanking God. I was not praising God. I was not blessing his name.
It took me a little longer this time to reach out again to the God who is always, relentlessly, reaching for us. God waited for me – because God is faithful. We belong to him. God’s love lasts forever. And for this…
I thank God. I praise God. I bless his name.
-------
“True worshippers will worship in spirit and truth”
Tuesday, 1 August 2017
John 4:19-26
-------
Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman. “So what?” you might ask. First, most rabbis didn’t spend time teaching women—they tended to view them as simple creatures suited mainly for homemaking and childbearing. Second, Jews didn’t talk much with Samaritans—and vice versa. But Jesus took the woman’s question seriously. He didn’t argue the outward location for worship. He said what is in our hearts as we worship is what matters to God.
• Jesus said that beyond human disputes about the right place or right way to worship, the key was that people worship “in spirit and truth” (verse 24). How did “in spirit” focus attention on our inner being as shaping our worship? How did “in truth” point to the importance of honestly opening your whole life to God’s love and grace as you worship?
• Jews hated Samaritans; Samaritans hated Jews. The mistrust and dislike between the two peoples went back centuries. How does the way Jesus reached out to this Samaritan woman suggest ways that our openness to “worship in spirit and in truth” might bridge social, ethnic and cultural barriers in our world? In our city?
Prayer: Jesus, sometimes I shrink from being completely honest with you. Help me to embrace and trust the truth of your love and mercy so that I can more fully worship you. Amen.
-------
-------
“The joy from the Lord is your strength!”
Wednesday, 2 August 2017
Nehemiah 8:8-10, 9:5-6
-------
Since Israel had been in exile in Babylon for a generation or two, Ezra and Nehemiah believed a public reading of God’s law (possibly the book of Deuteronomy) would help get everybody “on the same page.” At the reading, though, some people wept, seeing just rules and work. But Nehemiah told them that the path to being God’s deeply committed followers ran through what he called “the joy of the Lord.”
• When Persia first let Israel’s exiles return to Jerusalem, it brought dizzying joy (cf. Psalm 126:1-3). But for too many Israelites the joy was apparently just about their physical circumstances, not about God’s role in their lives. That kind of joy faded in the face of the challenges of rebuilding their ruined land and capital city. What has helped you to see following God not as a joyless burden, but as a privilege pointing the way to true joy in life?
• The Babylonians, like most Middle Eastern peoples of that day, worshipped numerous deities. Nehemiah 9:6 in Hebrew was worded to teach that Yahweh, Israel’s God, was in a class by himself. In what ways have you found that God is more worthy of loyalty and worship in your life than any of the “gods” (e.g. materialism, success, personal pleasure) that our culture tends to serve?
Prayer: Lord God, I want to experience your deep joy in whatever life brings my way, because you are in the center of my life. Help me grow in my comprehension that you are truly in a class by yourself. Amen.
-------
-------
“Let’s love each other, because love is from God”
Thursday, 3 August 2017
1 John 4:4-10
-------
Who (or what) we worship shapes the kind of person we become. That was why John’s letter located the source of our ability to love, not within us (no matter how temperamentally “nice” we may—or may not—be), but in God’s self-giving, sacrificial love for us. We do not worship to earn God’s love, but in response to the amazing, saving love that God has already shown to us.
• Most Romans (we still have some of their writings) ridiculed a thought like “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” But we have the record of over 2000 years of history. How did God’s love, which lived in those early Christians through the Holy Spirit, not only survive, but in the end outlast, the Roman Empire’s military and economic power? Can God’s love, dwelling in us, still “defeat the world” today?
• The Christian message is truly “counter-cultural.” It calls us to draw our motivations and values from a God who exists before and beyond our culture. What are some ways, if any, that you have overcome hurtful cultural habits or patterns because of your faith in Jesus? What culture-based fears and pressures make it hard for you to offer your best to God? How can the principles in this passage strengthen you to resist those pressures?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you showed the transforming power of love and faith. Dwell in me, Holy Spirit, shaping the kind of love and faith that can change my world for the better. Amen.
-------
-------
“You have drawn near to Mount Zion…heavenly Jerusalem”
Friday,4 August 2017
Hebrews 12:18-24, 28-29
-------
The letter to the Hebrews originally spoke to Christians who faced severe persecution (cf. Hebrews 12:3-4). Under those conditions, they wondered if it was worth holding to their faith in Jesus. In answer, the writer contrasted the fearsome scene in Exodus 19:9-25 with their joy in worshipping Jesus. When the believers worshipped, they were a part of something truly awesome—a cosmic, world-changing reality worth any price they had to pay. • Verse 28 invited believers to worship God “with reverence and awe.” Which of the images in these verses speak most powerfully to your sense of awe? What are the moments in a worship service (if any) that most evoke in you a sense of respect and awe, an awareness of being in the presence of “the living God”?
• As you prepare to worship this weekend, ask God to lift your imagination beyond the earthly building, musicians and speaker. Pray for a spiritual glimpse of “countless angels in a festival gathering,” of offering worship and praise to the living God in “the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem.” Picture how God desires to transform you, and your surroundings, in Leawood, Olathe, downtown Kansas City or Blue Springs or elsewhere.
Prayer: Great God, in the awe-inspiring beauty of a baby’s face, of a grandparent’s wisdom, of a good friend’s care and concern—touch my heart. In the glory of worship and praise, increase my capacity for awe. Amen.
-------
-------
“Let every living thing praise the Lord!”
Saturday, 5 August 2017
Psalm 150:1-6
-------
The collectors and compilers of Israel’s psalms chose this vibrant poem/song of praise to cap the collection. In Israel’s context, it took in both traditional ways of worshipping (“the blast of the ram’s horn”) and more “contemporary” expressions (“drum and dance,” “clashing cymbals”). In the light of God’s “incredible greatness,” it invited God’s people to use the full range of their creativity to celebrate God’s mighty acts, to bring their best energy and skill to the act of worship.
• Pastor-scholar Donald Williams wrote, “This psalm is a little introduction to and summary of what real worship is: expressing joyful delight in the presence of God. Commentators identify this psalm as a hymn. Its author and date are unknown; it is timeless. The thought moves from what to do before God and where to do it (v. 1) to why to do it (v. 2) and concludes with how to do it (vv. 3–6).” * In what ways do your attitude about, and participation in, worship reflect the spirit of this psalm? In what areas do you want to ask God to help your worship experience grow toward this ideal?
Prayer: God of wonders and might acts, by your love draw me ever more fully into your awe-inspiring presence. Guide me to worship you more deeply in spirit and in truth. Amen.
* Donald Williams, The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 14: Psalms 73–150. Lloyd John Ogilvie, gen. ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989, p. 530.
Family Activity: Create a special worship box or chest for your home. (You can use a shoebox or other container or buy a plain one at a craft store.) Design the outside with words, pictures and symbols representing your family and faith. Inside, place objects that help your family worship together. You might include a Bible, a prayer cloth, a candle, items from nature, pictures, art supplies, and music. Each week spend some time worshipping together at home using the items in your box. You might also try going on a nature walk and praising God for creation, serving in a nursing home or soup kitchen, or even giving a worship box to another family to design and use. Give thanks to God for the blessing of worship!
-------
-------
You might also like
Beast: You came back. Belle: Don't leave me. I love you.
Lumiere: What if she is ‘the one’ who will break the spell?
Mrs. Potts to the Beast: “Must help her to see past all that”
Belle: He's no monster Gaston. You are!
Mrs. Potts to Belle: The master's not as terrible as he appears!
Or download this week's printable GPS.-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Pat Tackett and family on the death of her mother Betty Grayson, 7/25
• Jon Chamberlain and family on the death of his sister Roberta Landreth, 7/20
•Cran Cederlind and family on the death of his mother Alme “Jackie” Cederlind, 7/20
•Ryan Aldis and family on the death of his mother Sarah Gillman, 7/20
•Family and friends of Melissa Owen on her death, 7/20
• Jim Smith and family on the death of his sister Joyce Winters, 7/19
• Mary Shewmake and family on the death of her brother-in-law James “Jim” Hess, 7/5
•Steve Hechler and family on the death of his father George L. Hechler, 7/4
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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