This week, we’re exploring how a church community should be committed to connectedness to God in worship.
Humans will never be more connected to God than in the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God. The Bible includes the book of Revelation, which recounts John’s vision of the kingdom of heaven. Here’s what he described about angels, and then humans:
Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE Lord GOD ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME.” Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:8-11)
Even in the kingdom, there is worship. The word may not appear in this reading, but the core meaning is there. Worship means “to give worth to something.” And the words “you are worthy” are right at the beginning of the words the elders say in their heavenly worship.
You can tell what someone values by how they spend money, time. You can see what’s worth their limited resources. Worship is spending our limited time on God. It’s an expression of love.
In our Marriage and Parenting courses, we introduce the five love languages. Some communicate and receive love through words, touch, acts of service, time, and others through gifts.
In the same way, we can show love to God through various “languages”. Worship includes prayer, and music, confessing sins, asking forgiveness, reminding ourselves what we believe, reading the Bible together, and more. All aspects of how communities of Christians worship.
These are all ways to communicate God’s worth in our eyes. You can see it in this reading. The elders say, “You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power” but then they tell him why: he is the creator of everything.
He knows all this, of course. But this is a time for humans, mortals, to feed that back to him. To acknowledge he is at the cetner of our lives, not the periphery, and we’re not going to deny it.
Question: How do you know someone values you? What do they say, do, or not?
Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.
Read the Bible in Sync Today
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Yesterday we studied Peter’s speech after healing a man. At the end, he said people shouldn’t look to him, or to the healed man, for answers. Where should they have looked?
He wanted them to look at Jesus. That’s where the man, and the crowd will find healing, power, and hope. Us, too! We’ll find the one we’ve been waiting for, even though humans killed him, he rose again and undid that and every other wrong. Yes, he was speaking to local Jews at the time he made these accusations, but by its presence in scripture, and all our participation in sin, he was also speaking to every human being on earth.
With an opportunity to speak to thousands, Peter made a direct accusation. This may make us uncomfortable, and it probably made his first hearers even more so. But thankfully he doesn’t stop there, but gives them some comfort, that this was all possible due to their ignorance. As Jesus died, he said, “Forgive them, they know not what they do” and Peter reminds them of that.
They didn’t know that Jesus whom they killed was actually their Messiah, but he was. Peter lets them know this is the one they’d been waiting for, who would bring together all the best of their history in one Messiah. He says Jesus was the:
Suffering servant
Moses-like Prophet
Davidic king
Seed of Abraham
The people in Jerusalem at that time put him to death, but we all made it necessary. Through our own sin or rebellion against God, our sin, we’ve all had our part in Jesus’ death.
But that also means we can all share in his resurrection.
His resurrection led to the forgiveness of sins for all people, freely offered. If we call on his name, where true power is to be found, we’ll find our ultimate healing just like that man.
His takeaway message? Repent and turn to God. The physical healing this crippled man experienced is just like the spiritual healing you can experience.
He describes three blessings:
Sins will be wiped or blotted out.
Times of refreshing, we can see it in this leaping man who previously couldn’t walk.
The promised Christ, Jesus will be back to bring his kingdom fully to earth as it is in heaven.
Challenge: Find one way today to point to Jesus, instead of yourself. i.e. Don’t take the credit for something important today, but tell someone you thank God for it instead.
