The Bad News about Worship . . .
Read: Amos 5:18-24 Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! . . . But let justice roll down like waters. (vv. 18, 24) Today’s Scripture is hard to hear, but the message is clear: God is with us on Sunday morning, but God is also with us the rest of the week, and […]
Did Not Our Hearts Burn within Us?
Read: Luke 24:30-35 He took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. (vv. 30-31) After preaching to the two disciples all the way to the village of Emmaus, Jesus revealed himself to them “in the breaking of the bread.” The disciples’ hearts […]
Construction Site Sermons
Read: Jeremiah 1:4-10 I have put my words in your mouth. . . . to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. (vv. 9-10) When people use the word “worship,” often what they really mean is “music we sing in church.” But worship is much more than […]
Remembering the Surprises
Read: Genesis 28:10-22 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” (v. 16) Encountering God was the last thing on Jacob’s mind as he was running away from his angry brother Esau. (See Genesis 27 for details.) From his perspective, God completely surprised […]
Sharing a Baptism
Read: Romans 6:3-8 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (v. 4) I’ve always found it funny to listen to sports fans talk about their favorite players. When […]
Will They Let Me In?
Read: Psalm 15 O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? (v. 1) Athanasius of Alexandria once wrote, “If you wish to learn what sort of person is a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, sing Psalm 15.” I don’t know about you, but when I read (or sing) […]
Rejoicing Alongside Lament
Read: Ezra 3:10-13 The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping. (v. 13) We like to think that our worship of God is emotionally simple. For example, when we are happy, we sing loud, joyful songs. When we desire intimacy with God, we sing slower, quieter […]
It Starts with Praise
Read: Psalm 148 Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created. (v. 5) Out of the silence of the darkness of nothingness, God spoke . . . and creation happened. Every sound and color exploded into being, shouting “Alleluia!”—a holy ruckus of praise to God. But mountains and snowflakes, […]
Gods of Plastic and Circuits
Read: Habakkuk 2:18-20 Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it. (v. 19) Yesterday I wrote that silence is an important part of worship. It’s tempting to think that […]