head

 This morning we begin worship with:

Psalm 24:8-10

Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty

in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that

the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts,

he is the King of glory!

This describes a portcullis, where the gate is lifted vertically with much effort by a rope and pulley system, the bottom edge of which was made to both look threatening and to be lethal if suddenly dropped.  When normally opened, the gatekeepers would only open it sufficient for the height of those entering and leave exposed that lethal bottom edge, which could be dropped in a moment by a sudden slash of the rope.

For the King, our King of Glory, however the gate needs to lifted so high that the top of the gate (its head) is visible above the wall, so the bottom edge would be hidden and the gate could be secured in place.  It is opened in this way so that the returning King may enter without fear of a coup by rouge gatekeepers.

The King, our King of Glory, does not enter alone, for too we enter with Him as part of this triumph.

2 Corinthians 2:14-16
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

blessed

 This week we begin worship with:

Genesis 1:27–28

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to

them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have

dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over

every living thing that moves on the earth.”

When you hire an employee, you give them something to do.  It is their job, for which they are responsible.  

In this blessing (bāraḵ), we are given a job,  And that job has a purpose, to bring our part of the world under our care.  And that job has a primary method, to build a family and a heritage..  During the conquest of land of Israel, Moses said:

Deuteronomy 7:22

The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you.

So, for whatever your scope (father, aunt, corporate executive officer, kindergarten teacher), bring your part of this world under that divine ordered care and expand your scope as you are able, for that is God's blessing to us.

authority

 This week we begin worship with:

Matthew 28:18-20

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

It is often said, when you see the word "therefore" you should look and see what it is there for!

Verse 19 starts with the phrase "Go therefore".  The reason we are to "go" is in verse 18 that "All authority" was given to Jesus.  So, let's briefly look at "authority":

• While the KJV translates it in our verse as "power" is it not dynamis, which is oft heard in sermon illustrations from which we get dynamite, where the source of authority is the individual's power.
• While it is true, this is not kratos, which is often used in doxologies as "dominion" (1 Timothy 6:16; 1 Peter 4:11; 1 Peter 5:11; Jude 1:25; Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:13), where the source of authority is the hierarchy of business or government (The pyramid they sit upon gives them their authority).
• While again true, this is not ischys, where the source of authority is one's skill and ability, like the captain of a team.

This word is exousia, which has its roots in law.

Previously the Sanhedrin was the arbitrator of law (Matthew 12:10, 12:12, 12:2, 12:4, 14:4, 19:3, 20:15, 22:17).  

Now, Jesus is the judge!  He will sit on the throne of judgement.

Revelation 20:11-12

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

This is the reason we "Go".

acceptable

This week we begin worship with:

Hebrews 12:28

Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let

us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.

Because of this verse (and others) we follow the regulative principle of worship, understanding that how God is to be worshiped is laid out in scripture, as opposed to the normative principle of worship where any sort of worship that is not prohibited by scripture may be used.  

In Genesis 4:3-8, even prior to any such proscription, we see that Cain's worship was rejected as unacceptable while Abel got it right.  Cain had given the produce.  Abel sacrificed the producer.

We each receive an unshakable "kingdom".  We each receive 7 days a week.  And in gratitude for that gift, we are told in Exodus 20:8-11 to sacrifice one day, during which we could have been the producer.  We worship by sacrificing that day.  And during which we sing, pray, read scripture, receive instruction, and receive the sacraments.  

So strictly speaking, it is in duty, rather than worship, that we bring the tithes and offerings.  For our produce is never acceptable worship.

beautiful

 This week we begin worship with:

Ecclesiastes 3:11

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s

heart.

Reader, you are beautiful.  God loved you so much, He made you. He made you for this time and for eternity.

Job 14:14-16

If a man dies, shall he live again?

    All the days of my service I would wait,

    till my renewal should come.

You would call, and I would answer you;

    you would long for the work of your hands.

For then you would number my steps;

    you would not keep watch over my sin;

Reader, God loves us so much, He will call you into eternity.  He will not leave the beautiful work of His hands in a grave.