Things That Do Not Belong In The Divine Worship 9/22/16
* For worship to take place, there are some elements that are very important. They need to be part of the process. Certainly one of these elements is our preparation. I am not talking about the right clothes, the hair cut, the right make-up or anything of the sort. Preparation includes being humble and recognizing our complete dependence upon the mercies of the Lord. When Martin Luther died on February 18, 1546, a scrap of paper was found in his pocket with his seven words, part in Latin, part in German: “Hoc est verum. Wir sind alle Bettler” (“This is true: we are all beggars.”). Luther also said that we are beggars with empty sacks. We have to come to worship with empty lives to be filled with Christ! When we are full of ourselves, there is no room for Christ.
* Another aspect of our preparation includes being at peace with our brothers & sisters. Scripture says that if we have an offering ready to bring to the altar and then remember that we have some problems with someone else in our Christian family, we first need to fix that issue. Matthew 5:23, 24. Holding grudges and having a non-forgiving lifestyle is very damaging. * How is our conduct in worship? The house of the Lord is not the place where we can spew hate, be critical, and demonstrate divisive behavior. We shouldn’t do that anywhere. A child of God will behave appropriately in all places! If we come with a rotten attitude & have an inadequate conduct, the worship will mean little of nothing to us.
* Don’t let worldliness steal the jewels you are offered in the Divine Service. The world can blind us to God’s blessings & we are led astray. John said, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world… this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” 1 John 2:15-17. Stay away from sinful activities…
* Here is another issue I found in Galatians: “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another… let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other… ” Galatians 5:14-17. Does that ring a bell? (Sorry for the pun…)
* Something else church people often do: Being critical of everything that is attempted in worship. "The preacher preached too long, too short, used the wrong grammar", "the music group hit the wrong note", "worship is too dull." Just come to worship and receive what Christ gives you that particular day! Stop looking around to see if you can find some fault.
* Also, eliminate all arrogance from your life. Remember the Pharisee who came to the temple? “Oh God, I so glad I am a wonderful person & not like these people around me” Let me tell you, humility goes a long way with God. Come humbly before the Lord! Forget the “holier than thou” attitude! A critical spirit is damaging to true worship. I have seen this fault-finding attitude destroy the Christian fellowship because it occupies the believer with his fellow believer, instead of God.
* The cure for such a spirit? “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
* There are other issues that hinder us to receive the blessings of the Divine worship, but this is where I will leave it for now. Let us prepare our minds and hearts for worship, receive what Christ gives us in Word & Sacrament and praise our God together as a loving family. Please leave behind all those things that hinder this wonderful opportunity to spend time with the Lord!
* God bless us all. Be prepared, Come & worship the Lord with Gladness! Rev. Don Sonntag
- The first 5 people who email the church secretary(Office@stjohnsmexico.com) with the answer to this question will receive a prize. Question: What was found in Martin Luther’s pocket when he died?
* For worship to take place, there are some elements that are very important. They need to be part of the process. Certainly one of these elements is our preparation. I am not talking about the right clothes, the hair cut, the right make-up or anything of the sort. Preparation includes being humble and recognizing our complete dependence upon the mercies of the Lord. When Martin Luther died on February 18, 1546, a scrap of paper was found in his pocket with his seven words, part in Latin, part in German: “Hoc est verum. Wir sind alle Bettler” (“This is true: we are all beggars.”). Luther also said that we are beggars with empty sacks. We have to come to worship with empty lives to be filled with Christ! When we are full of ourselves, there is no room for Christ.
* Another aspect of our preparation includes being at peace with our brothers & sisters. Scripture says that if we have an offering ready to bring to the altar and then remember that we have some problems with someone else in our Christian family, we first need to fix that issue. Matthew 5:23, 24. Holding grudges and having a non-forgiving lifestyle is very damaging. * How is our conduct in worship? The house of the Lord is not the place where we can spew hate, be critical, and demonstrate divisive behavior. We shouldn’t do that anywhere. A child of God will behave appropriately in all places! If we come with a rotten attitude & have an inadequate conduct, the worship will mean little of nothing to us.
* Don’t let worldliness steal the jewels you are offered in the Divine Service. The world can blind us to God’s blessings & we are led astray. John said, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world… this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” 1 John 2:15-17. Stay away from sinful activities…
* Here is another issue I found in Galatians: “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another… let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other… ” Galatians 5:14-17. Does that ring a bell? (Sorry for the pun…)
* Something else church people often do: Being critical of everything that is attempted in worship. "The preacher preached too long, too short, used the wrong grammar", "the music group hit the wrong note", "worship is too dull." Just come to worship and receive what Christ gives you that particular day! Stop looking around to see if you can find some fault.
* Also, eliminate all arrogance from your life. Remember the Pharisee who came to the temple? “Oh God, I so glad I am a wonderful person & not like these people around me” Let me tell you, humility goes a long way with God. Come humbly before the Lord! Forget the “holier than thou” attitude! A critical spirit is damaging to true worship. I have seen this fault-finding attitude destroy the Christian fellowship because it occupies the believer with his fellow believer, instead of God.
* The cure for such a spirit? “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
* There are other issues that hinder us to receive the blessings of the Divine worship, but this is where I will leave it for now. Let us prepare our minds and hearts for worship, receive what Christ gives us in Word & Sacrament and praise our God together as a loving family. Please leave behind all those things that hinder this wonderful opportunity to spend time with the Lord!
* God bless us all. Be prepared, Come & worship the Lord with Gladness! Rev. Don Sonntag
- The first 5 people who email the church secretary(Office@stjohnsmexico.com) with the answer to this question will receive a prize. Question: What was found in Martin Luther’s pocket when he died?