Daily Bible Readings:
Monday, August 28. Read Exodus 32:1-10. 1) What did the people of Israel do when they became fearful? 2) What did they say to the idol they created? 3) What was God’s response to this?
Tuesday, August 29. Read Numbers 13:25-33. 1) What was the report that the spies brought back to the people of Israel? 2) How did Caleb react to the report? 3) What did the rest of the spies say?
Wednesday, August 30. Read Deuteronomy 18:9-14. 1) What does Moses instruct the nation to do? 2) How do you react to the possibility that Israelites might have considered sacrificing their children? 3) Why do you think that might have been possible?
Thursday, August 31. Read Jeremiah 2:31-37. 1) What was Jeremiah sad about in verse 31? 2) When have you ever said something similar? 3) How was a bride different from the children of Israel, vs. 32?
Friday, September 1. Read Hosea 3:1-5. 1) What does God tell Hosea to do? 2) How does God explain the meaning of this to Hosea?
Saturday, September 2. Read Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18. This is Sunday’s sermon text.
Prayer for the Week:
Holy God, we bow down before you, and we acknowledge that you are the only living and true God. You brought the worlds into existence. You breathed life into us and imbued us with your likeness and your capacity for gracious deeds. There are other gods which call to us. These are gods without life, and to follow them is to be led into darkness. Give us wisdom and insight, so that we are not lured by them. In Jesus’ name I pray this. Amen.
Hymn of the Week:
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee;
holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
who wert and art and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye made blind by sin thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea;
holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Devotional Article of the Week:
Worship Is a Lifestyle
It’s not a Sunday morning deal we make with God!
by Brian McCutchen
Worship is a Lifestyle, not just a once a week on Sunday deal we make with God!
If you will not worship God seven days a week, you will not worship Him on one day a week (A.W. Tozer).
To worship is to experience reality, to touch life. It is to know, to feel to experience the resurrected Christ in the midst of the gathered community. …Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father (Richard Foster).
The Apostle Paul reminds us that worship is offering ourselves:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your act of spiritual Worship” (Romans 12:1).
Worship is the way we show our love and adoration to God for who God is and what God has done for us. The disciplines of study and prayer, along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, reveals more of who God really is; thus, it leads to the desire to worship Him daily — not just on one morning a week.
Worship is a lifestyle! We don’t start and stop worship to God; we live it daily — 24/7, 365 days a year, for a lifetime.
The first Christians disciplined themselves to a daily, worshipful, lifestyle:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42 emphasis added).Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:46-47).
Worship to God for the earliest Christians was a daily lifestyle. No short cuts. No time limits. No restraints.
Worship is a spiritual focus:
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things… (Colossians 3:2).
Right thinking will lead to right focus. When the Word of Christ dwells in our lives, we are able to focus our minds upon God. We put to death all the things that rob our relationship and worship to God. When we focus on being spiritual, we will give attention to good works and worship to God (Matthew 5:16).
Worship is praising God in song. The psalmists make clear that singing is an emotion that flows from the heart:
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1).Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music… (Psalm 98:4).
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs (Psalm 100:1-2).
Singing to God must not be a meaningless task, but rather an expression of joy that flows from the heart of gratitude toward a God who provides us with grace, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. When the heart is filled with music that is focused on God, it opens up a worshipful spirit that is engaging and praising.
Worship is praising God in prayer. The following is a song of adoration and thanksgiving to God that can be used as a prayer of praise:
“Hallelujah! I give thanks to God with everything I’ve got (Psalm 111:1 MSG).
If worship is only a Sunday thing for us, we set ourselves up to fail the rest of the week. This whole psalm (Psalm 111:1-10) is full of adoration and appreciation to God for all He has done and provided. God loves to hear our praise and love for Him.
God shows His love to those who love Him (Exodus 20:6). Prayer is an avenue we can use to verbally worship God by telling Him how much we love and appreciate Him. “Prayer is an opportunity and a privilege rather than a burden” (Kenneth Boa). Praying isn’t confined to a Sunday church gathering. Praying is a daily conversation with the Father. Praying is an opportunity to worship a Father who is deeply in love with his children.
We worship God and God only. After Jesus was baptized, he went into the desert to be tempted by the devil. This was a test of will, strength, and discipline. Jesus was alone, tired, and hungry. The entire world was put at his feet if he would just bow down to Satan. Without hesitation, Jesus said:
Away from me Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (Matthew 4:10).
God deserves our total and undivided worship. When God is first, houses, cars, vacations, money or jobs will not be as important and we can resist the idolatry of our age, greed (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5).
God is worthy of all of our adoration, praise, and attention. Each day, he provides us with all the amenities to sustain us in life. He opens up doors for us to experience joy and feel the presence of hope. He gave up his son so that we could have a relationship with him as Father. God is creative. God is generous. God is trustworthy. God is dependable. God is loyal. Our Lord is worthy of our praise (Revelation 5:12).
So if we only make a Sunday morning church gathering the totality of our worship, we will set ourselves up to fail Monday through Saturday. God made each day, not just Sunday. Let’s give all our attention to the Inspiring Artist who paints the most beautiful sceneries each moment and provides for us all the resources we need to get us through each day.
Praise God. Honor God. Respect God. Revere God. Bow before God. Live for God.
