ADULT DEVOTIONS: Worship

Last Sunday we celebrated the culmination of our regular church school year. We had the gift of our children leading us in worship as they shared lessons from throughout the church school year.

Next week we move to our summer hours with one worship service at 9:30. Traditionally, this is a quieter time in our worship. This is a time when some people often head out to their tents, condos, cabins and family for vacations. But there is something about church you can’t find anywhere else. Even the beauty and magnificence of creation does not fully compare with time in church. Even visits to other churches just aren’t the same. That is why the Psalmists so often talk about the joy of coming home to church.

Psalms 122:1 (NRSVA) 1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

Psalm 84:3, 10

3 Happy are those who live in your house,

ever singing your praise.

10 For a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than live in the tents of wickedness.

Church is where we meet God. It is where our family and friends in faith gather with us. It is the place where we belong. It is that place of sanctuary and inspiration for our lives. This week, offer some prayer time for your church home. Offer your gratitude and ask God to lead us into deeper faithfulness. And promise God that you won’t let summer’s pace carry you too far or too long from your home.

FAMILY DEVOTIONS: The heavens and stars

Did you ever lie on your back and look up into the night sky. The stars we can see are only a fraction of the stars and galaxies that are there. Our newer telescopes along with the Hubble telescope are peering deeper and farther into the heavens. (check out http://hubblesite.org/) It seems the vast empty space is filled with light. The psalmist knew this well. In their day there weren’t any city lights to wash out the night view. It was just the earth and the dark night sky filled with natural lights. It was with a sense of awe that they wrote Psalm 8. Read it with your children.

Psalms 8:1 - 9:1 (NRSVA) O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet, all sheep and oxen,and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

The Psalm speak of a humble perspective that is experienced by those who knew the night sky well.

Take some time to lie on you back looking up at the night sky and giving thanks to God.

DEVOTION: Hey did you notice?

As I sat and watched the glow of the dwindling fire during the Wednesday evening firewalk in the outdoor labyrinth this quote came to mind, "Church-goers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out.” Billy Graham (1918– )

At Monday evening’s Bible study we explored some of the letters of Paul to fledgling churches throughout the Middle East. He wrote to the church in Philippi about joy and rejoicing. Paul wrote: Philippians 2:2 - 5 (NRSV) 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

On Sunday in church I invited everyone to NOTICE. Joy comes from looking to the interests of others. It is part of our responsibility when we claim our place in the Body of Christ. Notice who is visiting the church for worship or church school. Notice who is standing awkwardly by themselves in coffee hour downstairs or next door waiting for church school to come to an end. Notice who is missing from church or church school for the past couple Sunday mornings. “Look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” Notice them and get to know their stories. If they are new, help them feel at home. If they look alone, help them feel a part of our community. If they are absent, give a call just to check in, no guilt or shame, just a call to let them know you were concerned.

This week I am sharing this for both the adult devotion and the family devotion, because this is a part of our faith for all ages. Joy comes when we step outside our own circle of friends as well as our own circle of needs and extend God’s love and hospitality and compassion to others. Practice that this coming week.