Week 8 Class Notes

...and so it continues; our discussion and interaction about worship.

After a hardy review, thanks to many of you, we press ahead to ponder places of worship in the Bible.

As we dove into the discussion of Biblical places of worship, your answers were numerous.
- the Temple/Tabernacle
- Mt. Sinai and other mountains
- The burning bush(Exodus 3:2)
- where altars were erected
- homes
- Wilderness/Desert
...and we could have gone on and on as we continued to think about places where worship occurred.

I pointed out some examples of places found in scripture as examples and they were:
Tabernacle and altars (Exodus, Leviticus 8, Psalms 27:5-6 and also Acts 7:44-49 pointing out that God is not limited to where we 'put' Him.
Wilderness- Isaiah 35:1-5
Cities- Genesis 22:15-18 as we act in obedience. Mark 6:56 as Jesus healed while walking and living.
Homes - Acts 2:46-47
Rooms - Acts 1:13-14
Places of work- 1 Thessaloians 4:11 living just as told by the disciples and Christ.

If we think about it, and have discussed, worshiping God is doing in obedience, sacrifice and as a response to Him, glorifying God, right? Then the simple deduced answer is that places of worship are everywhere, anywhere, at any time God is being glorified. The places and times ruled by disobedience, selfishness absent of glorifying God are places of non-worship and can be the same places where true worship occurred!

As we continued to examine the question, "What are the key ingredients to establish a place of worship?" your answers were right on!
- God's presence
- a place recognized as hallow
- Anywhere His Spirit is...with my spirit...in His truth (John 4)
- Wherever I cause My name (God's name of course) to be honored (Exodus 20:24)
- a place that remains as a place of worship

...which segued right into the next thought, that it is not the place that makes it a place of worship or even the thing (like the ark of the covenant demonstrated by Israel's defeat and capture of the ark in 1 Samuel 4:1-11).

There could be trappings in returning over and over to the same place, doing the same 'religious' things. And again, you were all right on when we discussed some of the trappings:
-our worship could change focus from God to ourselves, things or events.
-our growth could be stunted by trusting in or worshiping a time gone by.
-distraction could enter in the commoness of the place or religious act.
-we can wrongly focus on this place as the only place where worship can occur.

When re-examining the 1 Samuel passage we must understand that there is a correct application of principles as reminders to worship God. There are also things that stand in our way to move us away from Godly worship as we engage in 'religion'.

The problem with Israel's defeat was that their trust was invested in the ark, not in God. Even sacred objects do not have power in and of themselves, but because God's presence existed in them. God alone is to be worshiped, not the act, not the place.

Pastor Brian often says that 'sacred cows are for barbecuing', and it's true; there is only one who is sacred, one that deserves pure, holy, wholly worship; God alone.

So now, it is up to us to determine if our places of worship are 'at His pleasure' for His purpose, or if it is time to move on to a fresh place, a fresh remembrance, a new dwelling where He is...remembering that God does not dwell in houses made by man, but, EVERYWHERE. So where will you worship Him today? At work? At home? In your car as you drive? In your neighborhood? For surely we don't only worship God, at church.

With only two weeks remaining in our time together, First, remember that we will not be meeting this coming Sunday. Second, we will be carefully examining our call to worship God as a body, and then as individuals as part of the body of Christ to finish our study. Thank you all for your faithful attendance. Walk in worship this week, and let Christ transform our world!