It has been correctly observed that genuine, God-centered worship is not limited to worship services. With their entire lives, God’s children worship the God of their creation and redemption. Our worship reveres God, and that… God-Centered Worship
STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of… Pursue Holiness
READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER (Work Righteousness) Passages that will help you respond when people say… “I can do it mySELF!” said the young daughter to her daddy as she made her case for independence. After… “I try to be a good person.”
The ROAD TO REFORMATION In observation of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, we are presenting a brief survey of the life of Martin Luther. The series continues with major events in the life… Found in Translation —1534—
NOTES FROM THE FIELD In this series, those involved with CLC foreign missions profile one aspect of our overseas endeavors. The little fella pictured on the right is your basic East African mosquito. He looks… Malaria Misadventures
A SLICE OF LIFE IN THE CLC SNAPSHOTS OF CONGREGATIONS FROM AROUND THE CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION “Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place… Bethel Lutheran Church Humble, Texas
ILC Newsletter Every other month we get an update on what’s been happening recently at our Immanuel Lutheran High School, College and Seminary in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “And the things that you have heard from… CLC Certification for Elementary Education Through ILC
TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006
Date Verse Reading Comments
Aug 1 TLH 24 Psalm 92 The Lord is victorious over His (and our) enemies.
Aug 2 TLH 47 Proverbs 15:1-9 Wise people guard their tongues, speaking gently for the benefit of others.
Aug 3 TLH 136 Ezekiel 43:1-10 Ezekiel’s vision of the perfect temple reminded the people that God would come among them. This took place when Immanuel (“God with us”) came.
Aug 4 TLH 80 John 1:1-14 Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to dwell with us.
Aug 6 TLH 56/LSB 697; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 As you wait for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, be joyful and live in love!
Aug 7 TLH 28 Psalm 93 The world the Lord has created will remain by His mighty power until He chooses to end it.
Aug 8 TLH 1 Psalm 95 Do not harden your hearts, but come joyfully before the Lord Who cares for you.“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS August 2018
COVER STORY – WORSHIP
“Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (Psalm 29:2)
We truly owe God our worship, for He is our Creator and has given us everything we need for our body and life. More than that, He has given His Son to redeem us and has chosen us in Christ to be His children, as Paul says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4)
Yes, we ought to “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name” in worship. But what is true worship? You may think of worship in terms of gathering in church to sing hymns, listen to a sermon, and offer prayers to God. Those are acts of worship, but can we really give the glory that is due His name in a one-hour-a-week service?
In Romans 12:1, the Apostle Paul urges us to do much more: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (ESV) Paul speaks of our worship in terms of sacrifice.
Old Testament worship revolved around sacrifices.
There were many different sacrifices in the Old Testament, but they basically fell into two categories: sacrifices to atone for sin and sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. When you think about it, our worship really revolves around those same two types of sacrifices.
God is not asking us to offer ourselves as a sacrifice to atone for sin. Like the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, our bodies would never be worthy enough to atone for even one sin. The writer to the Hebrews says, “Every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” (10:11) All those sacrifices pointed to Jesus, Who alone could truly atone for our sins. As the passage in Hebrews 10 continues, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (10:14)Worship the Lord
DEVOTION – THE MEANS OF GRACE
Ah, summer vacation! Time to get away from the city and enjoy nature around us. There are national and state parks to visit, tents to be pitched, campfires to sit around, and lakes to “get away” to. This time of year it’s not unusual to hear the comment, “I feel closer to God in nature than I do in church.”This doesn’t surprise us too much; after all, nature is God’s handiwork. He is the builder of everything we see around us. It all bears His divine “thumb-print,” if you will. His power is seen in the mighty redwoods of California, the majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean. On a cloudless night, hints of God’s divine nature can be seen in the belt of the Milky Way and all the starry host. While nature’s grandeur may tell us of the Creator’s great power, wisdom, and eternal nature, it does not bring us His grace or announce His forgiveness. Hiking through the woods will not comfort the troubled conscience with the assurance of sins forgiven. Summiting a mountain will not tell you how to reach that even higher peak, heaven.The Gospel God’s Grace Comes to Us
