True Worship - part 3
At our Combined Service at Kincumber, 3 people shared their testimony about how they Live out True Worship. Frank spoke about the First Christian hymn.
On 10th and 24th August we looked at Isaiah 1:1, 10-20. The theme of my Word of Hope was “True Worship”. I said that there are two parts to this reading:
1. Real or Ritual Worship – when we gather together.
2. Living True Worship – beyond the Church doors.
We explored these on Sunday 10th and 24th. At our Combined Service this Sunday 31st, we will be doing part 3! Why “part 3”? Because “Living True Worship” never ends! We will hear testimonies from 4 people who are doing just that.
On Sunday 24th I showed a video from Refugee Can Be featuring Chantale Zuzi. I learnt about her from the Our Daily Bread devotional of 22nd August. The devotional is entitled “Seeing with God’s heart” and it uses Psalm 146 as its text. Its author, Monica La Rose, says: “On Chantale’s thirteenth birthday, after hours of joyful celebration in her quiet home village, gunfire shattered the peaceful evening. Chantale and her siblings ran into the forest, obeying their mother’s frantic command to hide. All night, they huddled underneath the sanctuary of a tree. “The sun appeared in the morning. But not our parents,” Chantale recounts. She and her siblings were now orphans and refugees, joining tens of thousands in a refugee camp”. In time Chantale founded the organisation called Refugee Can Be.
I invite you to go to the Refugee Can Be website. A Refugee can be ignored, exploited or persecuted, like in the days of Isaiah the prophet. Or they Can Be … The image from its websites is what God desires! Chantale is making that happen.
I also invite you to head to the Our Daily Bread website and subscribe to the daily devotionals. Alternatively, download the app onto your smartphone.
Last Sunday I also mentioned a new online devotional from Max Lucado called “Tame Your Thoughts”. Max adapts the acronym WWJD – “Would Jesus Do?” into WWJT – “What Would Jesus Think?” Proverbs 4:23 says: “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts”. Max says: “Filling our bodies with harmful food leads to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and more. Likewise, filling our minds with harmful thoughts leads to anxiety, addiction, despair, and more. Toxic thoughts affect every aspect of who we are, including our mental health, our relationships with others, and our relationship with God. Thankfully, we don’t have to stay stuck in the rut of toxic thoughts”.
Max’s online study is free. There are six online videos to watch. There are also individual and group Bible studies with resources. I can highly recommend Max and the other resources on the Study Gateway website or app. While you’re looking, head to the Bible Gateway site or app as well.
I ended my Word of Hope last Sunday with these words: “Jesus says in Matthew 11:29: “Learn from me”. We are commanded to learn some answers to both of the questions: “What would Jesus do?” AND “What would Jesus think?”. God invites us to read the Gospels in the light of Isaiah 1. As we Live True Worship, grab hold of God’s promise in Isaiah 1:19 - “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land”.
With hope and joy,
Rev. Frank (Van Der Korput), Supply Minister