News for the Pews |

Home     

  11^th June 2024

TuesdayReflection

************************

Malcolm Cox shares

   Spiritual disciplines; Corporate worship;
   Teaching tips

Psalm 100 v 2

************************

"Worship the Lord with gladness; Come before him with joyful songs."

or

"Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing."

.....Psalm 100v2 NKJV

To worship is to serve. Some translations have the word "serve" here.
Why are we glad in God's service?
Because, just as the Israelites were liberated from their slavery in Egypt, we...

"..have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

.....Romans 6:18 NIV

Hence, we delight to offer ourselves in worshipful service,

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship."

.....Romans 12:1 NIV

Are you grumpy about serving God?
Perhaps you have forgotten God's mercy.
Are you moody when joining your brothers and sisters in corporate worship?

Perhaps a prayer for renewed gladness would be appropriate before entering the building.

Resist the temptation to be like the older brother who found little about which to be glad and refused to join in the gladness of his younger brother and his father

.....Luke 15:32

Refresh yourself with the correct vision of the future.
We have much to be glad about:

"Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready."

.....Revelation 19:7 NIV

We are invited into the very presence of God.

The word translated "before him" is the Hebrew word 'paneh'. It means 'before' and 'face'.
In other words, we are coming face to face with God.

That's a wonderful invitation for us.
All the more so for an Israelite, who knew he could not see God's face and live (Ex 33.20).
Although no one may literally 'see' God's face in this life, God is signalling his desire that we would know him personally.
And he is signalling his vision that one day this will be the case.

What could be more appropriate, when coming face-to-face with God, than to sing joyful songs?
One of the ways we serve God is by coming together to worship him in song.

The implication of the "joyful songs" is that we sing with confidence.
Not confidence in our musical ability, but singing without hesitation.

We do not hesitate in singing to God because we are confident in his mercy to us and, as we shall see in verse three, confidence in our acceptance as God's people.

Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves NKJV

Why not explore serving God with gladness?
Take some time to reflect on how lucky we are to be able to come face-to-face with him.
Make it your intention to sing joyfully the next time you participate in corporate worship.
Pray over it, meditate on it.
Let it sink into the mind and the heart.

MALCOLM COX
In over 30 years of Christian ministry I've been lucky enough to receive training, travel the world, and talk to some of the most amazing people on the planet.
If I can share these experiences in a way that helps you, I shall be very glad indeed.
I'm a husband, father, author, speaker, coach, musician and minster

This site reflects my wide-ranging interests, but focusses on the four issues of:
Personal devotional connection with God
Corporate devotional worship
Public speaking, preaching, teaching and leading group discussions
Preparation of lessons, sermons, discussions and the like
I live in Croxley Green, a delightful town just outside Watford (near London) with my GP wife.

  Contact the Rector
  The Revd.
  Nic.Edwards
  The Rectory,
  Church Lane,
  BUGBROOKE,
  Northampton,
  NN7 3PB

  Land Line: 01604 - 815496
  (Can be accessed from the mobile device)
  Mobile: .....
  E-mail:
  thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com

  Contact the Benefice Office
  Sunday School Rooms, Church Lane,
  BUGBROOKE, Northampton, NN7 3PB
  Land Line: 01604 830373
  E-mail:
  thebeneficeofbhkandr at gmail dot com
  Mon., Tues., Wed,, Thur., Fri.
  9:00^am to 11:30^am

  For Baptism bookings  (Christenings)
  to arrange an appointment please contact
  the Benefice Office.

  For Wedding bookings:
  please contact the Benefice Office to arrange
  an appointment.

  Who Made This?
  Seeing as you asked, if you can give helpful
  advice or report factual corrections and
  'deliberate mistakes',email:-
  regparker3 at gmail dot com

  Email addresses shown using words in an
  attempt to avoid 'spam',
  Type the email address replacing 'at' with '@',
  and 'dot' with '.'