Lines of Truth (4)

 Chapter 4   Worship                  Psalm 122

p 45  There is one sufficient reason for going to church - God.

p 46 talks about worship being the most popular thing that Christians do - I wonder about this -  I  suppose that he may be correct as you certainly see more bodies in church services than you do in bible study groups or serving in a mission context.

p 47  ".. the powerful history - shaping truth that God forgives our sins and makes it possible to live without guilt and with purpose."

p49  worship (corporate) provides a framework for how we are to do life - we know where we stand

p 49-50  worship is commanded in Scripture, we don't worship because 'we feel like it'.  "Feelings are completely unreliable in matters of faith"

"The Bible wastes very little time on the way we feel" ~Paul Scherer,
                                                                                The Word God Sent p166

 p 50  Worship centers us on the Word of God - the decisions of God.
The biblical word "judgement" means "the decisive word by which God straightens things out and puts things right."

p 51  The word "pray" in the Hebrew of Psalm 122 is the same as "ask" as we 'ask' for seconds at dinner or for directions when we are lost.

p 52  "Shalom, peace, is one of the richest words in the Bible"  "It gathers all aspects of wholeness that result from God's will being completed in us.  It is the work of God that, when complete, releases streams of living water in us and pulsates with eternal life."

p 52  Shalvah = security    the root meaning is leisure 
Security of being at home in a history that has the cross of Christ at its center.
"It is the leisure of the person who knows that everything is all right because God is over us, with us, and for us in Jesus Christ."
"It is the leisure of the person who knows that every moment of our existence is at the disposal of God, lived under the mercy of God."