An invitation to worship...
MOSES HID HIS FACE
The Old Testament reading for Sunday (Exodus 3) is the story of God calling to Moses from the burning bush and then telling Moses to “take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” The Lord then said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Moses' response to this revelation of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was to hide his face, "because he was afraid to look at God." It seems to me that that was an absolutely appropriate response to being confronted with the transcendent holiness of God. Every now and then, we should be as Moses was.
One of the reasons we worship the way we do at College Church, in a space dedicated exclusively for worship, with a responsive reading of a Psalm, with readings of scripture, with a dedicated time of quiet prayer, and the singing of hymns with an organ (as well as other instruments) is because these elements can remind us of the transcendence of our God. It seems to me that when we worship, we should periodically be reminded of God's "otherness" and sometimes even be awed into silence. It seems to me there ought to be occasions of reverence when we worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, just as there was for Moses.
So we will begin by reciting the words of Psalm 105. We will be reminded of the holiness of God in Exodus 3. And we will be read the story of Peter forgetting his place and being reprimanded most severely by our Lord for telling Jesus what Jesus could and could not do (Matthew 16:21-25). We will receive an offering, we will greet one another, and we will hear a message from the written word of God. And hopefully, we will be reminded that our God is a holy God and worthy to be worshipped.
And we will pray. Since classes started this week at Olivet, we thought it would be appropriate to pray for the faculty and staff of Olivet as they begin a new year. So there will be a special time of intercession for all of those who are giving themselves to the Christian education of young people during the congregational prayer time.
I hope to see you Sunday, when we worship the God of the burning bush, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Pastor Mark
One of the reasons we worship the way we do at College Church, in a space dedicated exclusively for worship, with a responsive reading of a Psalm, with readings of scripture, with a dedicated time of quiet prayer, and the singing of hymns with an organ (as well as other instruments) is because these elements can remind us of the transcendence of our God. It seems to me that when we worship, we should periodically be reminded of God's "otherness" and sometimes even be awed into silence. It seems to me there ought to be occasions of reverence when we worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, just as there was for Moses.
So we will begin by reciting the words of Psalm 105. We will be reminded of the holiness of God in Exodus 3. And we will be read the story of Peter forgetting his place and being reprimanded most severely by our Lord for telling Jesus what Jesus could and could not do (Matthew 16:21-25). We will receive an offering, we will greet one another, and we will hear a message from the written word of God. And hopefully, we will be reminded that our God is a holy God and worthy to be worshipped.
And we will pray. Since classes started this week at Olivet, we thought it would be appropriate to pray for the faculty and staff of Olivet as they begin a new year. So there will be a special time of intercession for all of those who are giving themselves to the Christian education of young people during the congregational prayer time.
I hope to see you Sunday, when we worship the God of the burning bush, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Pastor Mark