Sunday Praise & Worship 10:00
Christian Education - 10:00 - Casual Dress - Loving Childcare
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Scripture quotation taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright© 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Core Value: E-Experiential worship. We celebrate God’s love for us in joyful, creative worship. Surrounded by a warm and inviting community of disciples, we allow the Holy Spirit to create an environment where people experience God’s presence and love for themselves. (Matthew 18:20) Paul described worship in Corinth as chaotic and unintelligible. People spoke in tongues without concern for interpretation, while others prophesied without waiting for people to understand. Again, this type of worship arose from the newfound freedom of Christians and their excitement about the gifts of the Spirit that God poured out on them; however, this freedom resulted in worship that focused more on the “right” of individuals to exercise their gifts than on glorifying God and building up the community as a whole. Paul wrote chapters 11-14 to address these worship issues. Today’s passage begins with a discussion of speaking in tongues. Paul argues that when unbelievers come to worship and witness speaking in an unknown language, they will be turned off. Earlier in this chapter, he instructs people to speak in tongues only if someone is there who has the gift to interpret the message. Here, Paul states that prophesying helps the unbeliever more than speaking in tongues, because as the unbelievers hear the message, they will be convicted of sin, which will lead them to worship God and proclaim God’s presence. So, Paul calls on the Corinthian Christians to offer their gifts in an orderly manner with the focus on building people up in the Lord. From this discussion, we learn about Paul’s understanding of worship. Worship must focus on the unbeliever as well as the believer. At Skyline, we walk a fine line between offering worship with depth enough for mature Christians and simplicity enough for the new convert and the unbeliever. Worship also requires participation from people, offered in various ways. Through our participation, worship strengthens the community as a whole. As we all offer ourselves to God in worship, we experience Christ’s presence and love so that our knowledge of God moves beyond head knowledge to heart knowledge. Worship, according to our core value, celebrates God’s love and invites people to experience this love and presence for themselves. We know, however, that a diet of worship alone does not enable a Christian to grow to their fullest potential in Christ. We must also pray and study scripture on our own and in small groups to grow deeper in Christ. As each of us grows in our relationship with Christ, the community benefits and we become a place where people proclaim, “God is really here among you!” Questions for Reflection
For further reading: 1 Corinthians chapter 11-14, Psalm 84, Isaiah 6:1-8, Micah 4:1-7, Revelation 21:1-7.
For next week: Read
1 Corinthians 9:22-27.
How do you reach out in Christ’s name in mission or evangelism? |
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