Theme: LOOK UNTO ME AND BE YE SAVED
Evil thrives in the world, it is not because God has forsaken the earth, or because he does not see, or will not punish the wicked. But, as Apostle Paul said in Athens, He has “appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31) Those who faithfully continue in righteousness till the end he will reward in due time. But the wicked shall be punished. (2 Peter 3:9). “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” – Deuteronomy 32:4
Text: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” – Revelation 4:11.
Comment: True worship is that which is done to honour God Almighty based on the understanding that, He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, (Genesis 1:1; Jeremiah 10:10); the God of Salvation (Isaiah 45:22; Psalm 68:20), the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). The Bible is replete with exhortations to worship God. David declared: “O come let us worship and bow down: Let us kneel before the Lord (JEHOVAH) our Maker”. (Psalm 95:6,7) God Almighty deserves our worship and adoration through Jesus Christ . Let us search our our consciences and answer for ourselves whether we are serving God as we ought to do and whether we are determined to continue to do so. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.” (2 Corinthians 13:5, 6) With honesty of purpose each person should be able to judge himself aright by the grace of God and take the necessary steps needed to make amends. The Prophet Joshua in Joshua 24:15 told the israelites:“…choose you this day whom ye will serve …but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:15.
Theme: THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP
Essence is that which makes a thing what it is, the core of the existence or relevance of that thing. Worship is to respect or have great regard for a person or thing. It is also seen as “…ceremonies or services in honour of God”. Worship in context of this topic is the totality of our behaviours both in services and in our homes which must reflect honour to God our Maker.
Text: “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. – John 4:22
Comment: Mankind by nature seeks to venerate things, hence in ancient times some worshipped phenomena that they could not explain or understand. For any worship to have meaning it must be directed at somebody or something. In the world today, some regard wealth or money as an object of worship. Much as the zeal to worship is commendable, caution must be given as to who and how one worships as to get the blessings of God and eventual salvation by His grace and power. Some others worship what they do not know as our Lord Jesus Christ stated in his encounter with the woman of Samaria as stated in the text for today. True worship is that which makes one to honour and reverence God Almighty, be it at service times or in our day-to-day lives. St. Paul stated: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” – Romans 12:1.
