First, let me express how much I missed you all last weekend.  It was really nice to be home with my family, but you all are my family as well and there’s a bit of an empty spot in my life if I don’t share in worshiping with you during any given week.  I appreciate so much the ways you so consistently live lovingly toward Kelly, my kids, and me.  Thanks for being obedient in living out your role as the body of Christ, not only in relation to me, but also to one another and to the community.

This week, we will focus on John 2:13-25.  There is a lot that happens in these few verses, and we will dig deeply into this on Sunday, but for now, let me draw out the ideas upon which we will focus our corporate worship.  One, it is clear that Christ is passionate about the purity of the temple.  During the time of Passover when Jews would travel to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices and pay the temple tax, it was only natural that vendors and moneychangers would be on hand to offer a service to those who needed sacrificial animals as well as the proper monetary denominations.  However, this “service” had been taken to the point of exploitation, and the holy exchange that was to exist between faithful believers and their God had been misshapen into a materialistic endeavor.

Today, we are the temple of God.  Our worship experiences are never to have a consumerist nature.  It’s often tempting to become critical of the corporate gatherings of churches, because when a group of people come together, there are inevitably a vast array of opinions and preferences.  If we find ourselves thinking, “I didn’t like this so much,” or even, “that was really great…I loved it!”, we may not necessarily be in the right frame of mind (granted these are not always bad statements, it all depends on the context and the motivation; if one experiences distaste because of the non-biblical nature of a specific occurrence, it’s appropriate to be grieved; also, if one enjoys a particular aspect of worship as a matter of indulgence as opposed to it’s glorification of God, this may not be the mindset that most fully honors God).  When we distill the notion of worship into its purest form, it comes down to two elements, our sacrifice and God’s pleasure with that sacrifice.  Neither of these has very much to do with our preferences.  On the other hand, we experience benefits in worshiping, one of which is that it often serves as a source of great joy.  But our enjoyment is a by-product of true worship, and is never to be the primary motivation.

Christ is just as passionate today about the purity of His temple, and we are that temple.  As He was repulsed by the materialism and dishonesty at Passover, I believe Christ is equally zealous for the pure worship of His church today.  In fact, this is clearly displayed in that He allowed His temple, namely His body, to be destroyed, only to be rebuilt such that we would share in that experience.  When our lives are destroyed alongside His, Christ rebuilds us as a living body to experience new life with Him, and to remain unstained by the practices of the world so as to offer pure and undefiled worship by the merit of Christ, our High Priest.

Our order for this week is below.  I love you guys and I look forward to worshiping with you this week.

Grace & Peace!

-Jeff B.

Made to Worship
Glorified
There is a Fountain
Better is One Day
Christ is Risen
In Christ Alone