Our Blog
The Barrier of Dress
In years past, people dressed in their "Sunday best" to attend church. There is a healthy principle behind this tradition, desiring to honor God by "dressing up" to worship Him. In recent years, many churches have emphasized casual attire in order not to make the unchurched person who attends feel uncomfortable, having no understanding of the church's traditional expectations. This has happened in a broader culture shift towards dressing casually.
Whether your church observes the tradition of dressing up or worships casually, you should be aware of the potential barrier to visitors. Arriving dressed up more formally than the regulars can be just as embarrassing as dressing too casually.
Truly, your church should welcome the visitor in, overlooking how they look, focusing on the person in need. This may be accomplished by avoiding any comments about dress, and by personally befriending the visitor for the duration of both the Sunday class and worship hour.
Help in Time of Trouble
Lesson 10 - November 6, 2016
Focus Text: Psalm 91:1-16
Central Truth: The Lord protects those who trust in Him.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to explain how to reconcile God's promise of help with the occurrence of difficulties in life.
Lesson Outline:
- The Lord Is Our Helper (Psalm 91:1-4)
- The Deliverance From Fear (Psalm 91:5-8)
- The Protection From Evil (Psalm 91:9-16)
Prayer – Lesson 9, Worshiping the Lord
Heavenly Father, help our classes today to realize the privilege and responsibility Christians have in worshiping Christ. Help them to refocus their worship on Christ and not all the externals of religious tradition. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen
Why can we cry out to God with confidence?
"Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee" (Psalm 86:2).
In "Biblical Perspective" Gordon Snider writes:
God has promised to preserve His people (Isa. 49:8). Often in the Psalms God is praised for this quality. Here David asked for God to be his guard and watchman so that his life would be saved. In previous lessons we have focused upon the faithfulness (steadfast love) of God to those who are in a covenant relationship with Him. The word here is the same; only this time it is used of man's faithfulness to his side of the covenant. The claim of the psalmist was not a boast of superiority, but a plea of sincerity. It was a plea based upon his covenant relationship with Yahweh. It might say, “Lord, I am one of your children. I have done what you asked me to do!” Save . . . that trusteth in thee. Here again David gave God a motivational statement for answering his prayer. He claimed a unique relationship between those who trust in each other.
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 53.
How do you respond to personal tragedy?
In "God's Word for Today" David Woods writes:
It is both fascinating and disconcerting to watch how people respond to personal tragedy. The unbeliever — the one who has no relationship with Christ, nor pretends to have any such — may react by experiencing complete meltdown, or attempting to “hold it together.” The Christian with weak faith often blames God, bargains with God, and questions God. Even the Christian with a stronger faith often responds with these telltale signs of grief. But for the one whose faith in Christ is strong, there is a difference. Many whose faith is weak find such trying circumstances strengthen their relationship with God, but there are some who allow such trouble to crush their spirit and faith in God. The distinctions may be impossible to see at first, but over time it becomes apparent.
Discussion: Obviously, such generalizations risk unfair assumptions and characterizations of people's faith. With that noted, what are some key differences between Christians whose faith is strengthened in adversity, as compared to those whose faith is obliterated?
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 52.
What are key elements of worship?
In "Word Focus" Danny McCain writes:
First Chronicles 16 contains a psalm that is a picture of a time of worship. In this psalm, David identified the key elements of worship.
ELEMENT #1 Giving (vs. 28, 29) First, we are to give God “the glory due unto his name.” The word “due” suggests that we are in debt. …
ELEMENT #2 Remembering (vs. 12-22) Human beings are often not good at remembering. We would rather borrow trouble from tomorrow than blessings from yesterday. David reminded us that worship involves remembering. …
ELEMENT #3 Rejoicing (vs. 10, 23, 31-34) Worship is not a time for sadness. … As mentioned earlier, worship is giving; and in giving is joy. ln worship, we set aside our cares and needs and concentrate on God.
Source: Studies in the Psalms: Adult Teacher's Insights, page 52.