Behold What Manner of Love

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God...

Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us.
Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us.
That we should be called the sons of God.
That we should be called the sons of God.

The Joy of the Lord

Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength, the joy of the Lord is my strength.
The joy of the Lord is my strength, the joy of the Lord is my strength.

He heals the broken hearted and they cry no more, He heals the broken hearted and they cry no more.
He heals the broken hearted and they cry no more, the joy of the Lord is my strength.

He gives me living water and I thirst no more, He gives me living water and I thirst no more.
He gives me living water and I thirst no more, the joy of the Lord is my strength.

Fishers of Men

And [Jesus] said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men.
I will make you fishers of men if you follow me,
If you follow me, if you follow me,
I will make you fishers of men if you follow me.

Blessed Be the Name

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!

Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name, blessed be the name, blessed be the name of the Lord!
Glory to the name, glory to the name, glory to the name of the Lord!
Glory to the name, glory to the name, glory to the name of the Lord!

Worship: Revelation and Response

What does it mean to worship? When we gather on Sunday, we stand and sing, we sit and listen, we bow our heads to pray. Are these actions “worship,” or is there more to it? In the coming weeks, we’ll be looking at what the Bible teaches about what worship is, why we do it, and how we can do it in a way that pleases God.

We’ll begin with a story about Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. You may remember that God had promised to bless Abraham and his family, and that Abraham believed God’s promises (). Jacob surely knew about God’s promises to his grandfather, but rather than trusting in God to provide for him what was best, Jacob tricked his father out of the blessing that rightly belonged to his brother Esau. As a result, Jacob’s life was in danger, and he had to escape to his uncle’s house 500 miles away. On that journey, Jacob had an amazing encounter:

10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” 18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.

What a picture we see in verses 10-12. First, that stone pillow—Jacob had thought that his lying and scheming would secure him an easy life of wealth and favor. Instead, he was alone and far from home, sleeping on the cold ground with a stone as a pillow. Things hadn’t worked out as Jacob planned. But then, God used a dream to show Jacob what Jacob couldn’t see with human eyes—a ladder connecting heaven and earth with angels going up and down! God was showing Jacob that He was involved in Jacob’s life. Although Jacob hadn’t paid much attention to God at all, God was reaching down to establish a relationship with him.

In verses 13-15, God speaks directly to Jacob revealing Himself as the God who had made promises to Jacob’s grandfather and father. He repeated the promises to Jacob showing him that he was chosen to inherent those great promises of land, descendants, and blessing. And then God promised to be with Jacob and to protect him in the days that lay ahead.

In verses 16-22, we see Jacob’s response to God’s revelation. Jacob knew that he didn’t deserve God’s blessing or even to be in God’s presence, so at first Jacob was afraid. At the same time, he knew he could offer God nothing but worship, so that’s what he did. In reverence and awe, Jacob turned his stone pillow into an altar where he made an offering of oil to God. He named this worship spot “Bethel” meaning “house of God” and promised to give God a portion of everything he had as a symbol of his thankfulness for all God had done and would do for him.

We may never sleep on stone pillows or dream of ladders reaching to heaven, but our experience with God is very much like Jacob’s. Because of our sin, we don’t deserve to meet with God or to know Him at all, but He reaches out to us. In fact, Jesus in reveals that He Himself is the Ladder that reaches from heaven to earth on which the angels go up and down. Through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, God establishes a relationship with us based on His promises. God meets us where we are and reveals Himself to us.  And we respond the only way we can; in awe and reverence, we thank God for His wonderful grace, and in gratitude we promise our loyal service to Him.

Activity: What is Awe (or the Fear of God)?

Teaching “God fear” adapted from kidsofintegrity.com

Discussion point: Fearing God means to have a deep respect and appreciation for Him.

Explain to your children the difference between fearing God (wow fear), fearing harm (wise fear) and unreasonable fear (boo fear). The explanations below will help:

Wow fear:  Fearing God means to have a deep respect and appreciation for Him. Let’s call it wow fear. We can feel wow fear when we see beautiful scenes in nature, are fascinated by things God has made, or hear stories about God and the miracles He has done. Wow fear applies to any time we are in awe of God, respecting Him as the Creator and Lord of the Universe. Our great respect for God makes us careful about the way we speak to Him or about Him out of a fear of doing anything that might show disrespect for Him.

Wise fear:  Another kind of fear happens when we sense danger or when we know something can harm us. This is fear that is wise. It’s wise to be wary around things that can hurt you. Some examples include fear of wild animals, or power tools, or fire, or heights or water. God gave us this kind of fear to keep us safe.

Boo fear:  On the other hand, fear that is out of control is not good fear. When we are fearful of something that is not truly harmful, that’s boo fear. When out-of-control fear limits our choices and actions, we can ask God to provide confidence and peace.

Once your kids have a good understanding of wow fear, wise fear, and boo fear, play this simple game where you suggest scenarios and your children identify the type of fear involved. As your children understand the idea of the game, allow them to think of examples as well. Here are some ideas for starters:

·       Moses removed his sandals in front of the burning bush. (Wow fear)

·       While walking the woods, a family sees a moose in the distance and retreats back along the trail. (Wise fear)

·       On a family hike, Stephanie's family comes to a high swing bridge. Stephanie doesn't want to cross because she’s afraid the bridge will break. (Boo fear)

·       Jesse is afraid to go to the dentist to get his teeth cleaned. (Boo fear)

·       A boy named Eutychus was killed when he fell out of a window and Paul raised him from the dead (). (Wow fear)

·       Jake won't use felt-tip markers because he is afraid the smell of the ink will hurt him. (Boo fear)

·       Mandy doesn't talk to strangers unless her parents are with her. (Wise fear)

·       Kids are climbing on some equipment at a construction site. Even though it looks fun, Lucas doesn't join in. (Wise fear)

·       Carlie is afraid to go to a friend's house to play because they have a dog. (Boo fear)

·       There is a sunset that makes the clouds look like pink and purple cotton candy. (Wow fear)

·       A friend has a new puppy and you get to cuddle him. (Wow fear)

·       There is a bonfire blazing out of control in the park. (Wise fear)

Scriptures to look up and read together: Psalm 111:10; Chronicles 19:8-11; Corinthians 5:11-15

Hymn of Worship: “All People That on Earth Do Dwell”

Psalm 100

A Psalm for giving thanks.

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations

Written over 400 years ago, “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” is the oldest English hymn text still used today. It is attributed to William Kethe, a Scotsman who spent time in Germany where he was influenced by John Calvin’s ideas about worship. The hymn is a metrical (singable) paraphrase of Psalm 100. The first four verses of the hymn correspond to the four stanzas in the psalm.  The question asked and answered in verse four reminds us of today’s text when Jacob experienced the goodness and steadfast love of the Lord at Bethel. The fifth verse, a doxology, is added in many hymnals.

“All People That on Earth Do Dwell”

We should sing this psalm with our whole being, for our good God—who calls us into His presence through the gracious, atoning work of Jesus—deserves nothing less than whole-hearted praise!