Worshipping Sanctuary

Worshipping Sanctuary

Good Morning Friends,

Well, a pair of Russian ice skaters won Olympic gold yesterday and their free skate performance was artistically inspired and technically executed to the music of all things Jesus Christ Super Star. As we were singing in choir practice at church they had already won but I got to watch them last night on prime time reruns of the day’s top events. The drama of the moment wove their story with the well-known story of Jesus’ last seven days before the crucifixion creating on the ice a powerful exuding of energy as in a Worshipping Sanctuary.

Scripture: Paul wrote, “Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.”

Galatians 6:10 (NRSV)

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. Praise the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all humankind.  From where he sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth— he who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds. A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield. Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Psalm 33 (NRSV)

From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?

Job 38:29 (ESV)

Message: Cultures change but somehow Christ remains in new ways and in new songs of praise warming our hearts. The beauty is that in our worship of God, God creates a sanctuary of welcome for those who believe even though not everyone does. Being part of a choir is a great way to experience a community of believers who discover the power of God when God is praised in music to the glory of God. So too it is when the name of Jesus is lifted up.  Whether it is telling the stories of Christ and Mary Magdalene on the ice or singing a psalm in church worship…God will take people out of the mire and welcome them into the heavenly choir leaving no place to hide but in God.

Pray we work together. Pray we sing together learning more than one part. Pray we create together as a welcoming home for the children of God in the people and places where we worship. Pray our souls wait for the Lord and praise God in the hope of love in a dance of faith. Pray we preach to the whole choir in songs of praise welcoming the weary, the wandering, the lazy and the lost into a sanctuary. Pray that Jesus Christ becomes the superstar of all people for all time in all places…even an ice palace.

Blessings,

John Lawson