Years ago when I presented a paper that I had written at a Religious Studies Conference I asked a closing question – “Do we even know how to worship the Lord?

It seems people think of worship as attending a church service of some kind – “I’m going to a worship service.”  But worshipping is more than going to a service.  To me, worship is an act of service and goes beyond the formal church service regardless of how they are organized in different denominations.   Many things happen at a worship service and in the church I attend the service contains a confession of sin and a pronouncement of forgiveness.  In the church service I attend I am reminded of the things Jesus did while he lived upon this earth;  I’m reminded of the things he would like us to do for Him, ourselves and each other; I’m reminded of the things the early church was called to do and that the calling to make disciples for Jesus through teaching obedience to his words and commands is as important as baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Yesterday in my post I asked “What did Jesus say while he was alive?”  To me paying attention to what He spoke while he was alive on this earth is an act of worship.  One of the things Jesus wants us to do is open our ears to the Living Word, to Listen to Him.  We can do this in our generation because the Living Word – the words Jesus spoke that lead us out of death into life – have been written down for us.   Jesus is recorded as having asked those who listened to him – ‘Haven’t you read . . . ?   This question implies they should read them, it might also imply they may have read and forgotten, or it might imply they read without understanding.  The question, ‘Haven’t you read . . .”  can be asked of  those of us who are or want to become followers or disciples of Jesus.  We should try to remember the Scriptures – that takes reading and hearing them over and over again.  We should seek to gain understanding in order to comprehend what we are reading so we can be moved to be more like Christ in our thinking and in our deeds and the way we live in this world.  We should be paying particular attention to the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus contained in them.  Jesus taught by word and deed, and his is the example we want to follow. What was important for Jesus to talk about?  What did he talk about while he was alive?  How did he talk?  To answer these questions we need to read and listen to the Scriptures.  Many homes have more than one bible in them, but unfortunately, surveys tell us many people are not reading them.

People talk about giving things up for Lent – maybe giving up 30 minutes of television or game time or something for 30 minutes of reading and talking about the Bible is something you might want to consider.  I think you’d be surprised how fast the time goes!  If 30 minutes seems like too much, maybe try 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening.  In ancient days one full day a week was set aside with no work, nothing but thinking about God.  There are about 282 hours in a week.  Taking 30 minutes a day adds up to less than 3 hours a week.  Add a church service and that’s about 4 hours a week.  Half of one 8 hour day a week.  Jesus didn’t only talk about the Scriptures in the temple – he talked about them with people wherever he was, on a walk, in their homes, on a lake . . . Jesus spent time with the Scriptures in both the temple and the world.

So repentance from neglecting to read the Scriptures at home and in church and repentance from neglecting to talk about them becomes a way that we can Worship the Living God During Lent.

Repent! And Believe in the Good News!

Lord, forgive us for neglecting to spend time in reading and discussing the Scriptures.  Please help us to set aside time and give us a Spirit of Understanding when we read and discuss them.  AMEN