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Gleanings From The Word

Category: Church

  • Serve Others: Transforming Worship into Action

    Serve Others: Transforming Worship into Action

    A pair of well worn wrk gloves on a bible illustrating the call to serve

    A comment I have often heard on a Sunday morning goes something like, ‘I didn’t feel like worship today,’ or ‘The sermon didn’t speak to me today.’ How about, ‘We need this program. SOMEBODY should do it.’ Maybe it’s ‘We did it differently in my day.’ We’ve all heard those sentiments, or if we are honest with ourselves, we’ve said those words ourselves. Rarely do we hear, ‘How can I serve today?’”

    Something we all need reminding of, me included, is that worship isn’t about us. It involves us, but we are there to worship the Lord, not be the focal point of the service.

    Secondly, we need to remember that God’s Word is proclaimed in its power. While some messages may hit closer to home than others, and certainly some sermons are better crafted and delivered than others, we need open hearts to hear the truth.

    The regular service at your local assembly isn’t about you (or me). It’s about the body coming together. It’s where we learn, serve and practice generosity and hospitality. 

    It’s a place where we can practice giving and receiving grace and forgiveness.  It’s where we can safely practice getting along with others who may not be just like us.

    It’s where we can share and bear one another’s burdens. It’s a holy place, a gift from God above.

    The Sunday service isn’t about meeting your perceived needs, nor is it necessarily designed to fit your personal preferences. There might be music you don’t like, or an order of service that isn’t your favorite. 

    Perhaps, from your perspective, there is too much/too little emphasis on something. Maybe the preacher is too academic or not academic enough. Maybe the coffee brand served before or after the service isn’t your favorite.

    We can always find something to complain about at the church. It’s full of people, and people are broken sinners, saved by grace. We are works in progress, justified, being sanctified but not yet glorified.

    The church is the Bride of Christ. It’s the way He has chosen to build His kingdom. As he does with us, He loves the bride with all her warts, flaws and stumbles. We need to love her too.

    The earthly church is never going to be perfect. It isn’t designed to meet all our personal preferences. It’s designed to grow us in Christlikeness.

    The writer of Hebrews exhorts us…

    Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25

    The local assembly will have its problems, but that’s our opportunity to BE THE CHURCH to step in and serve, pray and give. It’s God’s wonderful gift to us.

    What’s God calling you to do at the local level? It’s certainly not to just be a spectator.  The body needs you, and you need the body.

    It’s time to open your heart and mind and step up.

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    Check this out

    Every Member Is Necessary — 1 Corinthians 12

    SUMMARY

    The local church exists not to satisfy personal preferences or perceived needs, but to gather believers together to worship God, grow in Christlikeness, and serve one another. As members of Christ’s Bride, we are called to step in, serve, and love the church with all her imperfections, rather than sitting on the sidelines as spectators.

    KEY POINTS

    Worship is directed toward God, not designed around the worshiper’s comfort or preferences.

    The local assembly is where believers learn, serve, practice grace, bear one another’s burdens, and grow together in faith.

    The church needs your active participation — Hebrews 10:23-25 calls us to encourage one another and keep gathering together, especially as the day draws near.

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  • Pentecost Insights: Unveiling Spiritual Connections

    Pentecost Insights: Unveiling Spiritual Connections

    Pentecost and the Exodus - two sides of the same coin

    I’ve been reading some Messianic Jewish material on Pentecost and have learned some astounding similarities between Moses coming down from the mountain and the events of Acts 2. 

    Some of the material I recognized from previous studies, and others were new to me. I don’t recall ever hearing a sermon that did a full comparison. I’m just going to touch on a few key points

     And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues like fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Acts 2:1-4

    So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. Acts 2:41

    It’s a very familiar passage if you have been in the church for any length of time. The church is born with a supernatural sign and outpouring of miraculous signs. What I didn’t recognize before is that it is directly comparable to an event in the account of the Exodus. You likely know it as the story of the golden calf.

    Let me point out some parallels.

    When Moses is on the mountain, there is lightning, fire and clouds. At Pentecost, we have the tongues of flame.

    When Moses comes down, he finds the people worshipping at an altar of a golden calf. In God’s judgment, 3000 were slain. At Pentecost, by God’s grace, 3,000 were saved that day.

    Moses intercedes with God for the people and their sin. With Christ we have the true mediator for all believers.

    In many ways, with the Law’s declaration, the nation of Israel was formally born. At Pentecost, the church was born.

    The Law was given 50 days after the Passover before the Exodus from Egypt. Pentecost was 50 days after Jesus. Last Supper (in some sense, the last Passover).

    In both cases, a large assembly is gathered and waiting. The people at the foot of Sinai are waiting for Moses to return; the disciples in Jerusalem are waiting as Jesus commanded. In both cases, something dramatic descends from above and transforms the situation entirely.

    Pentecost isn’t just a “birthday of the church” moment — it’s a deliberate new-covenant Sinai, where everything that went wrong in Exodus 32 is reversed. The covenant that was broken before the ink was dry is now written inwardly, and the three thousand who fell under judgment become three thousand who receive life.

    Next time you think about the miracle of Pentecost, take a moment to contemplate the incredible ways God blesses us and how His word is a signpost pointed directly at Him. It’s all part of His redemptive plan for His creation.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    Profound Change: The Journey to New Creation

    Summary

    Pentecost in Acts 2 mirrors and fulfills the events at Mount Sinai, revealing a deliberate connection between the giving of the Law and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Where Israel’s sin at the golden calf brought judgment and death to three thousand people, Pentecost displays God’s grace as three thousand are brought to life through Christ and the new covenant.

    Key Points

    • At both Sinai and Pentecost, God’s presence is revealed through dramatic signs from heaven, including fire, sound, and a gathered assembly waiting below.
    • When Moses descended from the mountain, Israel fell into idolatry and three thousand died under judgment; at Pentecost, after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, three thousand were saved through repentance and faith.
    • Moses acted as an intercessor for Israel, foreshadowing Christ, the true and perfect mediator of the new covenant.
    • Sinai marked the formal establishment of Israel under the Law, while Pentecost marked the birth of the church through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
    • The Law was given fifty days after the Exodus events, and Pentecost occurred fifty days after Christ’s resurrection, emphasizing God’s intentional covenant pattern and fulfillment.

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    Connections