Worship
1 Kings 6:1-13 – Solomon’s Temple (1997) – MP3 / YouTube / Handout
Every Christian is a walking temple of God. As we look at this passage about Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem, we will learn principles that are applicable to ourselves, because we are a walking temple of God. God is concerned with small things, very frequently surprising us by bypassing big things to deal with small things. God works frequently and effectively through small groups and objects. We, as creatures, do not have the liberty to decide in what way we are to worship the Creator. We are to worship the Creator in spirit and in truth. When God made a temple out of us, He gave us everything, spiritually speaking, that we would ever need, to live for Him, to serve Him, to worship Him, and to honor Him. Silence in the presence of God is a very significant spiritual discipline that all of us need to cultivate. God’s children should know how to climb to get to His resources. Can people and God smell the Lord Jesus Christ in us? We need to re-double our commitment to God and to continue to be obedient to Him, so that we may experience His presence and that God may be at home in our lives, and then all the privileges and benefits of being a temple of God will be experienced by ourselves. Other passages discussed include: 1 Corinthians 6:19, Zechariah 4:6,9-10, John 4:20-24, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3, Habakkuk 2:20, Psalm 46:10, Matthew 18:20, Ephesians 5:2, 2 Corinthians 2:14, and John 14:23.
1 Kings 7:23-39 – The Sea and the Water Carts in God’s Temple (1997) – MP3 / YouTube
The Sea is a giant basin, which represents that salvation is of the Jews. The water carts and the reservoirs that they contain illustrate our need for ourselves to be clean and our sacrifices to be clean when we come to worship God at the Lord’s Table. Other passages mentioned include: 1 Kings 7:13; John 4:20,22; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:25-26; 2 Chronicles 4:6; Leviticus 1; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 10:19-22; 1 Timothy 4:3-5; John 4:24.
1 Kings 15:1-24 – The King Who Downgraded the House of God (1999) – MP3 / YouTube
Although King Asa undertakes many impressive reforms in removing idolatry from the land of Israel, King Asa fails to remove the high places and make the house of God the unique center of the worship of God in Israel. Unfortunately, King Asa also impoverishes the house of God by using its treasures for security instead of seeking security from God. Likewise, the modern church has also lost the center of its worship. The center of worship in the early church was the Lord’s Supper. Zane discusses the observance of the Lord’s Supper and its role in the corporate worship of the church. Other passage mentioned include: Deuteronomy 12:1-14; Acts 20:7-12; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Acts 2:41-46; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 2 Chronicles 14:8-16:9; John 4:20-24.