Jeremiah 7:1-4 - Ritual vs. Ritualism

Jeremiah 7:1-4 - The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord!’” Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

Message: Ritual vs. Ritualism 

Time: The son of a priest from the small town of Anathoth in Judah, the prophet Jeremiah dictated prophecies from the Lord to his secretary, Baruch. He spoke to a people, though, that would not listen and his words have much emotion to them. Jeremiah’s ministry began when he was 20 years old, in 627 BC and ended sometime around 582 BC. Jeremiah prophesied in the final years of Judah before God’s people were exiled to Babylon.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Ritualism by definition is the regular observance or practice of ritual, especially when excessive or without regard to its function and spiritually it is going through the motions without an inner disposition to worship the Lord. I was looking at this word and realizing that in our jobs we can be ritualistic, going through the motions, not thinking so much about why we are here and what our purpose here is in our work. We get caught up in personal feelings and expectations and needs, which we all have. 

Yet, rituals are not bad. It is important to practice things in a regular manner, even in my work, but here we are talking about our spiritual lives and church lives. I have rituals of brushing my teeth each time after a meal; i have a ritual of going to church each Sunday, singing songs, hearing a message, and being in Christian fellowship. In the Bible we are told to practice the Lord's Supper regularly, to tithe regularly. We do this out of obedience, helping ourselves, and also being good stewards. 

And yet, in these recurring activities there can be a temptation I think to simply go through the motions and very easily getting caught up in an idea that it is the performance of these which is important. I was speaking to a person the other day that remarked leaving church partly over the feeling that her not attending church was met with scrutiny by those attending, that somehow their was guilt because church attendance didn't seem mandatory in a person's life. Even in our churches we get too focused on works and obedience and not enough on grace. 

Regarding the arts, I admit that artistic drawings or paintings have not been present in most of the churches I've attended. The one exception was attendance at Hope Church and partly it was I think an artist, Fernando Ortega, who was there leading worship and he brought the importance of art into worship. The art was there I think to paint a picture of what it might have looked like and thereby that picture could assist us. 

But it is interesting to read about the history. At the time of the Reformation in which Luther helped people see that God has saved us by His grace and not by our works, there was this feeling at times to cleanse ourselves from everything that was near and dear to the church before and one of the things this included was art. Why? Idolatry. The 2nd commandments warns us against practicing any sort of idolatry, replacing God for an image. It is a temptation that has been present throughout history. We focus on what we can see, not what we can't and God can't be seen. By the late middle ages (AD 1300 - 1500) religious people had a tendency to worship sculptures and praying specifically to saints. And the line between the person and the God we worship blurred. So for some, like John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, they wanted to purge all forms of sculptures, saints, and artwork, while Martin Luther believed it was fine to retain the art as long as it helped us focus more on God and what He had done. In some places these artistic pieces were removed and in others they were destroyed. The word that is used to describe this is Iconoclasm -- the religiously motivated destruction of works of art, especially figurative images.

This history fascinates me because its practice continues today. And I am not sure we realize that we are the way we are today because of something that happened over 500 years ago. 

And this same thing has occurred with liturgies. Liturgy is a pattern used in worship. Liturgy to me, growing up in church, referred to repeated sayings or repeating prayers like can be found in the Book of Common Prayer. Again, at Hope we jointly would do this, respond together with a prayer written so that we are unified in agreeing to this prayer. Yet, the Puritans worked reform some of these practices to distance themselves possibly from practices of another religion. The Anglican church split from the Catholic church in 1534 and the Episcopal Church is affiliated with this. And then later the Puritans of the 1600s sought to distance themselves from practices that still were Catholic and this to them included the Anglican church. So in our effort to be different, there is a tendency to remove all practices. 

I think this lives on today. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it and yet even the Christian church at times struggles to retain the history and practices found in the Old Testament. I think people get scared and they don't know how to combine the two, so they simply get rid of the one and uphold the other. 

For today's passage I took a moment to read all of Jeremiah 7 a couple of times. Verse 1 tells us that this is a word that come to Jeremiah from the Lord and the entire passage then is the Word of the Lord. My summary of this words from the Lord is crying out to a people that needs to amend their ways and deeds and instead simply obeying God's voice. This is a cry out to people that have been listening to deceptive words. They have not been kind to neighbors or aliens (people outside their fold). They are living dual lives - looking like a follower of God and probably practicing temple worship but not living like they are a follower of God. Therefore, God's anger and wrath will follow. 

So what is highlighted today is a statement of ritual. Every Jew was required to visit the temple thrice (three times) a year and therefore some have thought this was the reason for the three fold utterance in verse 4: Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. In Isaiah 6:3 we read, "And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.;" And in Jeremiah 22:9 says, "O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord." Thus, this three times repeated words or phrases possibly mirrored the 3 time expectation of visiting the temple. But this is a side note. What is possibly being meant here is the danger of the Jews feeling like it was only the temple that embodied the Lord and their practice therefore of visiting the temple is all that was needed. Thus, ritualism. 

Summary: The problem is not with rituals themselves but with ritualism, which happens when we go through the motions without an inner disposition to worship the Lord. 

Promise: Ritualism is a danger for all of us, so we should ask God to keep us devoted to Him, and we should seek to engage our entire being in worship every time we gather with God's people to praise our Creator. 

Prayer: Lord, I thank you so much for this lesson today and the opportunity to revisit history and see how we are today in our church practices is based upon circumstances that happened 500 years ago. Lord, help me to guard myself against rituals that move into a habit that I start to not really see the heart of the reason for the ritual. Lord, we are in danger of this all of the time. I am in danger of this. Thank you for the truth of your word and I am sorry for being a part of misinterpreting it and making people feel they are aliens. Help me Lord to be a person that truly is about You and praising You. Thank you for art and people who want to capture you in order to help us get closer to understanding You and who You are. Help us to keep doing these things for your glory. 

Psalm 27:4 - The Beauty of Worship

Psalm 27:4 - One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. 

Message: The Beauty of Worship

Time: Psalms, a collection of lyrical poems, with multiple authors. David wrote 73 Psalms, though for 50 or so the author is unknown. Psalms means songs of praise. The writings span 1,000 years. They encourage us to praise God, illuminate the greatness of God, affirm His faithfulness in times of trouble, and remind us of the absolute centrality of His word. 

What the Lord is Saying: 

Wow, that is a great verse. That could be a life verse for me, to dwell with the Lord, in His house, to behold His beauty and meditate in His temple, on His words. And this is my plea to God, make me this my priority in life. Psalm 27. What a great Psalm. Verse 11 says "Teach me Thy Way, O Lord." 

As I continue to study and look at worship, according to Tabletalk this lesson is based upon sermons given by RC Sproul about "Recovering the Beauty of the Arts." Today's passage mentions "To behold the beauty of the Lord." But how do we see the beauty of the Lord when the Bible tells us that God is invisible (Hebrews 11:27 - 'Him who is unseen;' John 1:18 - 'No one has seen God at any time;' Colossians 1:15 - 'Jesus is the image of the invisible God;' I Timothy 6:16 - 'No man has seen or can see;' Note: I could not find verses from the Old Testament about God being invisible, but there are verses that say we can't see God like Exodus 33:20 - "No one can see God and live.")? 

The Old Testament speaks much about God's temple or his tabernacle. It seems to give the idea that our churches can be places that we build and craft with ornaments and decorations in order to see beauty and see the beauty of the Lord. Exodus 28 speaks of the priests attire. Exodus 31 talks of the tabernacle and its furnishings. One of my favorite verses in Romans 1 says in verse 20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes...have been clearly seen through what has been made." The creation that we can see allows us to see God that we cannot see. 

I love to go walking in creation. The streets of my neighborhood are nice because I can see plants and trees planted and look up at the sky but when I go hiking everything that I see is his creation. And in this there is such beauty. And in the process I am often moved to worship. Right now, I look out my window and see the clouds rolling by with the sun coming over the mountain and it creates a beautiful picture of creation giving me wonderful colors in the sky. I see this and in way I am seeing the beauty of the Lord. 

Not all churches I think are beautiful. Some are ordinary or in a shopping mall. And simply being there together with others helps us experience God's presence. But many of our churches are beautiful places with high ceilings and stained glass radiating the light from outside and furniture that is distinct. In all of these places there is the beauty of the Lord. In all that is pleasing to our eye, there is beauty of the Lord. And therefore, there is beauty of worship. 

Summary: The beauty of the Lord is seeing what God has made in His creation but also in His temple and specified in people's attire. All of these colors help us to worship God. 

Promise: Pursue beauty and excellence in worship. Use our talents and spiritual gifts to create beauty. 

Prayer: Thank you for beauty God, for the beauty of creation which includes what you have planted and have provided with mountains, streams, rivers, water, trees, plants, flowers and what we can put in place in our churches through paintings and paint and furniture and then also in each other. I thank you for the wonder of my wife and her smile and her features. In all of these things I praise you God and I worship You. 

 

Romans 12:1 - Living Sacrifices in Worship

Romans 12:1 

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.

Message: Living Sacrifices in Worship

Time: Paul route to Rome, the city has never visited, from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57. The rights to a church that he believes needed to hear basic Gospel doctrine. The city was a hotbed of sexual immorality and idolatry. 

What the Lord is Saying:

One of the interesting subjects of the Bible is tying together the idea of sacrifices in the Old Testament to Jesus our eternal and permanent sacrifice in the New Testament. The idea has been mentioned before that the Old Testament in looking to Christ and now we are looking back. Yet, sacrifices were present and a part of worship, going to the temple, and atoning for sins. My brother recently in his Bible Study Fellowship lesson summarized the covenants for me. He said:

• The Abrahamic Covenant was unilateral and unconditional meaning God is going to bless no matter what. 
• Genesis 12:2-3 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 
• The Moses covenant is bilateral and conditional says, You do this and God will do that.
• Deuteronomy 4:1 - "Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you." 
• The Davidic Covenant is unilateral and unconditional which means God is going to bless no matter what. 
• 2 Samuel 7:12,16 -- "When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever."
• The New Covenant is unilateral and unconditional which means God is going to bless no matter what. 
• Jeremiah 31:31-34 -- “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
• What these covenants show: 
• God desires to bring blessing. 
• People can't perfectly keep covenants. 
• God always keeps covenants. 
• Messiah Jesus fulfills covenants.

Though we do know sacrifices ceased under the New Covenant, there still is a little bit of mystery as to why the story was set up like it was - starting with Old Covenant sacrifices leading up to New Testament Jesus as the permanent sacrifice, once for all. It is a little hard for me to put together, the raising of animals, the killing of animals. It is probably harder to recognize today given the way we have been trained to treat animals and many of us still eat meat today and so sacrificing animals for our pallet continues today. 

But that idea also makes today's passage even more meaningful. In an animal sacrifice, the life of the animal is taken and removed and given completely to God. In the verse today it is mentioned - "to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice." This seems to take on the same idea as Galatians 5:24 -- "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." We remain living but we put to death our flesh, our bodies. The principle seems clear. The application seems a little difficult. Maybe I get caught up in how to do this completely. It is a surrender of myself and a surrender of to God to trust in what He provides. "All to Jesus I surrender" is the hymn. 

Leviticus 1:3 reminds me that the offering offered was without defect -- "If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect; he shall offer it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord."

Here is a great quote from St. Chrysostom (347-407) -- 

“How is the body to become a sacrifice? Let thine eye look upon no evil thing, and it hath become a sacrifice; let thy tongue speak nothing filthy, and it hath become an offering; let thy hand do no lawless deed, and it hath become a whole burnt offering. But this is not enough, we must do good works also; let the hand do alms, the mouth bless them that despitefully use us, and the ear find leisure evermore for the hearing of Scripture. For sacrifice can be made only of that which is clean; sacrifice is a first fruit of other actions. Let us, then, from our hands, and feet, and mouth, and all our other members, yield a first fruit unto God”

I love that quote because it puts the sacrifice to action. It changes our course and means that I make sure at all times my words and deeds glorify God.  

Summary: A living sacrifice in worship is to give God all of me, to give him my best and this means I turn from doing those things that don't honor him in any way. 

Promise: We must seek Him half-heartedly. Instead we are to give Him the very best of ourselves, not to atone for our sin or to merit our forgiveness but to thank Him for saving us, for giving us a purpose, and for calling us into service. 

Prayer: O God, I want to surrender to you today and give you all of me. Lord, make me clean to start so that as I go forward the slate is clean and I can be brand new in glorifying You and doing Your will. 

Esther 9:20-22 - Thanksgiving in Worship

Esther 9:20-22 

20 Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, 22 because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

Message: Thanksgiving in Worship

Time: Unknown author and book named after the start of the story, a young Jewish girl named Hadassah taken from her guardian, Mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. As an unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant she became queen of Persia and was renamed Esther, meaning "star." The events in the book of Esther occurred from 483 BC to 473 BC, during the first half of the reign of King Xerxes, who chose Esther as his queen. It is the only book in the Bible not to mention the name of God, however it is one of the most skillfully written books of the Bible, but God's sovereignty permeates the book. Its focus is the feast of Purim. This book reminds us of how God weaves out our lives and all of its events for His glory. 

What the Lord is Saying: Purim is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman. Haman was king Ahasuerus evil second-in-command. He cast the lot, called "pur" in order to determine the days the Jews would be executed (Esther 3:7-9).  Esther and Mordecai though would foil the plan. Esther, the wife of Ahasuerus and thus, the queen of Persia. 

Mordecai discovers a plot to kill Ahasuerus. Haman is appointed as second in command but refuses to bow to Mordecai, then discovers he is a Jew and casts lot to then determine a time to execute all Jews. In response Mordecai and other Jews enter a time of intense mourning and lamenting and fasting. Esther discovers what has happened and begins an exchange of conversation with Mordecai. Her husband does not yet know she is a young Jewish girl. After back and forth deciding and delays she finally reveals to her husband she is Jewish and the plan to exterminate all Jewish people. Ahasuerus instead has Haman hanged on the gallows he had set up for Mordecai. A decree is then given that allows enemies of the Jews to be killed and this results in 75,000 killed. Mordecai becomes second in command and institutes the annual commemoration of this saving of the Jewish people - known as the Purim and is celebrated today as a joyous time, with maybe a carnival, exchanging of gifts and donations to the poor.

It is interesting that at the time there was another example of fasting after the people heard of the difficulty that would be coming their way. Again mourning and lamenting and fasting here are also going hand in hand.  And even in the church today there can be special times of thanksgiving to commemorate different events or special milestones including Thanksgiving holiday, paying off mortgage, or staff anniversaries. 

And yet thanksgiving is also a part of normal worship. I was taught the acronym ACTS to pray which stands for Adoration-Confession-Thanksgiving-Supplication. It reminds me that there are many things to do when we pray before asking. And giving thanks is part of this. I see churches do this in thanking God for his forgiveness of their sins and also there is a thankful spirit of all that God has done. Yesterday, we sang the hymn "When we All get to heaven" and that song gives an attitude of the joy and thankfulness we will have when we enter a new life in Christ. 

I miss this at times. But, I am very thankful for the wife God has given me and the children he has given me and the parents. Even though my dad doesn't have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ he has always supported me in my faith. I am thankful for all of the little things my mom did to encourage me in my faith. I pray I can be a fraction of this towards my wife and children and now grandchildren. And a thankful heart needs to continue to be a part of me. My favorite chapter of Romans 1 marks that the first thing I see that goes in unregenerate man is not having a thankful heart. Romans 1:21 says, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

Summary: Giving thanks is a part of our prayers that we make thanking God for all that He has done. It can be part of special occasions and it can also be a part of our weekly coming together time on Sunday morning. 

Promise: Cultivating thankful hearts will help us remember who God is and why He is worthy of our praise.

Prayer: God, how quickly at times I forget to give things and get out of this practice and instead get in the practice of wanting more and more and dissatisfied with the way things are going and want a better way. This is all consuming me at times and takes over my body. Lord, there is so much you have provided to me that I can be thankful for and I am indeed grateful to You. Thank you for giving me salvation and sending Your Son to live a better life for me to emulate but also to be my sacrifice and the perfect sacrifice for all. Thank you Jesus for rising again and perfectly redeeming me so that I would live forever in heaven with you. Keep that thankful attitude in my life continually and forgive me when I get off center from this. 

Joel 2:12 - Fasting in Worship

Joel 2:12

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;

Message: Fasting in Worship

Time: Little is known of the prophet Joel. He identified himself as the son of Pethuel, preached to the people of Judah, and expressed a great deal of interest in Jerusalem. A date of approximately 835 BC or soon after is what can be pieced together. Joel gives no indication of the time period.

What the Lord is Saying: Fasting is the lesson today. Corporate and individual. Lately, whenever I think of fasting, I think of my brothers and sisters in Africa and how fasting is a normal part of their lives - a common occurrence. My friend Daniel and new convert Akeem in Nigeria have been fasting for 30 days now. A friend in Tororo, Uganda mentions that he and his church fast frequently, dedicating their time together to pray for all of the various needs of their community and beyond. In contrast, fasting is something in the United States that is not mentioned much or I don't hear of people fasting very much or at all. 

And in this lesson today, the writers of Tabletalk mention that fasting is not necessarily only an individual practice by people but something groups of people will do or the church even corporately. 

Today's passage from Joel 2 is an interesting call by the priests of that day to warn people of the consequence of sin. In this passage is a description of the impending judgments - the Day of the Lord is coming (Joel 2:1) - and then its description follows. There is meant to be an alarm going off before the people of the intensity and wide effects of this judgment (darkness, never been like it nor again, nothing escapes it, people are trying to flee with all of their power because of what is coming, people in anguish, faces pale, who can endure it?). It affects everyone and this description seems to take up the first 11 verses of the chapter. 

And so then the response from the people is a response now to return to God with all of our hearts. "All" to me points to everything. It is consecrating everything to Him. It is complete surrender. It is to align ourselves only with the way of Jesus Christ. It is to stare at everything in our life that is potentially an idol and turn from it. The word "return" is used. "Return to Me." It is the realization that we have gone astray, that I do go astray, that I get myself off track often and aligned in other realms and other dimensions of my life and so I need to return to God. And so in this recognition, this turning from our sin - is it just to be different? Yes. But the response begins first with a time of "fasting, weeping and mourning." 

To start new is to wipe out everything that was there before. And for us as believers in Christ, it starts with fasting. Everything is silenced for a moment (food, TV, screens, worldly ways), for a time to get things right with God and this includes weeping and mourning over getting off track in my life -- so that when I start anew I start right with him, then introducing things into my life that are correct. It is pulling back and seeing that the going through of the motions of life is moving me away from Him. It is complete surrender and complete turning away from sin to embrace completely Christ and His righteousness. 

In some ways this is what happens anytime I come before God. It is right now as I read and discover this passage and spend time alone with God as I start my day. It is when I gather together with other Christians and re-root myself as we discuss our lives and how they have gotten off-centered and Christ needs to be at the center. It happens when I go to church and sing songs and lift up the name of Jesus in song and praise. I return to Him, to center myself, to align myself with him, setting aside all that has happened maybe in the week prior of getting my focus off of Him. And in that there is worship through fasting, through weeping over my sin and what I did, mourning over my sin and the consequences that resulted from that. 

And then what follows is verse 18 and beyond is God's deliverance. See the problem - turn - God will save. This the extent of the gospel -- 1) see your sin; 2) turn from your sin and 3) God saves us. 

In this seeing sin is seeing that judgment is real and is coming. This is a reminder I need, because in my selfish interests continually of getting things I want I forget about this future judgment actually taking place. It is true I made a point decision in life in 1982 to turn from sin to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, but this turning needs to be daily because the temptation to follow idols is present each day. And so because of this, shouldn't my actions be fasting, weeping and mourning - over the fact that I trade truth for a lie continually. 

Summary: I need to realize that judgment is a reality. I have wandered from him and still do. Judgement is coming. So stop. Return to God. With All of My Heart. Start with fasting, weeping, and mourning. 

Promise: When we fast, we are driven to more urgent prayer and to remember our creaturely dependence. If you have not fasted before, consider whether you should fast and pray this week.

  

Prayer: O God, wow. Your word is so alive. Even in this moment, you remind me that judgment is coming and from that I can see more clearly now that I still get side tracked and away from you and aligned with other priorities of my days and get off track. I refuge in entertainment, selfish ways. Yes, I work hard, but I don't actively and intentionally bring you up and show others that what I am doing is for your glory. God, I return to You. With all of my heart. I consecrate all of me to You. You are Holy Forever. I can then start afresh with Fasting, while in those moments I weep and mourn for my past sin of replacing You. O God, thank you that you are there waiting to deliver me and set me right always. You are the God who saves. You are Holy Forever. 

Nehemiah 10:28-29 - Oaths and Vows in Worship

Nehemiah 10:28-29 - Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding, are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law, which was given through Moses, God’s servant, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of God our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes;

Message: Oaths and Vows in Worship

Time: Nehemiah is the author and written from a first-person perspective. We meet him as an adult serving in the Persian royal court as the personal cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. It opens in the Persian city of Susa in the year 444 BC and concludes around 430 BC. Most of the book centers on events in Jerusalem. He was a layman not a priest and his life is a study on leadership. He gave God the credit for his successes.

What the Lord is Saying: What are oaths and vows and what place do they hold today in worship? This is a subject I have not ever considered. The Westminster Confession of Faith 21:5 mentions oaths and vows being a part of special occasions. The proof texts are:

Deuteronomy 6:13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

Nehemiah 10:29 They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;

Isaiah 19:21 And the Lord shall be known to Egypt,

And the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day,

And shall do sacrifice and oblation;

Yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

And then one more scripture from Jesus:

Matthew 5:33-37 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

James 5:12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

As I look at these verses above, Deuteronomy 6:13 says to "swear by his name." Nehemiah 10:29 says "they entered in an oath." Isaiah 19:21 says "they shall vow a vow unto the Lord." Ecclesiastes 5:4 mentions "when you vow a vow unto God." But in Jesus' words he says to not make an oath at all. And James agrees maybe by saying do not swear no make an oath. 

Swear

I think to swear by his name it simply means to proclaim God as the only true God; believing in Him is the only way. Paul quotes in Romans 14:11 "that every tongue shall confess" from Isaiah 45:23 -- "Unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear." Thus, to swear is to confess. This type of vow seems proper and of good practice. 

Oaths

In these verses in Nehemiah 10:28-29 is the simple admonition that all the people that have chosen to live by the Law of God or who have separated themselves from the way of the world, it is these individuals that make an oath to walk in His law - to keep it and observe all that is written - but if one does not then they take on all the curses that are mentioned in this book of the law. Thus, on one hand is a promise to keep the law and conversely a curse if one breaks it. 

The only oath that I think is prevalent in society is the oath one takes when testifying in a court. In that context, it is a statement of fact or promise that the words one speaks will be true. At that time, it is interesting that one will place their hand on the Bible. It is not clear to me why the Bible is used. It seems to mean that if words are not true, then I have no defense. By placing a hand on the Bible I am stating that the Bible is true. 

Yet, Jesus says in Matthew 5:34 to make no oath at all. Is Jesus talking about all oaths here? He seems to be upping the ante as he often has been doing in these verses in Matthew 5, by looking at a principle from the law and then taking it to a new level. And yet in reading the passage, his statement does not end with "make no oath at all" but he clarifies that no oath should occur in the name of heaven or earth. 

There seems to be two views about what Jesus is saying here. Tabletalk and maybe other reformed thinkers don't think Jesus is outlawing all oaths. They think that Jesus is speaking to a specific issue among Jews that oaths that are sworn by anything other than the name of God do not have to be fulfilled. Jesus was therefore challenging the notion that one could get of keeping an oath if it was voiced by swearing upon something other than God. And so he is saying that as long as the oath is lawful it should be followed. And he ties this all up by saying, let your yes be yes and your no be no. By Jesus saying do not make an oath he is saying do not make light oaths that have no intention really of being kept. Thus, the ante that he is upping here is that all oaths, whether in God's name or not should be valid promises. The other view on this verse is that Jesus was in fact stating to never make an oath. But from the standpoint of what is mentioned elsewhere regarding the way he upped the ante on keeping commandments like adultery and murder it seems that this is also what he is doing here instead of repealing Moses' law.  

This line of thinking would be correct for Paul in Acts states that he was keeping a vow. Acts 18:18 -- Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.

I suppose in this lesson I am stuck on these words -- oaths, vows and swearing. Perhaps I am not looking at the principle which seems to be that we need to be people of our word, but also we need to be making promises to God or commitments. Maybe this is what is kind of missing in our lives. I think a few songs by DeGarmo and Key on this idea. One song was called Man of His Word -- the lyrics go:

Never a syllable wasted
Each and every promise was true
Every commandment He spoke of
He proceeded to do

He was a Man of His word

Blessed is the man who swears to his own hurt
Do what you say be a man of your word

Interesting words there that Jesus kept his promises and are we keeping our promise. Am I making promises to act or be a certain way? Another song was the Pledge. 

It's a world of choices, patterned to confuse
Distracting little voices whisper what to do
Searching for the pieces, one step from the edge
Turn your heart to Jesus, make this solemn pledge

He died for me, I'll live for Him
He died for me, I'll live for Him

Above all lords and regents, He is King of Kings
I'm pledging my allegiance through these words I sing
Take this oath of service, write it on your wall
It's our only purpose for living life at all

Wow. Look. It is right there. "Take this oath of service." "Make this solemn pledge." Tabletalk also gives the idea that this is what we do often in our church services each Sunday as we gather and choose to sing - proclaiming truths and listening to the Word of God, agreeing with what is said and not simply stimulation understanding but wanting to follow God. 

I was just about to give up on this lesson, thinking that I don't know how it applies, but it does apply. It is rich. And It makes me wonder about my words and my commitments. Am I really making many commitments in my life? I think I do. Each morning I have been walking to pray and also to pray the words of the fruit of the spirit, committing to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 

So that is my pledge, but what are my other pledges or oaths. I do want to live differently. Pamela and I made a pledge to not kiss till our wedding day, but we only made it to a few weeks after being engaged, succumbing to the pressure of others, like my dad. Maybe we made it a big deal when we should have kept quiet about it. 

Summary - In regards to oaths and vows in Worship, these are promises or pledges we make each Sunday as we gather, as we sing songs, about God but also about who we are in Christ. If we speak these words, may they be so in our lives. 

Promise: Our worship itself can be seen as a vow to serve God. That is one of the reasons why it should be taken seriously. Worship is a holy occasion on which we meet with our holy God to swear allegiance to Him. It is not a time for frivolity. 

Prayer: O God, you are Lord of All. I am stating this and swearing by this. Lord, help me in my words to be true to them and to be a man of my word and to be careful maybe about what I promise, but also to make sure that I am following through on what I am saying. I do often say things that people want to hear but then I don't back up those words with action. I need to be a man of my word at work, but also towards You. I pledge my allegiance to you. You died for me, I will live for You. I will live for You. I want to do this in my life. 

Acts 2:42 - Sacraments in Worship

Acts 2:42 - They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Message: Sacraments in Worship

Time: Clearly written by Luke, this book follows the lives of Peter and then Paul after Jesus' ascension into heaven. The book was completed about 62 AD as Paul sat in prison. It provides an account of the growth of the Church and spread from Jerusalem, from a small group of frightened believers in Jerusalem transformed into an empire-wide movement of people who had committed their lives to Jesus Christ, and it should help us to be bold and have zeal in our walks with God.

What the Lord is Saying: An initial thought here is thinking that those groups that want to pattern themselves off of the early church often don't realize that the scripture of the early church was often the Old Testament scriptures. So they would have been teaching of the Old Testament scriptures by the apostles as well as new revelation given by Christ. My guess is the sermon on the Mount was probably a big part of that teaching since it is probably the message that Jesus repeated the most. 

This verse in Acts mentions that the church devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship. And also breaking of bread and to prayer. Even today, we want to mirror these practices. And yet I wonder if there becomes a desire by many to group these practices into almost a checklist of things that must be done by participants when people gather. I think checklist Christianity is a big concern because it becomes more about doing the checklist than exploring the relationship with Jesus. 

A couple of days ago I gave a ride to Albuquerque from Durango an engaged couple after I attended a wedding with them. As we discussed things, the gal asked me about the difference between Methodist and Baptist. It was an interesting question and one in which I found myself being stumped answering. From her perspective, having grown up attending non-denominational churches, she really did not understand the different between the two churches or beliefs and I found that I struggled in explaining it. 

And yet each of the denominations we have (Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc.) is really a product of a group of people that have come together to agree on a structure of how the Bible is to be applied and lived out and how worship is to be conducted each time people gather for worship -- after the reformation. I mention that because it seems that this idea of the application of sacraments is a chief reason for those different manifestations of churches or different denominations. Even those that call themselves non-denominations come together to agree upon something.

I referred to my Oxford Dictionary on the subject of Sacrament. It is a term not found in the Bible - but by the 3rd century was being used to describe baptism and the Lord's Supper or Eucharist. Later in the 16th century, at a time when the Reformation was occurring and Protestantism was becoming more prominent - the Council of Trent of 1564 defined 7 sacraments. The Council of Trent was the formal Roman Catholic reply to the doctrinal challenges of the Reformation.  These sacraments are Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Marriage. Again, hopefully the practice of these is not simply to perform a checklist but rather to experience the relation or encounter between God and human beings. 

As I personally think of these sacraments in my life and how I maybe grew up performing them (attending a Baptist church most of the time the emphasis was on baptism and Lord's Supper) - for me these acts represented an identification of my union with Christ - baptism and the Lord's Supper was an identification or union with Christ's death and resurrection. Baptism was a one time experience whereas the Lord's Supper was more often. Currently, I am content in this. Also, for both of these they are done in community  - with others and with Christ. There is a community testimony of sorts that occurs. I'm not sure if I see a problem with expanding these acts if churches have more of them as long as they remain an experience to identify with Christ and other believers. 

I do not think these are requirements of salvation, but I also think they are things the Christian would want to do as they encounter God. 

Summary: In our sacraments, we worship God, encountering God as we identify with Christ. At a minimum these acts should include baptism and Lord's Supper. 

Promise: Sacraments are public ordinances and we participate in them rightly in the context of public worship. 

Prayer: God, I come to You even in prayer to have community with You, to acknowledge You as God and my need for You daily and your help in my life. Thank you for this. Lord, you have clearly instituted ways in which we encounter You as we gather together - acts that we do together - such as baptism and the Lord's Supper. In these Lord are ways to come together and worship You and encounter You as both a Body and as individuals. Thank you for making these significant in our lives - to show us we are not alone and that we are about being a 'together' people. Give me patience as I come in contact with those that perhaps take a different perspective on these or have a greater emphasis on some items. Lord, keep us in communion with You and let these acts not simply be a checklist to perform in thinking doing them alone is what is needed. Keep helping me understand this Lord. I praise You.