Title: Genesis 04:1-15 Worship is life
Contents
Worship is life (Genesis 4:1~15)
Let's focus on full worship
We need to restore the heart of the worshiper who has become dull and build the altar again.
That's why we put a banner at the entrance of our church that reads, 'Worship is life', and let the members see it and recognize it every time they come to church and make it a part of their lives. That's right. For us as God's people, worship is like life.
In the text, it is recorded that Cain and Abel, two sons of Adam and Eve, worshiped God. However, after this worship event, Cain kills his brother Abel out of strong anger and jealousy, and in the end, he himself is cursed and loses his way and leads a lost life.
Of course, we are sure that although Abel was killed by his brother's hand, his worship was offered to God, and he became a dead but eternal man, while Cain lived a life of failure with the disgrace of being the first murderer of mankind. , 'worship is directly related to life' must be. So, ‘worship is life.’
1. The purpose of salvation is “to receive worship.”
The story of Exodus is about the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. However, there is an important fact that we need to know, 'Why did God save the people of Israel?'
In conclusion, the purpose of God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt was to receive worship. Before God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, God sent Moses to Pharaoh to tell him to let them go out of Egypt, and Jehovah’s message to Pharaoh to deliver at that time was “… Allow us to go about three days into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God” (Exodus 3:18).
The reason and purpose of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt was to make sacrifices to the Lord. It says that the purpose of the Exodus was to worship.
The importance of worship can be seen through the entire book of Exodus. If we divide the entire book of Exodus, which consists of a total of 40 chapters, chapters 1-18 are the record of the journey from the Exodus to Mount Sinai. It is about the worship method centered on.
Especially in Exodus 19, God called Moses to the top of Mount Sinai and made the so-called ‘covenant on Mount Sinai,’ and he said, “You will become a kingdom of priests to me and a holy people” (verse 6). Looking at this verse from a liturgical point of view, considering that 'priest' is an office related to worship and 'holy people' is made possible through worship, it can be confirmed that the message that the people of Israel are called to worship is contained. There is.
2. Worship is “giving” to God.
Worship is giving, not receiving. Worship is thinking of God's grace that saved us from death and 'going to God and giving yourself completely to God' with a grateful heart. Worship is giving to God all that has been given to me.
However, many people come out to worship with the intention of ‘receiving from God’ rather than ‘giving to God’. Of course, God gives proper grace and blessings to those who worship. However, the basic attitude of the worshiper should be to give completely to God as a priority.
In verse 4 of the text, it is written, “Abel himself also offered the firstlings and their fat, and the Lord accepted Abel and his offering.” , God had received Abel's 'gift'. This is said to have been successful in worship.
3. Worship determines the rise and fall of life.
In the Bible, there are many cases in which individuals' lives and the history of ethnic communities prospered and collapsed due to worship. In Leviticus 10, Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu, were killed on the spot for misleading the worship service. In the history of the people of Israel, there are many painful memories of suffering God's judgment and chastisement for failing to worship God properly and serving idols.
On the other hand, there are many people who have been blessed through proper worship. In Genesis 8:20 and below, Noah worshiped God first after the flood, and God was pleased with that worship, and as a result, his descendants received the grace to continue the line of mankind. In Genesis 35, Jacob received a blessing after he worshiped God in Bethel, and his name was changed from ‘Jacob’ to ‘Israel’. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings and gained unprecedented wisdom, wealth, and honor.
The purpose of God's salvation for us is to receive our worship. This year, we hope that we will restore the heart of our worshipers who have become dull and rebuild the altar (worship) of our broken family so that we can become worshipers worthy of God's acceptance in our homes, churches, and in the field of our lives. Amen.
Sermon notes
Realizing that the purpose of God's salvation is to receive worship, it should be a successful year for worship. According to the Bible and church history, individuals and peoples who succeeded in worship prospered, but those who failed to worship were severely disciplined and destroyed. In this sense, worship is life. We hope that we will become individuals, families, and churches that succeed in worship.