I serve as the director of children and family ministries for the Evangelical Covenant Church. My wife, Marti serves as the director of youth and family ministries. We live in Mount Prospect, Illinois, with our fifteen-year-old-son Paul. Our daughter, Melissa, is recently married and a student at North Park Theological Seminary. Prior to moving to the Chicago area, we served as pastors of Christian education at churches in Minnesota and New York.

This week, we will see the importance of worship as one of the central ways we interact with and experience God.

Sunday, October 26 (Twentieth after Pentecost) Job 1:1, 2:1-10

Presenting Ourselves before God

One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord" (2:1).

Unlike the other heavenly beings in today's text, Satan presented himself before God with selfish ambition. Satan came before God wanting power and influence and with a desire to show his superiority over both God and others.

At first glance, it may seem that we have little in common with this account. Yet we also present ourselves before God every day. Since we dwell in the presence of our living God moment by moment, we present ourselves to God through every action, through every word, and through every thought. What an awesome privilege, what a humbling experience, to find ourselves daily in the presence of God. How then shall we worship and present ourselves before our living God who dwells with us today?

God we are humbled to be in your presence. Help us not to present ourselves to you with selfish ambitions but to give our lives fully to you. Amen.

Monday, October 27--Psalm 26

Integrity before God

But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me" (v. 11).

Early in Psalm 26, David seems to link integrity exclusively to the result of his own actions. Later, in verse 11, he prays for both redemption and God's grace. The cornerstone of David's integrity appears to be not his actions but rather his faith and trust in God which is manifested in actions--actions which he knows will, in the end, fall short. Yet even David's faith, which he asks God to test, is not enough. His integrity then, like ours, ultimately rests in God and God alone. In order to walk in integrity before God, we must surrender ourselves to God, for it is God who completes us and makes our broken lives whole, making integrity possible.

We worship you God, surrendering ourselves to you, knowing that integrity is possible only through your redeeming love and grace. Amen.

Tuesday, October 28--Exodus 20:1-6

No Others before God

You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol..." (vv. 3-4a).

Our lives are neither full nor complete unless we put God first. Much of the world tries to find things, idols if you will, to take the place of God, although it is not initially done with this thought in mind. The things that we throw heart and soul into, like money, houses, cars, sports, power, drugs, politics, and fame, can edge out God and ultimately come before God. The pursuit of worldly things can make our lives easier and give us a sense of self-sufficiency, but we deceive ourselves when we believe that anything other than God can give our lives meaning and purpose. Without God we are nothing. God is the giver of life and God alone offers us a oneness in relationship that can only happen when we worship the one who made us and sustains us. True worship occurs when we put God first, before all.

"What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?"(Psalm 8:4). May we worship you today, O Lord, by putting you first in our lives. Amen.

Wednesday, October 29--Mark 10:1-16

Let Children Come before God

Let the little children come to me; and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs" (v. 14).

When the disciples tried to stop the little children from reaching Jesus in today's passage, he became indignant. We have a great opportunity as the church to come together as a body--adults, youth, and children alike-- to worship Jesus. It is not easy to include children. It takes more work. Not because they are any less receptive to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, but because they may not be as receptive to an exclusively adult form of worship. It is easy to push them away since they have no "voice" in the church. But Jesus has spoken for them. Jesus welcomes children along with the adult and desires to bless us all.

Jesus, thank you for inviting all of us into your presence and for including the children. Amen.

Thursday, October 30--Matthew 15:7-20

Open Hearts before God

This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (v. 8).

It is easy to go through the motions of worshiping God. But God is interested in more than motions or ritual. God looks instead at the heart. It is not that our rituals are bad. But ritual and the manner in which we live our lives are meaningless if God is not first in our hearts. A genuine heartfelt love for God results in worship, which transcends the once-a-week gathering and instead permeates all of life. When our hearts become a dwelling place for God, then God is worshiped through our actions, our words, our pleas for forgiveness, our requests for guidance, and our prayers of thanksgiving and praise.

Help us Lord God to not just go through religious motions, but to open up our hearts that you may enter in and transform us. Amen.

Friday, October 31--John 4:20-24

In Spirit before God

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (v. 24).

In this passage Jesus explains to the Samaritan woman that the time is coming when we will worship God in all places. We will worship in spirit and truth because, indeed, the Spirit lives in us. We need not ask that God be present with us, God is always present. To worship in spirit and truth is to be attentive to the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is worship that comes from the depths of our soul and is shaped by an awareness of God who by his infinite love and grace dwells as Spirit in every believer. What an amazing and awesome gift! God holds nothing back, but gives fully of himself to us through both the Son and the Spirit. Thus we are free to worship God in all places and in a manner that transcends this world, for the sake of all who dwell in this world.

Thank you God, for loving us enough to step inside us. Help us, we pray, to be attentive to your indwelling Spirit that we might worship you in spirit and in truth. Amen.

Saturday, November 1--Hebrews 4:12-16

In Weakness before God

And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account" (v. 13).

God knows us more intimately than anyone else. God even knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows our struggles and our weaknesses. They are never hidden from God and there is never a time when we do not worship in weakness before God. But God sympathizes with our weaknesses, because Christ has in every respect been tempted just as we are, yet did not sin.

It is difficult to come before God with our weaknesses laid bare, but to approach the throne of grace is to turn to God for mercy. Like a mother who wraps a child in her arms to be comforted, so Christ wraps himself around us, covering the nakedness of our weakness as we stand daily before the Father.

God of mercy and God of grace, we stand before you today in brokenness and weakness, thankful that you have sent your Son, Jesus, to help us in our time of need. Amen.