Here’s my question. Why is it either or? Why do we need to prioritize worship over work, or work over worship? Why do we even think this is two different things? It’s like thinking God’s love and God’s glory are two different things. They’re not. They’re two different ways of thinking or talking about one thing. The same God. Worshiping Jesus and following Him are also one thing.
suffering is a facet of God’s glory, and if we are contemplating God’s glory so that we may be transformed into His likeness, we need to contemplate the whole thing—His suffering, too. If we consistently and insistently gloss over the suffering of God and skip right to the triumph, our understanding of God will eventually cease to be Christian, our “god” will become a triumphalist psychopath, and we will start to reflect that image instead.
Sermon #3. Ideally, we’ll get a recording of the second one, one of these days…
God is not oppressive, God is not stingy, and the thing that makes God most angry is when people are promoting and/or worshiping something or some idea that isn’t Him. It robs Him of His glory, and His glory is the best thing that could ever happen to us.
Better with one from California than the one from Transylvania!
I am sure that is an unforgettable memory.
True! And true! It was kind of one of those experiences that was terrifying and awful in the moment but provided such a feeling of triumph when we survived!