Monday, November 11, 2013

DAY 541 - Have You Been Worshiping Jesus or Just Going to Church? (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)


**NEW link for the  15th: 13th 100 days 24 hours prayer campaign (We are going to use this 13th list leads up to the 15th. 13th from March 15 to June 22, 2013. 14th from June 22 to August 31, 2013, 15th from Sept. 1, 2013 to Dec. 9. 2013)

Want to know why I have been writing and recording my blogs and podcast daily since August 10, 2009? Click these three links:

Confirmation from John Stott in 2009: 
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
My MicroMacro Discipleship, A missing DNA in Discipleship Development: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/introduction-micromacro-discipleship.html
Subject Shifting Devotion Method(Inspired by John Stott in 1991: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

                               Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
** If you would like to learn a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please read my “Count Down 5” from my Devotion on Fire blog:
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html
To use this simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link:
 .Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf

Please click this link to read 1 Corinthians 11:2-16

Bible Study

     This is a difficult passage, Paul was trying to deal with the problem of men and women in worship. 
Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
     In verse 3 Paul is referring not to 'headship' in the sense of sovereignty, but to 'headship' in the sense of 'source', like the 'source' or 'head' of a river...
     The underlying point then seems to be that in worship it is important for both men and women to be their truly created selves, to honour God by being what they are and not blurring the lines by pretending to be something else...
     The critical move Paul makes is to argue that a man dishonours his head by covering it in worship and that a woman dishonours hers by not covering it.  He argues this mainly from the basis that creation itself tends to give men shorter hair and women longer (verses 5-6, 13-15); the fact that some cultures, and some people, offer apparent exceptions would probably not have worried him.  His main point is that in worship men should follow the dress and hair codes which proclaim them to be male, and women the coded which proclaim them to be female.
     Why then does he say that a woman 'must have authority on her head because of the angels' (verse 10)?  This is one of the most puzzling verses in a puzzling passage, but there is help of sorts in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  There it is assumed that when God's people meet for worship, the angels are there too.
     For the Scrolls, this means that the angels, being holy, must not be offended by any appearance of unholiness among the congregation. 

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:1 Corinthians. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.141-142.

      We do not have such kind of hair codes or dress codes. So, what kind of message can we get from this message? 

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

Spiritual Journal

    What I heard from Jesus today is: Going to worship Jesus or going to church?

    What I got from Jesus today is a wonderful and important message. Jesus used a special way to deliver this message. Ignatius came in while I was typing today's post. He said, "Dad, do you know there is a movement in England spreading quite quick. There are two men establishing many places like churches, they sing songs, they have talks about life and everything a church has. But, they are non-religious."

      Yes, this is what Paul is talking about. Paul is talking about true 'headship', the source of a church, and it is Jesus. Without worshiping Jesus, without Jesus presence, going to church is just like those places. 

      So, don't tell people from now on you go to church. Don't ask people whether they go to church or not. Ask people, "Have you been worshiping Jesus in  a community?" The word 'church' in Greek "ekklesia" means "a gathering of citizens to do the work of the civic concerns." So, Christians are citizens of the Kingdom of God, so a public gathering is both to worship God and to conduct the reign of God.

      Now, the question is: Have you been worshiping Jesus or just going to church? 

 Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to be able to worship you as our Saviour, Lord and King and not just going to church.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Please click this link to worship with us -

一首愛歌


10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) Matt Redman
You may choose to follow my other daily blog: 
Daily Devotion on Fire 2(2 years plan -One year New Testament, one year Old Testament): 
http://bishopsilas2.blogspot.ca/
Daily Devotion on Fire (3 years and 3 months plan, one chapter a day to finish reading the whole Bible): 
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/
Break.Build (40 days daily devotion- First Baby Step for new Christians): http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

Emmanuel330 (40 weeks First Step Bible Study): 
-

是時候回頭轉向神了!

   今日博客的錄影: Nicky Gumbel  牧師今日靈修博客: https://us17.campaign-archive.com/?e=590b90010b&u=607cd553028b55c8cfb706e8a&id=94c5e0eae4 Nicky ...