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Sabbath Bible Lessons

Worship in Awe and Reverence

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Lesson 8 Sabbath, August 25, 2012

The House of Worship

“God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him” (Psalm 89:7).

“Everything connected with the service of God must be regarded with the greatest reverence.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 303.

Suggested Readings:   Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 491-500
  Evangelism, pp. 496-512

Sunday August 19

1. A HOLY GOD

a. Describe the needed attitude with which we are to approach our Creator in these last days. Psalm 99:1–5.

“Man must come on bended knee, as a subject of grace, a suppliant at the footstool of mercy.”—Selected Messages, bk. 2, p. 315.

b. What admonition to parents should we all consider when entering God’s house of worship? Exodus 25:8; Psalms 77:13; 89:7.

“Parents, elevate the standard of Christianity in the minds of your children; help them to weave Jesus into their experience; teach them to have the highest reverence for the house of God and to understand that when they enter the Lord’s house it should be with hearts that are softened and subdued by such thoughts as these: ‘God is here; this is His house. I must have pure thoughts and the holiest motives. I must have no pride, envy, jealousy, evil surmising, hatred, or deception in my heart, for I am coming into the presence of the holy God. This is the place where God meets with and blesses His people. The high and holy One who inhabiteth eternity looks upon me, searches my heart, and reads the most secret thoughts and acts of my life.’ ”—Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 494.


Monday August 20

2. HEAVENLY ORDER

a. How can true reverence for God be fostered even in small groups assembling for public worship? Isaiah 66:1, 2; John 4:24; Matthew 18:20.

“The hour and place of prayer are sacred, because God is there. And as reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the feeling that inspires it will be deepened.”—Prophets and Kings, pp. 48, 49.

b. What should characterize every aspect of the worship of God, including the premises where worshippers meet? Leviticus 26:2; 1 Corinthians 14:40.

“The houses of the saints should be kept tidy and neat, free from dirt and filth and all uncleanness. I saw that the house of God had been desecrated by the carelessness of parents with their children and by the untidiness and uncleanness there. I saw that these things should meet with an open rebuke, and if there was not an immediate change in some that profess the truth in these things they should be put out of the camp.”—Selected Messages, bk. 3, p. 274.

“Reverence for the house of God has become almost extinct.”—Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 495, 496.

“Humility and reverence should characterize the deportment of all who come into the presence of God. In the name of Jesus we may come before Him with confidence, but we must not approach Him with the boldness of presumption, as though He were on a level with ourselves. There are those who address the great and all-powerful and holy God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, as they would address an equal, or even an inferior. There are those who conduct themselves in His house as they would not presume to do in the audience chamber of an earthly ruler. These should remember that they are in His sight whom seraphim adore, before whom angels veil their faces. God is greatly to be reverenced; all who truly realize His presence will bow in humility before Him, and, like Jacob beholding the vision of God, they will cry out, ‘How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven’ (Genesis 28:17).”— Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 252.


Tuesday August 21

3. PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP

a. What can we, who are living in the antitypical Day of Atonement, learn from the worship of God in Old Testament times? 1 Corin­thians 10:11.

“From the sacredness which was attached to the earthly sanctuary, Christians may learn how they should regard the place where the Lord meets with His people.”—Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 491.

“On the one day of the year appointed for ministry in the most holy place, the high priest with trembling entered God’s presence, while clouds of incense veiled the glory from his sight. Throughout the courts of the temple every sound was hushed. No priests ministered at the altars. The hosts of worshipers, bowed in silent awe, sent up their petitions for God’s mercy.”—Ibid., vol. 8, pp. 284, 285.

“We have abundant reason to maintain a fervent, devoted spirit in the worship of God. We have reason even to be more thoughtful and reverential in our worship than had the Jews.”—Ibid., vol. 5, p. 496.

b. What essential points are carelessly overlooked by many professed Sabbathkeepers? Ecclesiastes 5:1, 2; Habakkuk 2:20.

“Common talking, whispering, and laughing should not be permitted in the house of worship, either before or after the service.”—Ibid., p. 492.

“When the word is spoken, you should remember, brethren, that you are listening to the voice of God through His delegated servant. Listen attentively. Sleep not for one instant, because by this slumber you may lose the very words that you need most—the very words which, if heeded, would save your feet from straying into wrong paths. Satan and his angels are busy creating a paralyzed condition of the senses so that cautions, warnings, and reproofs shall not be heard; or if heard, that they shall not take effect upon the heart and reform the life. Sometimes a little child may so attract the attention of the hearers that the precious seed does not fall into good ground and bring forth fruit. Sometimes young men and women have so little reverence for the house and worship of God that they keep up a continual communication with each other during the sermon. Could these see the angels of God looking upon them and marking their doings, they would be filled with shame, with abhorrence of themselves.”—Ibid., p. 493.

“The precincts of the church should be invested with a sacred reverence.”—Ibid., p. 494.


Wednesday August 22

4. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED

a. What do we learn from faithful Esther about the significance of the Christian’s apparel? Esther 5:1, 2 (first part). How can a balanced understanding of this principle apply to our meetings with the King of the universe? Leviticus 19:30.

“In the minds of many there are no more sacred thoughts connected with the house of God than with the most common place. Some will enter the place of worship with their hats on, in soiled, dirty clothes. Such do not realize that they are to meet with God and holy angels. There should be a radical change in this matter all through our churches. Ministers themselves need to elevate their ideas, to have finer susceptibilities in regard to it. It is a feature of the work that has been sadly neglected. Because of the irreverence in attitude, dress, and deportment, and lack of a worshipful frame of mind, God has often turned His face away from those assembled for His worship.

“All should be taught to be neat, clean, and orderly in their dress, but not to indulge in that external adorning which is wholly inappropriate for the sanctuary. There should be no display of the apparel; for this encourages irreverence. The attention of the people is often called to this or that fine article of dress, and thus thoughts are intruded that should have no place in the hearts of the worshipers. God is to be the subject of thought, the object of worship; and anything that attracts the mind from the solemn, sacred service is an offense to Him.”—Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 498, 499.

b. Describe the type of music appropriate for worshipping God. Isaiah 30:29.

“Those who make singing a part of the divine worship should select hymns with music appropriate to the occasion, not funeral notes, but cheerful, yet solemn melodies. The voice can and should be modulated, softened, and subdued.”—Evangelism, p. 508.

“All the service [in the house of God] should be conducted with solemnity and awe, as if in the visible presence of the Master of assemblies.”—Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 493.


Thursday August 23

5. GUIDING THE WHOLE FAMILY

a. Name some basic points that families need to realize about worshipping God. Psalms 95:1–6; 100:2–4.

“Parents should not only teach, but command, their children to enter the sanctuary with sobriety and reverence.

“The moral taste of the worshipers in God’s holy sanctuary must be elevated, refined, sanctified. This matter has been sadly neglected. Its importance has been overlooked, and as the result, disorder and irreverence have become prevalent, and God has been dishonored. When the leaders in the church, ministers and people, father and mothers, have not had elevated views of this matter, what could be expected of the inexperienced children? They are too often found in groups, away from the parents, who should have charge of them. Notwithstanding they are in the presence of God, and His eye is looking upon them, they are light and trifling, they whisper and laugh, are careless, irreverent, and inattentive. They are seldom instructed that the minister is God’s ambassador, that the message he brings is one of God’s appointed agencies in the salvation of souls.”—Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 496, 497.

b. Why is it so important that we understand how to properly worship the God of heaven? Isaiah 1:12, 13; Ephesians 5:17.

“Unless correct ideas of true worship and true reverence are impressed upon the people, there will be a growing tendency to place the sacred and eternal on a level with common things, and those professing the truth will be an offense to God and a disgrace to religion.”—Ibid., p. 500.


Friday August 24

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. When was Jacob struck with awe, and what does it teach us?

2. Describe some outward indications of true reverence for God.

3. Name one basic rule that should be strictly adhered to in worship.

4. How is reverence to guide us in our choices of dress and music?

5. In what ways can we cultivate deeper reverence?

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