This week's message on Rebuilding the Altar was about corporate repentance. How we as a church need to take responsibility for our sins as a congregation, confess them, repent and rebuild. I'll try to share a few short snippets of the message that really stuck with me. We so often focus on prayer as an individual activity, that we forget all the occasions that the Bible mentions the church coming together for larger prayer gathering.
The instructions and direction that God gave us in the Bible tell us exactly how he wants His Church to look. It's not a house of worship or a house of bible studies or a house of small groups. Jesus specifically stated that his Church was to be a house of worship.
Jesus said, "...My house shall be called the house of prayer" Matthew 21:13 and he was quoting old Testament scripture Isiah 56:7.
Our church is holding a prayer gathering this Friday night and Saturday morning as a time to come together as a church and learn about prayer and pray. We are planning on attending Friday night's gathering, with the focus on learning how to pray for ourselves and how to pray for our marriage.
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayer. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
The Altar and the Door
We started a new series at church this week called Rebuilding the Altar. I thought it would be appropriate for me to study up on the actual meaning of an altar. In general wiki tells us that an altar is a place where sacrifices are made or offerings are given. I was actually raised in a church with a physical altar rail, where the congregation kneeled down to take communion. My current Church has more of an elevated area and not a specific altar.
The first altar mentioned in scripture is the one Noah built after the flood. Modern altars can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They can be for a church congregation or they can be individual. I believe the purpose of an altar is to serve as a physical place to worship, a place to gather God's people, a place to bring sacrifice and offerings and place to meet God through prayer. In the modern context, the entire church building can be seen as an altar since we no longer must collect sticks and rocks to signify an altar to God.
Our church will be focusing on rebuilding our altar to God, so that we as a church body will be strengthened as a body of believers. It is our purpose and desire for people to return, repentant to God with a humble heart and ready to serve and sacrifice those inside and those outside our walls. Our next few weeks will involve intensive prayer and messages full of soul-searching scripture.
The Casting Crowns even have an entire CD & Concert dedicated to keeping us focused on what we learn at the altar as we walk out the door of the church. Check out their Altar & the Door Tour.
The first altar mentioned in scripture is the one Noah built after the flood. Modern altars can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They can be for a church congregation or they can be individual. I believe the purpose of an altar is to serve as a physical place to worship, a place to gather God's people, a place to bring sacrifice and offerings and place to meet God through prayer. In the modern context, the entire church building can be seen as an altar since we no longer must collect sticks and rocks to signify an altar to God.
Our church will be focusing on rebuilding our altar to God, so that we as a church body will be strengthened as a body of believers. It is our purpose and desire for people to return, repentant to God with a humble heart and ready to serve and sacrifice those inside and those outside our walls. Our next few weeks will involve intensive prayer and messages full of soul-searching scripture.
The Casting Crowns even have an entire CD & Concert dedicated to keeping us focused on what we learn at the altar as we walk out the door of the church. Check out their Altar & the Door Tour.
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