January 4 Worship - "The Man with the Plan (1 Chronicles)"

A few stalwart people gathered on Sunday, given the frigid temperatures and overnight snowfall which made some roads slick in the morning.  God was still praised, if in a slightly more informal way than some weeks.

We continued our Godsway 66 series in the new year, turning our attention to the history of the Jewish monarchy and Temple presented in 1 Chronicles.  Here, King David seems to be the most important figure in Jewish history, due to faithfulness and his preparations to build God's Temple in Jerusalem.  In fact, he seems to have micromanaged that process; after God told David he would not build the Temple, David created elaborate plans to ensure that it would be built after his death, which he gave to Solomon shortly before he died.

Of course, we know the rest of the story.  The Temple was built, but succeeding generations had trouble keeping worship of God at the center of their lives -- in they worshiped God at all.  Eventually, they were defeated, the Temple was destroyed, and the leadership was carried into exile in Babylon.  However, the legacy of the Temple was so important that it was a beacon for those exiles, who dreamed of returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the Temple.  It became a way for them to preserve and, in some ways, reclaim their identity as God's people.

If you missed Sunday's sermon, if you'd like to listen to it again, or if you'd like to share it with others, you can listen to an audio recording here.

You can also listen to the Communion meditation and the closing benediction.