Bible Readings and Devotion for August 28, 2020
Here are the references for the readings. Please look these up in your print Bible, your smartphone app Bible, or your online Bible:
Devotion for August 28, 2020
By Pastor David Tinker
Worship of our God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is not a spectator sport. It is not a performance by the worship leaders for the rest of us to watch like a concert or movie. In a giant majority of Christian congregations around the world and across traditions, we the people are drawn together to worship the Lord. Through prayer, Word, song, sacraments, symbols, senses, and physical action we worship our God and experience our life together in a Christ centered community.
The use of physical action in worship goes back to the Old Testament. Our readings from Psalm 141:2 highlights this truth. We read, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.” Here the psalmist tells us how he lifts his hands to glorify God. He makes the living sacrifice of his body, his posture, his actions, to honor the Lord.
Many millions of Christians around the world use gesture and raising of hands to praise God. It is also a common practice by the presiding minister in Lutheran congregations. When you are at worship next, either in person or online, in a Lutheran congregation, watch what the pastor does, especially around the time of the Holy Communion. This is all in the spirit of what the psalmist tells us in Psalm 141, verse 2, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.”
Also, when you are at worship next, either in person or online, I encourage you to be open to using gesture and raising of your hands to worship the Lord. It is not the only way to worship, but it is both appropriate and Biblical.
Prayer
Prepare us, O God, for your service. Let us come before you with eager and humble hearts and with disciplined minds. Cleanse us, enlighten us, and kindle us, that we, with all the faithful, may call upon you in true devotion, rejoicing in the wonder of your saving love. As we serve you in your holy house, grant that we may glorify you with heart and mouth and hands: to your honor, to the salvation of your people, in the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen
Prayer and image from Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Copyright © 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Martin Luther Lutheran Church 