Worship THE LORD ONLY

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1 The Banner JANUARY 2017 In This Issue: Pastor s Perspective Fundraiser Men s Retreat Church Leadership Calendar Ministry Schedule Worship THE LORD ONLY by Pastor John Mochel he Bible is all about worship. It is full of worship. The Psalms come to mind, worship of T God on display. We have in the Bible commands to worship God. There are examples of worship, flawed worship, incomplete worship, and examples of bad worship. We can see in the Bible that we, human beings, are compelled to worship. We will worship, it is only a matter of what we worship and how we worship. The word worship means the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity or an idol, often with religious rites or traditions. But, in the Bible, we discover that it is an even bigger idea than that. To worship a thing is to value that thing as much or more than one values God. The right place to begin a discussion of worship is at the beginning of the Ten Commandments. And God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Ex. 20:1-6) Our worship is supposed to be for God alone. That is what God means when He says that He is a jealous God. For us to worship anything less than God would demean God and debase us. It would be like me praising my dog as more beautiful than my wife. Brooklyn EFC th St Beresford SD Website: brooklynefc.org brooklynchurch@vastbb.net (605) Senior Pastor John Mochel 201 S. 11th Beresford, SD Home (605) Cell (605) jmochel@bmtc.net Our real problem is just this: We so easily turn away from God to worship other things. This was the problem in the Garden. Adam and Eve thought the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make wise. It looked better to them than God. Cain turned away from God due to anger and murdered his brother. The people in Babel thought they could build a city better than God. People have always been looking for other gods to worship, idols. This is why Moses wrote what He did in Deuteronomy. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. (Deuteronomy 4:15-20) (Continued on page 2)

2 (Continued from page 1) It is important to see clearly what God is really saying to each of us, even today, in this passage. Don t make things to worship. We need to be careful not to make images that look like ourselves, or like animals, or like anything else. God did not reveal Himself in physical form so that we would not make an idol that looks like Him. Today, more than ever, we are experts in making idols. We have even created a TV show called American Idol. We make idols out of people in addition to things, money, and power. We are a little bit like God in our creativity, but we should not worship what we make. Don t find things to worship. God s world is filled with amazingly beautiful, interesting, and powerful things. Of course it is. This is because God is a beautiful, interesting, and powerful creator. But, He doesn t want us going off to worship those things not the sun, moon, stars, or sunsets, mountains, seas. We are supposed to enjoy them, care for them, and allow them to help us worship God, but not to replace God with them. Be on your guard. This is how this passage begins. The text says that we need to watch ourselves carefully. You see, if you and I do not pay attention to ourselves we are likely to go bad. We are natural idolaters. If we don t watch ourselves we will end up worshipping idols and even deceiving ourselves that what we are doing is just fine. We have got to work at worshipping God alone. It is not going to be easy. Fundraiser THE MISSIONS COMMITTEE PRESENTS The Turkey Ridge Revival Band and Pie Auction FOR OUR NORTH STAR PROGRAM Sunday, January 15th, 7:00 pm Last summer, God allowed for 29 Beresford children to attend Hidden Acres. We are hoping to bless even more children this upcoming summer with your help! Men's Retreat 2017 January My grandfather was a great example to follow, but there is somebody that is so much better than my grandfather could ever try to be. And thankfully he knew that too! You see, Jesus was his hero and I desire the same as a man. I want to understand the true hero that Jesus is to me and as a result of that, desire to be the man that he calls me to be. Our Men's Retreat will challenge you in that way. To be a Man like Jesus. Our speaker, Jonathan Lotz, will challenge you in a variety of ways to be the man that God is calling you to be! Come be challenged and changed! Check our website for more information. Register today! Ministries Director, Ryan Graden BEFC OFFICERS for 2017 Elder: Peter Fahlberg Chairman: Doug Corwin Vice Chairman: Clif Carnes Secretary: Nicole Wyatt Vice Secretary: Sue Evenson Financial Secretaries: Nancy Swanstrom, Allan Charrlin, Sandra Carnes Treasurers: John Fahlberg, Nancy Swanstrom Deacons: Ber Krommendyk, Robbie Dressen, Reid Jensen, Norman Twedt, Shane Zylstra, Ed Evenson Deaconesses: Joan Latendresse, Jan Charrlin, Rita Adams Christian Ed Chair: Sandy Fahlberg Assistant CE Chair: Lindsay Zylstra SS Superintendent: Lori Dressen Trustees: Dale Swanstrom, Dan Erickson, Ben Fahlberg Cemetery Board: Norman Erickson, Pete Fahlberg, Freeman Swanstrom Salary Committee: Shane Zylstra, Kate Erickson Missions Committee Chairman: Karl Leikvold

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4 Defining Worship By Bob Kauflin While the worship of God may refer to the highest privilege given to humans, the actual word "worship" is subject to the same weakness as any other word -- the more we use it, the less it usually means. We all think we know what others mean when they speak of "worship," but the truth is we can't be quite sure. "Worship" might be the word someone chooses when trying to describe a particular sound or style of music. Depending on the speaker it can be anything from guitar-driven pop songs to boomer-friendly light rock to classic hymns. Many churches call a Sunday morning service, or perhaps a portion of that meeting, "worship." Another way we use the word "worship" is in describing someone who is unusually expressive when singing praise to God. We might say, "She's a real worshiper." In that instance, "worship" refers to degrees of bodily movement or expressiveness. With the "worship explosion" of the past decade, marketers have realized that including "worship" in the title of a project is an effective marketing tool that often boosts sales. Others recoil at that thought, believing that "worship" really means intimacy with God. Obviously, we need to take time to sort through these very different views of what worship really is. After all, worship is God's idea. It's what He created us to do. Theologian David Peterson comments, "We have enough how-to-do-it books and not enough reflection on worship as a total biblical idea. Worship is a subject that should dominate our lives seven days a week. (Engaging with God - A Biblical Theology of Worship, p. 21) In my study of Scripture, I've found at least five distinct concepts that Scripture attaches to worship: exaltation, expression, encounter, event, and everyday. Each one reflects a unique way in which God intends for us to use and understand the reality behind this word. While not exhaustive, this list gives us a basic foundation for how we should view worship. Not every passage we'll look at in this series includes the word "worship," but that's simply because the Bible employs a variety of ways to refer to it. Worship is first and foremost exaltation. The Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible that we translate as "worship" most often communicate an attitude of reverence, submission, and homage. In the act of worship, we are by definition acknowledging that someone or something else is above us and worthy of our affection, attention and adoration. Biblical worship, then, involves exalting God above all other objects. This can be done directly, as in Exodus 15:2, where the Israelites declared, "The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him" (ESV). We see here, as in many other passages, that worship is about proclaiming the greatness of God's attributes, the splendor of His works, and His absolute claim on our lives. Other times, our non-verbal actions and responses exalt God and reflect the essence of worship. We're told that Job fell to the ground and worshiped God when he heard that his home, possessions, and family had been destroyed (Job 1:21) By his actions he was exalting God's sovereignty and wisdom above his own understanding. When Mary anointed Jesus' feet with costly perfume in John 12 she modeled worship by exalting her love for the Savior above the world's monetary value system. At its heart, worship involves the exaltation of all that God is and does. (Reprinted from Praise-and-Worship. Com)

5 sunday monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday saturday 1 Happy New Year! :30a Bethesda Service p Rev 9 7:21p Missions Committee 10 9:30a Worship Church p Guess Who? 15 7p Turkey Ridge Band & Pie Auction 16 7p Deacon Board Meeting :30a W HA Pathways Workshop HA Men s Retreat 22 7p Rev p Rev. Birthdays: 1 Payden Hoffman 1 Garet Wyatt 4 Nicole Wyatt 5 Sariah Wyatt 9 Anita Wyatt 10 Nash Fahlberg 10 Ardell Lovejoy 11 Elsie Bovill 12 Andrew Hoffman 16 Leah Wyatt 17 Josh Buss 18 Nadine Wyatt 18 Nicholas Wyatt 20 Shane Zylstra 22 Mark Bovill 23 Karla Bovill 24 Emily Thomas 27 Halle Fahlberg 29 Sue Evenson 30 Andrew Bovill Anniversaries: 4 Turk & Darlyne Swanson 25 Doug & Nancy Corwin 29 Ron & LuAnn Swanson

6 JANUARY FEBRUARY JANUARY MINISTRY January 1 AM: Matthew 23:13-39 Seven Woes PM: No Evening Service January 8 AM: Matthew 24:1-14 Birth Pangs PM: Revelation January 15 AM: Matthew 24:15-41 The Coming of the Son of Man PM: North Star Fund Raiser January 22 AM: Matthew 24:42-25:13 Be Ready PM: Revelation January 29 AM: Matthew 25:14-30 Parable of the Talents PM: Revelation JANUARY & FEBRUARY MINISTRY SCHEDULE Date Greeters Nursery Story Time Music/Testimony Scripture Reader 1/1 Allen Sveeggen Talisha Fahlberg Lindsay Zylstra Missions Moment Sammie Holm Emily Booth Owen Bovill 1/8 Mark & Karla Bovill Nancy Mochel Karla Bovill John Fahlberg Ber Krommendyk Owen Bovill Emily Booth 1/15 Al & Jan Charrlin Nicole Wyatt Colleen Buss Testimony Robin Leikvold Isabel Delay Kylie Dressen 1/22 Rob & Lori Dressen Lindsay Zylstra Sandy Fahlberg Ber Krommendyk Connie Schmidt Kylie Dressen Madison Erickson 1/29 Norm & Karen Erickson Rita Adams Connie Schmidt Missions Moment Allen Sveeggen Madison Erickson Matthew Hoffman 2/5 Reid & Marilyn Jensen Karla Bovill Sandy Sheffield Communion Lindsay Zylstra Matthew Hoffman Katie Mochel 2/12 D Leikvold/P Carlson Michelle Delay Lindsay Zylstra Randy Schmidt Dan Erickson Katie Mochel Talladega Thomas 2/19 Allen Sveeggen Karen Erickson Karla Bovill Testimony Karen Erickson Gillian Wyatt Leah Wyatt 2/26 Mark & Karla Bovill Lori Dressen Colleen Buss Emily Thomas Sandy Fahlberg Leah Wyatt Gillian Wyatt Song Leader: Garet Wyatt Sound: Ben Fahlberg Pianist: Doreen Fahlberg Ushers: Chris Delay, Robbie Dressen Karl Leikvold, Reid Jensen Song Leader: John Fahlberg Sound: Brady Holm Pianist: Connie Twedt Ushers: Allen Sveeggen, Shane Zylstra Dennis Ward, Volunteer Needed