July 23, 2016 - Church at Worship

Sermon: “Worship That Works”  - by Randy Speyer

Pastoral Welcome: Shawna Campbell

Scripture Reading: Micah 6:6-8

Children's Feature: Joelle Reuer

Sermon Notes:

 Pull back the curtain on today’s culture, and you’ll find we’re not that much different from ancient Israel. True, our information, mobility, and technology are light years beyond anything the Israelites could have imagined. Our worship is significantly different, with the trumpet and horn replacing the shofar of old. Yet if Micah, this rather obscure minor prophet, were to visit us today, we might be surprised to see how, after almost 3,000 years, things change, but they really stay the same. For, truth be told, human hearts are still the same--and, to our great relief, so is God. Injustice, indifference, and indulgence anger him as much as ever. Disobedience still breaks his heart. His hatred of sin remains as fierce as his love is strong. 

And we often omit our reading of the prophets at grave peril to our own souls and to the well-being of this world that matters so much to God. That’s why we must read and understand Micah. To God, this is a huge deal. But, how should we respond to what he says? What should we do? Should we just be paralyzed by the immensity of the injustice because it’s way more than we can fix? Should we sit around doing nothing, feeling overwhelmed by guilt over our own complicity? 

Micah sums up the response God is looking for in one of the greatest verses of the Old Testament. It’s the only statement I will ask you to carry away this morning, because if you grasp this one thing — if you grasp this one statement — you grasp the heart of the prophets. 

Randy Speyer,

Pastor for Care and Counseling