Lectionary Thought Questions for 2 Chronicles 5

(2 Chronicles 5:13-14) and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

2 Chronicles 5 is the account of Yahweh taking up residence in Solomon's Temple. And the last two verses provide some details of glorious importance to our weekly worship.

Thought Questions:

1) What did the people do? Be specific.

2) What happened as they did it; what was the result?

3) Connect Psalm 22:3 with 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 and venture to comment on what it means for our Sunday morning gatherings for worship.

Answer in comments below, or on our FB page.

Lectionary Thoughts - 1 Chronicles 28:6-7

(Matthew 16:16) Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

We tend to read and understand Peter's declaration that Jesus was "the Son of the living God" as proof of Jesus' divinity. But, as always, we need to "Go to Jerusalem before we go to Wenatchee." In other words we need to ask ourselves what Peter meant, and how the other disciples would have heard and understood Peter's words.

In the Old Testament, "son of God" indicated rule/kingship, not divinity. Note how Yahweh refers to Solomon as He gives instructions to David regarding the building of the great Temple in Jerusalem:

(1 Chronicles 28:6–7) He said to me, ‘It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.’

So, Peter's answer to Jesus question, "Who do you say that I am?" was an indication that Peter finally understood what Jesus had been saying from the very beginning of his ministry (Matt. 4:17): that the much-anticipated kingdom of God had broken into a broken world and that he, Jesus, was the long- awaited king of that kingdom. Good news indeed!

When Pulpits Poison

Expostulation
William Cowper

When nations are to perish in their sins,
‘Tis in the church the leprosy begins;
The priest, whose office is with zeal sincere
To watch the fountain, and preserve it clear,
Carelessly nods and sleeps upon the brink,
While others poison what the flock must drink;
Or, waking at the call of lust alone,
Infuses lies and errors of his own:
His unsuspecting sheep believe it pure;
And, tainted by the very means of cure,
Catch from each other a contagious spot,
The foul fore-runner of a general rot.
Then Truth is hushed, that Heresy may preach:
And all is trash, that Reason cannot reach:
Then God’s own image on the soul impressed,
Becomes a mockery, and a standing jest;
And faith, the root whence only can arise
The graces of a life that wins the skies,
Loses at once all value and esteem,
Pronounced by gray-beards a pernicious dream;
Then Ceremony leads her bigots forth,
Prepared to fight for shadows of no worth;
While truths, on which eternal things depend,
Find not, or hardly find, a single friend;
As soldiers watch the signal of command,
They learn to bow, to kneel, to sit, to stand;
Happy to fill Religion’s vacant place
With hollow form, and gesture, and grimace.