entered Earth’s atmosphere, he extended one slimy tentacle to flip on his cloaking system.
He needed to be invisible. He had procrastinated, and his thesis was due in only three galactic sectons. Without it he hadn’t an earthman’s chance of passing his comparative anthropology course. He couldn’t waste time finding good hiding places, or erasing memories with his deneuralizer.
Swooping dangerously low over the United States in his flying saucer, Zligorth scribbled furiously with his writing tentacle. He had chosen an ideal morning for taking notes-a fine summer Sunday, with all the natives coming out of their houses and obligingly spreading themselves around for his observation.
How would such a thesis describe our Sunday activities?
Surely Joy Davidman is wrong. She imagines an alien like Zligorth would assume that humans are sun worshipers… rushing outside on Sundays to worship in local roofless arenas while priests perform rituals with different spheres (and sometimes wooden sticks). Could someone so misinterpret our sporting events?
Trips to the beach are seen as religious excursions to worship in the waves – representing a belief that the waves give birth to the sun every morning… or put it to bed at night (depending on which coast you find yourself)… anointing ourselves in “holy oils” and laying in the sun’s rays to come into contact with our god.
What a dumb mistake of the alien!!!
But that is not the disturbing mistake Davidman imagines the aliens making.
The disturbing mistake is the alien’s view of church goers. The alien’s report goes like this:
“There exists, however, a small sect of recalcitrants or heretics that does not practice sun worship. These may be identified by their habit of clothing themselves more soberly and more completely than the sun worshippers. They too gather in groups, but only to hide from the sun in certain buildings of doubtful use, usually with windows of glass colored to keep out the light. It is not clear whether these creatures are simply unbelievers or whether they are excommunicated from sun worship for some offence -we have not been able to discover what goes on within their buildings, which may perhaps be places of punishment. But it is noteworthy that their faces and gestures show none of the joyful religious frenzy with which the sun worshippers pursue their devotions. In fact, they usually appear relaxed and even placid, thus indicating minds blank of thought or emotion.”
Surely no outsider looking in would assume such a thing…
that the truly religious are the ones who don’t seem to enjoy their worship!
YAHOO ANSWERS: why is church so boring?
“Well if god had some video games with His relationship it would not be boring”
“Because you haven’t walked through the doors yourself. You’ve been pulled through them every Sunday by the ear.”
“I know Right!? The pastors drone on and on about the same things, repeating themselves about 20 times until they finally get to some new information, and then start repeating that over and over, maybe tell a few stories about their childhood and rant furiously over how "GOD IS THE AWESOMEST". I'm glad my parents have stopped forcing me to go.”
Why is it so hard for my church to grow…
While south padre island is expanding its hotels and bars…
even in spite of a recent hurricane and current recession?!
but what are we supposed to do?
try and compete with the beach?!
(Exodus 20:9-11 ESV)
Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
we have to keep the Sabbath holy!!!
We can’t try and make it fun or entertaining!!!
but what did God mean when He said, “keep it holy.”?
here are some holy times commanded by God in the Old Testament:
sabbath day – seventh day of every week: sacrifices, holy convocation (get together, read, worship), no work
passover / unleavened bread – came together as an 8 day celebration with various feasts and offerings celebrating the Passover in Egypt and the Exodus.
Firstfruits – celebrated the first of the barley harvest and recognized the Lord’s bounty in the land.
weeks – a festival of joy; mandatory and voluntary offerings, including the firstfruits of the wheat harvest to show joy and thankfulness for the Lord’s blessing of harvest.
booths – a week of celebrating for the harvests… memorialize the journey from Egypt to Canaan.
There was also Purim, the Day of Atonement, a Sabbath year (to give the land a rest), and the year of Jubilee (where indentured slaves were set free and a degree of redistribution of wealth was celebrated).
Oneof these times called the people to fast. (the day of atonement)
To remember their sin and solemnlyseek God’s forgiveness.
the rest were generally times of celebration and rest
so what does God mean by keeping something holy?
Deuteronomy 14:22-29 is just crazy.
it outlines how to handle tithingholy (of grain, wine, and oil, etc)
they were supposed to take their tithe to a certain place
and eat it.
But if the place where they were to take the tithe was too far away to carry the tithe,
they were to convert their tithe to money, and take the money to the place…
“and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.” (v26)
does God seem to generally want people to remember His holiness by being miserable?
what does God expect from His people when they gather?
solemnity or celebration
?
there are strict guidelines about alcohol… Don’t get drunk, none in the sanctuary.
This is not a license for carousing.
but it might make us rethink our expectations for Sundays…
rethink holy
Are the commandments subtracting joy from life?
Does one keep a day holy by making it unpleasant and restrictive… and boring… or by making it joyous… by making it as much as possible like hell, or as much as possible like heaven?
This is the day when man can return to Eden. The day when we remember that everything God made was good…
Man is commanded to enjoy himself.
of everyone on earth, we have reason to celebrate…
especially when we come together in His name.
how do we keep it holy?
In the end, it isn’t going to be livelier services… or losing preaching for super bowl parties…
We have to remember that churchis not the goal.
God is the goal.
In the end, the church must stand or fall by the church people.
Will we be joyful?
Let us behave like Christians seven days a week, and it is likely that the Sabbath will take care of itself.
how do you make a day holy?
By seeing that it is holy already,
and behaving accordingly.
we take ourselves too seriously
the world will not stop working simply because you did.
trust
that God can work while you rest.
the law of sabbath speaks to us more than once a week
you are not defined by what you produce in life
waste a little time with God everyday…
just sit with Him in silence.
Be defined by what He produces in you.
and on Sundays… rejoice.
keep it holy.
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