Living in Liberty

A Ministry of Bryce Lowance

Elder Bryce Lowrance

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Are You Ready To Worship

26 June 2014

“And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” (John 2:13-16)

We have already seen how God hates it when men mix anything with worship especially money. This account, however, points to an even more fundamental problem that still exists in New Testament worship today.

People are not coming to worship prepared to worship.

These merchants and moneychangers chose their locations based upon what they felt would be the highest profit for them. A person would not set up a hot dog stand on the convention floor of a vegetarian convention. He would go broke!

My point is this. These merchants set up in the temple because there was a need. The people were not preparing themselves before they set out for the temple to make offerings or sacrifices. It was more convenient for them to purchase an animal on site rather than prepare one before and make the effort to get it there. Never-mind the fact the the animals being sold to them were at best subpar and not fit offerings for the Lord!

They did not have the right mindset when they made their offering. They should have been choosing from the best of their own flocks or seeking to purchase a quality animal before they ever headed toward Jerusalem.

It is the same with us today.

Do we worship God in a manner that is convenient for us or in the highest honor He deserves?

Do we worship God like a last minute impulse buy in the grocery store line or do we spend time during the week preparing our minds and heart with prayer and study?

Do we give to the church what we happened to have left in our pockets or do we prepare to give the first fruits of the natural blessings that God has given us?

If it takes anything other than a thankful desire of obedience for the grace of God to get us to church, then we need to adjust our attitude. And if we are not coming prepared in our mind and spirit then we need to be thinking about church more than just on Sunday morning when we are getting ready to go.

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Tags: all_in, harmony_of_the_gospels, john, worship

Welcome

Brentwood Hills Primitive Baptist Church is a community of believers working together to transform our lives to the image of Jesus Christ. We believe it is our duty and privilege to live the gospel of the doctrines of grace in such a way as to edify the families within our church and other children of God in our community. Through regular worship based on strong Biblical principles, fellowship, admonishment, and outreach, we glory in the grace of the sovereign God working in our lives thereby showing the Spirit of God in the world.

Brentwood Hills was organized in 1906 in Fort Worth, Texas as Laodicea Primitive Baptist Church. You can find much of the history of the church, as well as other churches here: Primitive Baptist History Database

We identify ourselves as an old-line Primitive Baptist church. If you read our Articles of Faith, you’ll see that we hold to such doctrines as the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. We recognize the King James Version (KJV) as the only English translation worthy of being called the Bible. We believe in salvation solely by the grace of a sovereign God. We believe that Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to the earth to do the will of His Father, which was to deliver from the sentence of death all those the Father gave Him before the world began. We believe that Jesus fully satisfied the Father by atoning for all the sins of all His people. In time, we believe the Holy Spirit comes to each person that belongs to Jesus and regenerates them. Then (and only then) can anyone have faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit, by which you are able to believe the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether or not you ever hear the gospel, or believe it if you did hear it, or obey it if you did believe it, rest assured that Jesus will remain forever faithful to you because, if He died for you, He will never deny that you belong to Him.

We believe that everyone for whom Christ died will without fail be raised again from the dead to a glorified life. Even if we are alive when He returns to raise the dead, we shall be changed to a glorified life. All the Redeemed will meet the Lord in the air. Then He will take us to Heaven and there we shall forever be with the Lord. The wicked will be raised at the same time as the righteous, but the wicked shall go away into everlasting punishment along with Satan and his angels. Until that glorious day when Christ returns to raise the dead, He has provided a place for His people to find rest for their souls. This place is the Church. Jesus Christ set-up His church on this earth before His death on the Cross. The church is there for those of His people who have come to believe that God saved them by His Son, Jesus Christ. To believe that Christ “paid it all” gives believers the strongest motivation to serve Him. Once enlightened to this glorious truth, then the child of God should feel an obligation to become and remain an active member of the His church. To serve the Lord in His church makes for one of the great blessings to experience this side of Heaven. It fulfills you to serve in His church and it gives your life purpose and meaning.