Church Worship

1 Timothy 2 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people; ²for kings and all others who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct. ³This is good and it pleases God our Savior, ⁴who wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth. ⁵For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave himself to redeem the whole human race. That was the proof at the right time that God wants everyone to be saved, ⁷and that is why I was sent as an apostle and teacher of the Gentiles, to proclaim the message of faith and truth. I am not lying; I am telling the truth!
⁸In every church service I want the men to pray, men who are dedicated to God and can lift up their hands in prayer without anger or argument. ⁹I also want the women to be modest and sensible about their clothes and to dress properly; not with fancy hair styles or with gold ornaments or pearls or expensive dresses, ¹⁰but with good deeds, as is proper for women who claim to be religious. ¹¹Women should learn in silence and all humility. ¹²I do not allow them to teach or to have authority over men; they must keep quiet. ¹³For Adam was created first, and then Eve. ¹⁴And it was not Adam who was deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and broke God's law. ¹⁵But a woman will be saved through having children, if she perseveres in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

God Will Punish His Enemies

Isaiah 34 Come, people of all nations! Gather around and listen. Let the whole earth and everyone living on it come here and listen. ²The LORD is angry with all the nations and all their armies. He has condemned them to destruction. ³Their corpses will not be buried, but will lie there rotting and stinking; and the mountains will be red with blood. ⁴The sun, moon, and stars will crumble to dust. The sky will disappear like a scroll being rolled up, and the stars will fall like leaves dropping from a vine or a fig tree.
⁵The LORD has prepared his sword in heaven, and now it will strike Edom, those people whom he has condemned to destruction. ⁶His sword will be covered with their blood and fat, like the blood and fat of lambs and goats that are sacrificed. The LORD will offer this sacrifice in the city of Bozrah; he will make this a great slaughter in the land of Edom. ⁷The people will fall like wild oxen and young bulls, and the earth will be red with blood and covered with fat. ⁸This is the time when the LORD will rescue Zion and take vengeance on her enemies.
⁹The rivers of Edom will turn into tar, and the soil will turn into sulfur. The whole country will burn like tar. ¹⁰It will burn day and night, and smoke will rise from it forever. The land will lie waste age after age, and no one will ever travel through it again. ¹¹Owls and ravens will take over the land. The LORD will make it a barren waste again, as it was before the creation. ¹²There will be no king to rule the country, and the leaders will all be gone. ¹³Thorns and thistles will grow up in all the palaces and walled towns, and jackals and owls will live in them. ¹⁴Wild animals will roam there, and demons will call to each other. The night monster will come there looking for a place to rest. ¹⁵Owls will build their nests, lay eggs, hatch their young, and care for them there. Vultures will gather there, one after another.
¹⁶Search in the LORD's book of living creatures and read what it says. Not one of these creatures will be missing, and not one will be without its mate. The LORD has commanded it to be so; he himself will bring them together. ¹⁷It is the LORD who will divide the land among them and give each of them a share. They will live in the land age after age, and it will belong to them forever.

The Road of Holiness

Isaiah 35 The desert will rejoice,
and flowers will bloom in the wastelands.
²The desert will sing and shout for joy;
it will be as beautiful as the Lebanon Mountains
and as fertile as the fields of Carmel and Sharon.
Everyone will see the LORD's splendor,
see his greatness and power.

³Give strength to hands that are tired
and to knees that tremble with weakness.
⁴Tell everyone who is discouraged,
"Be strong and don't be afraid!
God is coming to your rescue,
coming to punish your enemies."

⁵The blind will be able to see,
and the deaf will hear.
⁶The lame will leap and dance,
and those who cannot speak will shout for joy.
Streams of water will flow through the desert;
⁷ the burning sand will become a lake,
and dry land will be filled with springs.
Where jackals used to live,
marsh grass and reeds will grow.

⁸There will be a highway there,
called "The Road of Holiness."
No sinner will ever travel that road;
no fools will mislead those who follow it.
⁹No lions will be there;
no fierce animals will pass that way.
Those whom the LORD has rescued
will travel home by that road.
¹⁰They will reach Jerusalem with gladness,
singing and shouting for joy.
They will be happy forever,
forever free from sorrow and grief.

The Value of the Law of the LORD

Psalm 119 ⁶⁵You have kept your promise, LORD,
and you are good to me, your servant.
⁶⁶Give me wisdom and knowledge,
because I trust in your commands.
⁶⁷Before you punished me, I used to go wrong,
but now I obey your word.
⁶⁸How good you are--how kind!
Teach me your commands.
⁶⁹The proud have told lies about me,
but with all my heart I obey your instructions.
⁷⁰They have no understanding,
but I find pleasure in your law.
⁷¹My punishment was good for me,
because it made me learn your commands.
⁷²The law that you gave means more to me
than all the money in the world.

The Justice of the Law of the LORD

⁷³You created me, and you keep me safe;
give me understanding, so that I may learn your laws.
⁷⁴Those who honor you will be glad when they see me,
because I trust in your promise.
⁷⁵I know that your judgments are righteous, LORD,
and that you punished me because you are faithful.
⁷⁶Let your constant love comfort me,
as you have promised me, your servant.
⁷⁷Have mercy on me, and I will live
because I take pleasure in your law.
⁷⁸May the proud be ashamed for falsely accusing me;
as for me, I will meditate on your instructions.
⁷⁹May those who honor you come to me--
all those who know your commands.
⁸⁰May I perfectly obey your commandments
and be spared the shame of defeat.

A Prayer for Deliverance

⁸¹I am worn out, LORD, waiting for you to save me;
I place my trust in your word.
⁸²My eyes are tired from watching for what you promised,
while I ask, "When will you help me?"
⁸³I am as useless as a discarded wineskin;
yet I have not forgotten your commands.
⁸⁴How much longer must I wait?
When will you punish those who persecute me?
⁸⁵The proud, who do not obey your law,
have dug pits to trap me.
⁸⁶Your commandments are all trustworthy;
people persecute me with lies--help me!
⁸⁷They have almost succeeded in killing me,
but I have not neglected your commands.
⁸⁸Because of your constant love be good to me,
so that I may obey your laws.

Faith in the Law of the LORD

⁸⁹Your word, O LORD, will last forever;
it is eternal in heaven.
⁹⁰Your faithfulness endures through all the ages;
you have set the earth in place, and it remains.
⁹¹All things remain to this day because of your command,
because they are all your servants.
⁹²If your law had not been the source of my joy,
I would have died from my sufferings.
⁹³I will never neglect your instructions,
because by them you have kept me alive.
⁹⁴I am yours--save me!
I have tried to obey your commands.
⁹⁵The wicked are waiting to kill me,
but I will meditate on your laws.
⁹⁶I have learned that everything has limits;
but your commandment is perfect.