Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule:
2 Chronicles 1-5
When Christians visit the Holy Land, they are often put off by the way in which most of the sites associated with the life of Jesus have been decorated. It seems that every site of any traditional acceptance, has a church taking all the attention. These churches are ornate, with crucifixes on the walls and incense in the air, and everything seems to breathe out the words: “Don’t touch me; I am holy.” Whether it be the garden of Gethsemane, the stable (cave) in Bethlehem, the remnants of Capernaum, or Calvary and the empty tomb, they have all been swallowed up in the designs of ancient Catholic or Eastern Orthodox architecture. Quite frankly, I find them very disturbing!
Too many Christians tend to think that purity of design is the proper approach to a church building; whereas other feel that functionality is the prime consideration. Even though a sanctuary may be made to look nice, architectural or decorative exuberance are suspect in some people’s opinions. Some churches over the last few years have worked hard to make their worship areas more comfortable rather than worshipful, but frequently some of these can feel out of place. Unfortunately, it has become a matter of what feels right to us in an artistic sense more than a moral or theological sense.
Other cultures take a different approach. For them it would be just as unthinkable to leave a sacred location bare as it would for us not to adorn someone we love. Parents who are proud of their children buy them nice clothes and make sure they are well-groomed when they go out in public. We would not think of showing off our children at a family reunion by having them appear with torn clothes or dirt smeared over their faces. Some Christian traditions see things in the same way: if a place is considered sacred, they feel they must make it as beautiful as they can.
This may be a large part of the motivation behind Solomon’s extravagance as he began to build the temple. There may also have been a spirit of competitiveness with surrounding nations about who had the best temple, and no doubt we can see some personal pride as well. Still, the fundamental motivation appears to have been that God, the king of the universe, deserved a palace that put any human building to shame in its dimensions and beauty. We can certainly agree with that!
Prayer Requests:
Personal
- Lord, please help me to desire to magnify your name in every area of my life.
- Lord, please help me to never want our buildings to take attention away from you, but to be used to glorify you.
- Lord, please help us to secure the property on 11 mile and may you give it to us in a way that can only bring glory to you.
Political
- Representative Eric Leutheuser – District 58 – Hillsdale
- US Representative Andy Levin – District 9 – Bloomfield Twp
- Representative Frank Liberati – District 13 – Allen Park