Sunday
School Lessons
Commentary by Walter Albritton
June 29
Worship at its Best is Celebrating the Mercies of God
Ezra 5, 6.
Key Verse: The people of
My parents left me a
rich legacy. They taught me how to celebrate. Birthdays were so important to my
mother. She believed in celebrating each one. Even in her nineties, she could
remember the birthdays of a hundred family members and friends.
Long before Christ was
born, God’s people were a celebrative people. The Israelites came together in
joyful festivals of worship to celebrate the mighty deeds of God.
Christians know how to
celebrate too. As God’s people, we celebrate his mercies. Worship at its best
is a celebration of the grace of God. We give thanks that God loves us in spite
of our sins. We give thanks for our salvation. We give thanks for His
comforting presence among us, and for His guiding hand in the daily struggles of
our lives.
Often in painful
repentance, we seek His forgiveness for our sins. We feel the joy of being
forgiven and restored to fellowship with our Lord. Tears of joy flow down our
cheeks as sing, “Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul; thank you, Lord, for
making me whole.”
God used Haggai and
Zechariah to inspire the Israelites to finish the temple. Now enters Ezra, who
describes the celebration that followed the completed work. First, with great
joy, the people dedicated the temple to God. Then there was a one-day
observance of Passover, a remembrance of God’s deliverance from slavery in
After that began the
weeklong Festival of Unleavened Bread, in preparation for which the people
threw away all their leaven, since it symbolized sin. Throwing out the leaven
was a sign of repentance.
All of this was a
joyous experience in lively worship. With glad and grateful hearts, the people lifted
their voices to praise the Lord for his unfailing mercy. The Bible’s Book of
Psalms, though written years later, helps us understand the songs God’s people
used in their worship celebrations.
When we who are
Christians gather for worship, we have even more reason to celebrate! Our joy
should know no bounds. In the fullness of time, God sent his Son to die for us,
“while we were yet sinners.” We have been shown great mercy!
On the Third Day God
raised our Savior from the grave. Because He lives, we too shall live. We shall
suffer, and we shall die, but we have within our breasts the glorious hope of
the resurrection! Because of God’s great mercy, there is reserved in heaven a
place for each of us. We shall know the joy of living in the presence of the
living Christ for all eternity!
Is that not a great
springboard to joy? Knowing this good news, can worship ever be dull and boring
again? The assurance of God’s mercy is reason enough for worship always to be a
joyous celebration – even if the choir is off, and even if the pastor does not
always preach with the fervor of Billy Graham!
This passage from Ezra
should prompt us to examine not only our hearts, but our church as well. Do we
who are pastors and key leaders seize every opportunity to help our people
celebrate the goodness of God? Do we anticipate each Sunday yet another chance
to praise God and joyously celebrate his great mercies?
If not, let us get
started – next Sunday!
When worship begins,
the music should sound like the beginning of a great celebration, not like the
beginning of a funeral. In too many churches, people listen to the Prelude and
wonder when they are going to bring in the body of the deceased!
The Israelites left us
a great legacy, and so did the early Christians. They knew how to celebrate in
worship! With so proud a legacy, may we not fail to show the world that
Christians know how to celebrate the mercies of our God! + + + +