Devotionals for August 18, 2023
Our new "Dock the 'Ships" sermon series continues this Sunday at 9:00 and 10:30am.
READ
We are called to live in harmony with one another. Harmony denotes the same distinction and unity that we discussed yesterday. In a musical composition, harmonies are different notes which blend with others perfectly. Disharmony is the enemy of music, in the same way, it is the enemy of the church. There are the right notes to sing, and we must strain our voices to find them. Sin is the wrong note in the symphony of God. He has ordered His creation to sing along with Him, and sin has put the whole world off-key. It is the responsibility of the church to sing rightly in a sea of dissonant noise, calling others to match the key.
If sin is the wrong note, then what is the right one? How do we know we are pursuing harmony and not just making noise? As in 1 Corinthians discussed earlier this week, love is a harmonious note. Love is the right sound. It is that which “binds everything together in perfect harmony.” There is a way for good theology to be a sharp or flat note in the choir. But love cannot be this way. Love is the music with which God created the world, and so long as we are singing another tune, we are living disjointed with all that is good and peaceful.
If sin is the wrong note, then what is the right one? How do we know we are pursuing harmony and not just making noise? As in 1 Corinthians discussed earlier this week, love is a harmonious note. Love is the right sound. It is that which “binds everything together in perfect harmony.” There is a way for good theology to be a sharp or flat note in the choir. But love cannot be this way. Love is the music with which God created the world, and so long as we are singing another tune, we are living disjointed with all that is good and peaceful.
REFLECT
We are called to live in harmony with one another. Harmony denotes the same distinction and unity that we discussed yesterday. In a musical composition, harmonies are different notes which blend with others perfectly. Disharmony is the enemy of music, in the same way, it is the enemy of the church. There are the right notes to sing, and we must strain our voices to find them. Sin is the wrong note in the symphony of God. He has ordered His creation to sing along with Him, and sin has put the whole world off-key. It is the responsibility of the church to sing rightly in a sea of dissonant noise, calling others to match the key.
If sin is the wrong note, then what is the right one? How do we know we are pursuing harmony and not just making noise? As in 1 Corinthians discussed earlier this week, ****love**** is a harmonious note. Love is the right sound. It is that which “binds everything together in perfect harmony.” There is a way for good theology to be a sharp or flat note in the choir. But love cannot be this way. Love is the music with which God created the world, and so long as we are singing another tune, we are living disjointed with all that is good and peaceful.
If sin is the wrong note, then what is the right one? How do we know we are pursuing harmony and not just making noise? As in 1 Corinthians discussed earlier this week, ****love**** is a harmonious note. Love is the right sound. It is that which “binds everything together in perfect harmony.” There is a way for good theology to be a sharp or flat note in the choir. But love cannot be this way. Love is the music with which God created the world, and so long as we are singing another tune, we are living disjointed with all that is good and peaceful.
APPLY
Q: Why do you think Paul uses musical language to describe the unity of the body of Christ?
Q: Where in your life do you need to sing better with the choir of heaven?
Q: Where does a theology of unity play into your discipleship efforts?
Q: Where in your life do you need to sing better with the choir of heaven?
Q: Where does a theology of unity play into your discipleship efforts?
SING
PRAY
"And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one."
Lord, help us to see the danger of disunity. Help us to strive for harmony in the body which reflects the harmony of heaven. Amen.
Lord, help us to see the danger of disunity. Help us to strive for harmony in the body which reflects the harmony of heaven. Amen.