Sermon: Liturgical Beauty
Scripture Text: Revelation 4
Quotes for Reflection
James K.A. Smith, You Are What You Love
We are oriented by our longings, directed by our desires. We adopt ways of life that are indexed to such visions for life, not usually because we “think through” our options but rather because some picture captures our imagination.
C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so.
David A. Desilva, Unholy Allegiances
The focal point of the cosmos, the center from which all things are to be measured, is not in Ephesus or Pergamum, where our congregations live and move and go about their daily business. Nor is the center of the cosmos in Rome, where the great power brokers and shapers of the political scene wield their influence, but in the realm beyond ours. John’s visions begin at the center of John’s universe, at the very throne of God (4:2).
George Elden Ladd, Revelation
Here is a great mystery, which the New Testament affirms but does not explain because it involves ineffable realities at the point where God's spiritual world intersects man's historical world. Christ's worthiness and ability to break the seals of the scroll of human history and destiny are dependent on the victory he won in his incarnate life. If he had not come in humility as suffering Savior, he could not come as conquering Messiah.
Application Questions
1. Can you think of a time when you were blown away by something beautiful? How did it affect you? Why do you think it can sometimes feel hard to experience God in that same way?
2. Many younger people today are coming back to the church because they’re longing for something transcendent. Why do you think that longing runs so deep? What might that mean for us at Oaks?
3. God wants worship to be something set apart from everything else in our lives. Why do you think that matters to Him? What parts of our worship service or sanctuary help you step into His holy presence?