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Ready to Worship Season 5, Episode 14 for Friday, April 28, 2017
In the Forty-Ninth Psalm, the psalmist wrote, “Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and poor, together” (Psa. 49:1-2). In these verses, the psalmist is calling out to all people to come together to hear. He wants all the inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor, to come together.
Have you ever thought of the makeup of the local congregation where you worship? It is quite interesting to do so. Likely, it is a very diverse group. The diversity that existed in first-century congregations would have been even greater. There were masters and slaves within the same congregation. There were Jews and Gentiles within the same congregation (Eph. 6:5, 9; Col. 3:22; 4:1). As we gather to worship this week, we should rejoice in the great diversity that we see represented.
Transcript
In the Forty-Ninth Psalm, the psalmist wrote, “Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and poor, together” (Psa. 49:1-2). In these verses, the psalmist is calling out to all people to come together to hear. He wants all the inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor, to come together.
Have you ever thought of the makeup of the local congregation where you worship? It is quite interesting to do so. Likely, there are both low and high, rich and poor. There are also young and old, married and unmarried. There are those with children and those that are without children. There are male and female. There are those that are black and those that are white. Isn’t this wonderful? It shows the diversity that exists within the body of Christ.
The diversity that existed in first-century congregations would have been even greater. There were masters and slaves within the same congregation. There were Jews and Gentiles within the same congregation (Eph. 6:5, 9; Col. 3:22; 4:1). The divide between these groups was great in the world, but not in Christ. Consider the words of Paul to the saints at Galatia: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26-28). In Christ, the divisions of the world disappear. The divisions disappear because those who are in Christ are a part of the same spiritual family. They are sons and daughters of the same Father. They are brothers and sisters. Do you realize that masters and slaves sat in the same worship service? In worship, they were equal. As someone has noted, the ground at the foot of the cross is level.
As we get ready to worship this week, we need to rejoice at the diversity that exists in Christ. If it was less diverse, then we might be in an excluded group or class.
Thankfully, God is no respecter of persons. The high and the low, the rich and the poor, are invited to come together and worship Him.
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