We worship with exhortation. Read Luke 6. When Jesus attended worship in the synagogues of Galilee, there were two elements of that worship that have continued in the Christian worship experience. Those elements are the reading of the Scripture and the explanation of what was read. In the Bible, "exhortation" means to strongly encourage believers to pursue good actions, spiritual growth, and faithfulness. In the synagogue, exhortation was the role of the resident rabbi, who could delegate the duty to another. Jairus was the rabbi of Capernaum. In John 6, we find Jesus giving the exhortation. Although the Scripture is not recorded, we can assume that Jesus was teaching from the passage in Exodus when God sent manna from heaven to feed the Hebrew people who were wandering in the wilderness. Today, worship includes the reading of Scripture and a sermon. At Wesley Chapel, the sermons are based on the Bible, historically informed, and culturally relevant. Exhortation is taking the words of the Bible, explaining what they meant to people who heard them first, and then applying them to our walk of faith today. Exhortation also includes encouraging one another to follow Jesus and to embrace the values that Jesus taught. Through exhortation, we learn to live in faith and how to fulfill the mission that God calls us.
Prayer: Holy God, in Jesus’ name, we pray for a greater faith. Help us to encourage one another to a life of faith as we worship you in spirit and in truth. Amen.
