Prof Zebulon No E149

K) Virtues (Attentiveness, Justice, Deference)

Attentiveness is: Learning the wishes of others through facial expressions, words and tone of voice. Listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to learn God’s moral standard and His will. Learning who to be attentive to, what to listen for and what not to listen to. Here are some questions we can ask ourselves to see if we are attentive. 1) When we are spoken to by someone, do we stop what we are doing, look at them and listen? 2) Do we look at our watches in church? 3) Do we glance at other people when someone is speaking to us?

Justice is: Recognizing our personal responsibility to God’s unchanging laws. Basing our decisions on eternal values (faith) rather than on temporal values (the convenient). Here are some questions: 1) Do the decisions we make reflect a focus on God’s will? 2) Would those under our responsibility be able to give examples of generosity in our dealings with them? 3) Do we twist the rules in order to win at something? 4) Have we ever sold something we knew was not worth the price we were asking?

Deference is : Respect. Limiting our freedom in order not to offend the personal tastes of those God has called us to serve. Some questions: 1) What activities do we engage in that many Christians believe are wrong? 2) Do we use words or expressions that are offensive to others? 3) Do we justify activities such as smoking, drinking or dancing on the basis that other Christians do it?

W) Worship/Prayer (An overview)

We have touched on this subject before and this is the first of many studies that we will be doing regarding this very important subject; at least it’s important in God’s eyes. All through the Old and the New Testaments, worship has always been the main emphasis of man’s relationship with the Creator. We will be looking at the many aspects of worship and these studies will coincide with the different stages of the Tabernacle/ Temple studies that we have been doing. There are many passages of Scripture that discuss worship but the most important of all is in the Gospel of John, chapter 4 verses 20-24 where Jesus speaks to the woman of Samaria; we will refer back to this passage in our studies:

The passage reads “ 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” In this passage alone the word “worship” is mentioned 8 times; it is the most important theme in all of Scripture. The etymology of the word worship comes from an old English word meaning “worth ship”; said differently, it applies to someone who is worthy of adoration. These articles will be under the heading of “Prayer”.