A Prepared Bride 6 – Worship Introduction Part 2

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deut 6:5-6 NIV

Matthew records that the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day (i.e. equivalent to the district superintendents, presbytery and pastors of our day) were trying to find some reason, some flaw, and some heresy with which they could entrap Jesus and thereby remove him from the public eye. So one of the, an expert in the law, (i.e. a lawyer or church counsel) asked Jesus a question.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.” Matt 22:36-39 NIV

Jesus is here reciting an oft quoted passage from Deuteronomy. These words form the beginning of what is termed the "Shema" ("Hear") in the Jewish Services, and belong to the daily morning and evening office. They may be called "the creed of the Jews.”
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

From our perspective, this greatest commandment and its source in Deuteronomy challenge us in the way in which we are to love our God and therefore how we are to demonstrate that love which we call worship.

For today, I will simply list them.

We are to love the Lord our God,

1. with all our heart – spiritually
2. with all of our soul – emotionally
3. with all of our mind – intellectually
4. with all of our strength – actively

I leave you to think on these until I can address each one in greater detail.