Honoring Others in Worship
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 
Read the passage
BIO: Anonymous
KEY VERSE: 1 Corinthians 11:16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice – not do the churches of God.
CENTRAL TRUTH: We need to be aware that in our worship to God, respect for the others around us is vital. We cannot honor Christ if we do not honor those around us.
DEVOTIONAL: Honoring Others in Worship
Did you read this passage yet! Wow- this ones interesting huh? At first look it seems this is a passage on who is the boss of who and whether we are supposed to wear hats at church or not. And how about verse 6- If we still practiced that verse most of our church ladies would be bald! So what is this passage really about? It is about honoring those around you and recognizing established norms of worship in the context of where you are. Obviously we understand the roles of men and woman in worship differently today then they did back then, at least in Western culture. And we obviously don’t see every woman covering her head for worship or every man having short hair. Are all the women of our church who don’t wear hats to be condemned and are the long haired men in our church a disgrace to God? Hardly! (though some might still differ) Paul is trying to help us understand that we need to respect those who worship around us and he is trying to help us understand the importance of that respect for other worshippers around us. The norm of that day was for women to cover their heads during worship, whether out of respect for tradition or modesty. Men as well were admonished to uncover their heads, because of the practice of idol worshippers covering their heads when the worshipped false deities. He didn’t want others to be confused by this occultic practice of the Greeks. So what do we do with this passage now..how do we apply it? I think there are several things we can do that reflect the spirit of this passage. For instance, I am often having to ask students to remove their baseball caps when they enter the Sanctuary. Is this something that offends God? Some would say based on this passage- yes. But, as we are under the new covenant in Christ that would not be a good argument, rather I tell them that they are to remove their caps out of respect for the older adults. This is an act of respect for them and for the Sanctuary. What may seem casual to you students is offensive to our elderly adults. No food or drinks – this is a tradition in the church as well. The reason we do this is to separate feasting from worshipping. These are two examples, but keep this in mind there are others and always strive to respect others in worship.
QUESTION 1: What are some other examples you can think of that we can show respect for the others with us in worship?
QUESTION 2: What is it that offends you in worship? Does it offend you for the right reasons or the wrong reasons, meaning are your feelings justified biblically?
QUESTION 3: What do you need to let go of that isn’t necessarily an offensive worship practice, but just a opinion of yours?
Share
