THINK TOGETHER
What is one of your favorite praise songs?
READ TOGETHER
Ever since the beginning of time God has wanted to live with us. Why? Because he loves us and wants to share his life with us. So in the beginning God created a garden for people to live in together with him. Do you remember what that garden was called? (The Garden of Eden)
And do you remember what terrible thing happened in that garden? (Adam and Eve sinned)
That’s right Adam and Even sinned against God. They rejected his love and his grace. But God didn’t give up on us. Even though we were full of sin, God still wanted to live with us. And so years after Adam and Eve, God told Moses to build him a tent so that he could live among his people. Do you remember what that tent was called? (The Tabernacle)
The Tabernacle was sort of a strange place because it did two opposite things at the same time. It kept people away from God while letting people get near God. God lived among his people and his people could approach him, but only the priest. And only with the blood of a sacrificed lamb.
But years after Moses, when David became the king of Israel, he did something truly amazing. King David made a tent, a mini-tabernacle in his own backyard. And then he took the ark of the covenant and put it in his new little tent. The ark of the covenant was a golden box that represented the throne of God. It looked like this:
God would meet his people inside the tent, at the ark of the covenant. But only one day a year, and only the priest could go inside, and only with the blood of a sacrifice.
Until King David came along. Here’s how the Bible describes what he did:
1 Chronicles 16:1. And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
And then David invited all the people to gather around this little tent to worship God together. And he got the priests to play instruments and sing and dance. And all the people joined in the singing and worshiping God with music and praise! They stopped bringing dead animals as sacrifices for sin, and instead they brought music and songs as praise to God. And David appointed a man named Asaph to write songs that could be sung to God:
1 Chronicles 16:7. Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.
Today these songs from David and Asaph make up the book of Psalms in the Bible.
Can you see how David’s tent is a picture of how we worship God today because of Jesus? Do we still bring the blood of animals to God, begging him to forgive our sins? Or do we bring songs of praise to God thanking him for forgiving us through Jesus?
That’s right, it’s the second one isn’t it?
Because of Jesus I know I can live with God forever and worship him forever in his house (Heaven).
With Jesus I can praise God any time I want to, and thank him for saving me.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Build your own “tent” or blanket fort together like David did. Maybe spend some time singing your favorite praise songs to God inside your fort. Talk about how much God wants to live with us and love us while we worship him.
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus,
Because of you I can simply praise you and worship God without having to prove myself to you. What a relief!
Amen.
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