Owners: Contending with Non-Worshippers

(5-8 minutes, easy set-up)
Learners will assess how statements of unbelief affect their worship.

(5–8 minutes, easy setup)

Read the following statements:

A cosmologist argues that there is good reason to believe science will completely explain the universe in a way that eliminates the need for God.
A headline reads, “Biology, Astronomy, and Physics Rule Out Existence of God”.
A prominent atheist says that science makes God unnecessary.

Discuss: How might these statements of unbelief affect your worship of God? Why? Remind learners that the psalmist’s worship was affected by non-worshippers. Read Psalm 104:35. Explain that the first part of this verse is an example of an imprecation, or a request that invokes God’s just judgment on God’s enemies. Ask: Do imprecations in the Psalms and elsewhere in Scripture seem to conflict with Jesus’ teaching to love even enemies? Why?

Explain that the motivation behind imprecations was not to seek personal vindication, but instead represented a desire for public divine and righteous judgment upon those who trample upon God’s reputation [Binnie, p. 132]. Explain further, if needed, that one way of trampling on God’s glory is to trample upon God’s Anointed One (for example, David as a type, a foreshadowing of Christ in the Psalms) [Binnie, p. 132]. Discuss: For those who know God, why is unhindered universal worship the only acceptable response to God’s display of glory in creation and ultimately in Christ? Challenge learners to begin praying that God’s name will be hallowed throughout the earth.