Worship

I share what follows as an example of how I am learning to worship. Adam was taught one order by God. I am not saying every family should invent a different order for itself. I am saying we have inherited thousands of years of institutional religion, and so each family must seek God about how to live the pattern He established.

The ideal life is agrarian. Families on land, caring for what God gives them, worshiping together, and each family having its own altar. Most of us are not living that fully yet. However God works with us as we progress toward it.

Communicating with God

Communication with God comes first. If a family does not know how to pray, listen, and receive from God, it cannot live the Order the way it should. This is where everything begins.

What I have come to understand about communicating with God is that He is concerned with the person. Are they sincere in their approach. Are they willing to do what He asks. That is really the key, not ritual by itself.

God speaks to His children through His Spirit which is conveyed by angels or Himself. It comes by impressions, thoughts, or words that we feel more than hear. Angels and God also appear in person, sometimes looking like a normal human and other times in glory. Coming into the presence of God as Enoch, Noah, Abraham and others did is possible. It has always been possible.

Most people who begin to seek God directly struggle with three questions. Is this God? Is this me? Is the Devil trying to deceive me?

I have found that when it is me there is usually something selfish in it. When it is the Devil there is always some darkness in it no matter how good it sounds. When it is God it is clear, easy to understand, and does not contradict itself.

I am not concerned that I may get it wrong. The times I have got it wrong have taught me by experience. That is wonderful in its own way. I continue to ask God for His guidance every day, and I pray that others may be led by Him.

Breaking Bread

For all my life I participated in the bread and wine ritual in the religions I attended. Since being introduced to the Order of Adam, God has taught me more clearly what this is for in family worship.

The Messiah offered Himself so that death and hell may be overcome. He told us to break bread in remembrance of Him, and so we do. This means the sacrifice of animals does not stand in the same place in regular worship as it once did. However that does not mean the altar no longer matters. It does matter. It is still the most sacred place of worship on earth.

We break bread most Sunday's and at other times. My wife and I and our children aged 10 and below are seated around our kitchen table. We share a hymn together that reminds us of God and of the Messiah.

I as the patriarch of the home bless the bread and wine and break the bread, and we eat and drink together as a family. There is no condition on whether a child has been baptised or not. This is family worship where we remember deliverance through the Messiah.

Then we have discussions and usually prepare for lunch. Since adopting this type of family worship it has helped us make our sabbath a delight. Our understanding of the Messiah and His role in our lives has permeated our family in a way we had not known before.

The Feasts

Adam kept feasts. These are older than the Israelite forms. Moses learned them through Jethro as part of the older order, then tied them to the Exodus. After that they became more complicated over time. What I am talking about here is simpler and older.

There are no set dates. The feasts follow the seasons and each year that looks a little different.

When winter breaks and the world starts coming to life again, that is the time for Deliverance. The family gathers to remember that through the Messiah God's children will be delivered from death and hell and have new life, just as the earth does in spring.

When the first fruits of the harvest come in, that is the time for Thankfulness. The family gives thanks to God for His abundance.

When the signs of winter start to appear, that is the time for Sojourning. We remember that we are only here on earth for a short time, and that this life is given so we may learn to know God and come into His presence.

This is the first year we are celebrating the feasts as a family. I have received guidance from God on this and He continues to teach me. The pattern is there, even while we are still learning the details.

When God asks us to feast, He is not saying to do it the way the world does. Feasts should be simple. They should be a rest for the family, a time to be together, worship together, and give thanks together.

The Altar

The altar is the most sacred worship. It is the place where God comes to His people, and where covenants are made.

It is at the altar that a patriarch must receive from God what covenants he must make for his family and how he is to do that. God covenanted with Noah at the altar. He covenanted with Abraham at the altar. He covenanted with Jacob at the altar. Each covenant was different, however they were connected to what came before.

The altar should be made with stones that have not been cut by man. It represents the tree of life. It should be built on higher ground, separate from daily life, and dedicated as sacred. It should be in a grove of trees or a garden, to represent Eden, God's first sacred place on earth where He dwelt.

We do not need to sacrifice animals every time we come to the altar. However the sacrificial lamb still has a place in the Order, and the altar remains central. This is where covenants are made, renewed, and deepened before God.

Also, offering an acceptable sacrifice is not just the mechanics of how a lamb is offered. God looks at the heart. He looks at the faith, the service, and the life you have brought to Him. That is why Abel's sacrifice was accepted and Cain's was not.