# Ep 140: Do you listen at Church? (Ecc 5:1-3).

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/old-things-new-podcast-7097890/ep-140-do-you-listen-at-church-ecc-5-1-3
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/old-things-new-podcast-7097890/ep-140-do-you-listen-at-church-ecc-5-1-3.md
Podcast: [Old things New Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/old-things-new-podcast-7097890)
Published: 2026-03-03T19:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rcbhpastor.substack.com/p/ep-140-do-you-listen-at-church-ecc
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/189103831/abdc12b0ab4eea956f88a19da3b87238.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/old-things-new-podcast-7097890/episodes/ep-140-do-you-listen-at-church-ecc-5-1-3
Duration seconds: 649

## Resource

Pray Read: Ecc 5:1-7. Meditation As Solomon opens up his words of wisdom on worship, he starts with this basic instruction: come to listen. Verse one says: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” In the first place, we know that Solomon is talking about worship because he refers specifically to the house of God, the Temple of God. It was the centre of worship in the Old Testament, the heartbeat of sacrifice, worship, and instruction in the Word of God. Let me make a parallel for us here. As you know, we do not worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. Under the New Covenant, worship is no longer focused on a place. It is focused in a people. In Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians 2:19-21 we are told that the temple is no longer made of bricks and mortar, but of living souls. As the Spirit of God dwells in the hearts of believers, it is believers who are being built up into the house of God. And in the First Epistle to the Corinthians 3:17 we also see this plainly: “you are the temple.” What this all means is that, just as Israel gathered to worship in the physical temple under the Old Covenant, so as we gather together with God’s people under the New Covenant we are gathering for worship. There is a parallel between the Old Testament temple and the gatherings of the church in the New Testament. So then, Solomon’s advice applies to what we do in public worship together. The first thing he says is this: “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.” Do not come to worship ill prepared. Do not come carelessly. Do not come without having considered what it is you are doing. Guard your steps. Guarding our steps suggests that we ought to be prepared fo…

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