Sermon Manuscript for the Sunday Worship Service on February 1

Remember, and Live It Out

Micah 6:1–8

Introduction | An Age When Comfort Has Become the Standard of Worship

1. These days, we live in an age where the standard for worship has become how comfortably we can worship. We consider the condition and location of church buildings, and we place importance on how well worship is “served.” The church is increasingly becoming a place that worries about how to satisfy people.

2. Originally, the church was meant to be a community where serving came first. Yet at times, it feels as though there are now more people who want to be served than those who are willing to serve.

3. And yet, from time to time, moments come back to me when people found joy in worship despite discomfort. If I bring up stories from the past, I might be told I sound old-fashioned, but there was a time when enduring inconvenience and effort in order to worship was simply taken for granted. We poured our energy into coming before God, without the luxury of weighing other conditions.

4. Of course, times have changed and circumstances are different. Adapting to change is necessary. But I find myself asking whether meeting every demand people make truly defines the church and worship. In a culture that places excessive emphasis on comfort, I find an unexplainable uneasiness lingering in my heart.

5. Last week, I said, “Let’s not be selective, but try thinking seriously about something completely different from ourselves at least once.” A natural question arises: do we really need to go out of our way to experience discomfort?

6. But when such questions disappear altogether, do we not end up living in an age like ours—an age of conflict, hatred, and extreme rejection? I believe that an attitude of blatantly pushing away what makes us uncomfortable actually becomes an obstacle to maturity.

7. In this time of worship today, I want to encourage each of you to intentionally reflect on what makes you uncomfortable. And I invite you to ask yourself whether that discomfort is greater than worshiping God, or whether your desire to stand before God is greater—even if it means bearing discomfort.

8. The church and the Christian faith never began in places of comfort. Worship has always been a place where our entire lives are questioned before God. With this awareness, I invite us to read Micah chapter 6 together today.

“Listen” | Worship Begins with the Shema (Verse 1)

9. The passage begins like this: “Listen to what the LORD says.” The first word of this sentence is the Hebrew word shema (שְׁמַע). Shema does not simply mean the physical act of hearing a sound with one’s ears.

10. In Scripture, shema always means hearing that leads to a response in life—hearing that presupposes obedience. God does not say to the worshiper, “Sit comfortably and listen.” Rather, God calls us to “stand up” and listen. Worship is not a time for evaluation; it is a time to stand before God.

11. In Deuteronomy 6, Moses delivers his final sermon to the Israelites as they finish their wilderness journey and stand on the edge of the land of Canaan. The very first word of that sermon is also shema: “Hear, O Israel.”

12. The earnest plea Moses sought to convey through that word was clear: do not forget who it is that saved you.

13. Micah stands firmly within this same tradition and uses the same word. The cry “Listen” is not merely a call for attention, but a call to remember that the One who saved us is God. Worship begins with this act of remembrance.

The Courtroom Scene | Worship Is a Place of Public Responsibility (Verses 1–2)

14. In verses 1 and 2, God summons the mountains, the hills, and the foundations of the earth as witnesses. This is not poetic imagery alone, but the formal structure of a covenant lawsuit (riv, רִיב) used in the ancient Near East. God declares that the relationship with the people has been broken and brings the issue into a public arena rather than keeping it in the realm of private spirituality.

15. Worship is not a space for personal comfort alone. It is the place where we are asked how the covenant we made with God has been lived out in our lives. We often reduce faith to a purely personal dimension, but in Scripture, faith is always understood as a life of responsibility before creation, history, and the community.

16. This is also why we gather in one place to worship, offer our tithes, and sustain the life of the church through those offerings.

17. The church is a community built upon public responsibility, and our confession of faith is never meant for ourselves alone. The direction of faith must be set toward the whole world and all the relationships we encounter.

18. Especially as we live today within American society, we must remember that our faith is not lived only for ourselves, only for our church, or only for our own ethnic group.

19. Worship is the place that calls us to continue relationships and bear responsibility, even when doing so is uncomfortable.

God’s Question | Memory Is the Conscience of Faith (Verses 3–5)

20. In verse 3, God asks the people a question: “What have I done to you?” God does not begin with judgment. Instead, God begins with a question.

21. And the heart of that question is not, “What have you failed to do?” but rather, “What have I done for you?” God recalls the memory of the Exodus, the grace of redemption, and the history of protection and guidance.

22. In Scripture, memory is not mere recollection. Memory is an act of restoring identity. When we forget who God is, we lose the ability to explain why we became Christians, why we believe in Jesus, and why we stand where we are today.

23. We end up pouring our energy into things that are ultimately unimportant, while losing sight of God, who is most important.

24. That is why God says, “Remember.” Memory is the conscience of faith.

A Misguided Question | A Faith That Turns Worship into a Transaction (Verses 6–7)

25. Israel’s response appears in verse 6: “With what shall I come before the LORD?”

26. On the surface, this seems like a very pious question. But its direction is completely wrong. The question has shifted from “How should we live?” to “What should we offer?”

27. Worship is gradually being reduced to the language of transaction.

28. The people begin listing increasingly exaggerated offerings. They speak of greater devotion and greater sacrifice, but hidden within is the protest, “Isn’t this enough?”

29. It is like a parent who tries to replace love by providing material things, while the child says, “What I need is not things, but love.”

30. In response to this attitude, God makes it unmistakably clear what matters more than offerings.

God’s Clear Requirement | Justice, Kindness, and Walking Together (Verse 8)

31. In verse 8, God declares: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?”

32. God is not presenting a new demand. God is reminding the people of what has already been spoken.

33. The problem is not ignorance, but the fact that, despite knowing, we invest our energy elsewhere.

34. The life God desires of the worshiper can be summarized in three things: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God.

Justice | Mishpat, Responsibility Toward Structures

35. Justice, mishpat (מִשְׁפָּט), is not merely fairness or a personal sense of morality. The word comes from a Hebrew root meaning to judge, to render a verdict, and to establish order. Mishpat belongs to the realm of systems and structures, and it refers to justice that takes concrete shape through action and decision.

36. In Scripture, mishpat is always connected to the protection of the vulnerable—the orphan, the widow, the foreigner, and the poor. Biblical justice is therefore not neutral. It deliberately leans toward those without power. To “do justice” means refusing to leave unjust structures intact and instead acting against them.

37. In Micah, mishpat appears as a sharply accusatory term. Micah repeatedly denounces leaders who accept bribes, distort judgments, wealthy people who seize land from the poor, and a legal system that has become a tool for the strong.

38. In such a context, the collapse of mishpat does not merely mean social disorder; it means the collapse of faith itself. That is why Micah demands justice not merely in words, but in actual practice—before sacrifices or religious rituals.

39. This is because worship without justice is nothing more than a religious act that obscures God.

Kindness | Hesed, Love That Refuses to Abandon Relationship

40. Kindness, or hesed (חֶסֶד), is one of the most difficult Hebrew words to translate into Korean—or any language. Scripture has rendered it as kindness, mercy, love, or faithfulness, but no single word fully captures its meaning.

41. Hesed does not refer to emotional intensity or momentary goodwill. It means covenantal love that remains faithful to the end—a resolute love that refuses to abandon relationship.

42. In its biblical sense, hesed does not remain in the realm of feelings. It does not mean simply having “good intentions” or temporary warmth.

43. Hesed is an attitude that does not easily sever relationships, a sustained responsibility that does not give up even when the other fails or falls. It is love that holds on, even at personal cost.

44. Therefore, hesed is costly love—love marked by enduring loyalty that is not shaken by circumstances or emotions. This is why Scripture says God shows hesed, and at the same time commands Israel to love hesed.

45. In Micah, the problem surrounding hesed is very clear. The people of Micah’s time offered abundant sacrifices and maintained active religious practices.

46. Yet relationships between people were deeply broken. The vulnerable were easily discarded, responsibility was avoided, and neighbors were treated as means to an end.

47. In this reality, Micah does not merely say, “Do kindness,” but boldly declares, “Love kindness.” This is a call to stop calculating, stop being annoyed, and to make hesed itself the direction and posture of life.

48. That is why Micah does not say, “Practice kindness,” but demands, “Love kindness”—a call to reject calculation and inconvenience, and to orient life itself around hesed.

Walking with God | A Companionship That Surrenders Control of Life

49. Finally, the command to “walk with God” points to an entire way of life. The key verb here is the Hebrew halak (לָלֶכֶת), meaning “to walk” or “to go.”

50. This word does not describe a single action or momentary behavior. In Hebrew, “walking” never refers to something temporary; it describes a person’s way of life and ongoing direction.

51. Therefore, “walking with God” is not a call to perform specific religious acts, but to place one’s entire life on the same path as God.

52. The word translated “humbly,” hatsnea (הַצְנֵעַ), is extremely rare in the Old Testament, which means it must be interpreted with great care in its context.

53. Its root, tsana (צנע), includes meanings such as not drawing attention to oneself, not running ahead, not boasting, acting carefully, and exercising restraint.

54. The humility described here does not mean an emotional self-deprecation or simply saying, “I am insufficient.”

55. It refers instead to relational humility—the ability to discern one’s place and act accordingly within relationships.

56. Theologically speaking, “walking humbly with God” points to an attitude of surrendering control over one’s life.

57. It means not running ahead of God, not using God to justify one’s own path, and not turning God into a tool of faith.

58. In other words, it is the posture of letting go of self-control and walking within God’s guidance. This phrase is not merely about spiritual attitude, but about where we ultimately locate authority and direction in life.

Justice, Kindness, and Walking with God

59. The three requirements in Micah 6:8 are structurally and inseparably connected. Mishpat calls us to practice public justice in the social realm, while hesed calls us to sustain covenantal love in the realm of relationships.

60. Walking with God asks where we will place the direction and authority of our lives before God.

61. If mishpat and hesed answer the question of what we do, walking with God answers the question of whose way we do it.

62. When this balance collapses, faith becomes distorted. If justice and kindness are practiced without walking with God, faith devolves into moralism.

63. Conversely, claiming to walk with God while lacking justice and kindness is nothing more than spiritual self-deception. This is why Micah presents all three together, without separation.

Conclusion | Even with Discomfort, Worship Is Joy

64. Micah is a prophetic book written in the late eighth century BCE, spoken by a prophet who lived in the same era as Amos and Isaiah.

65. On the surface, this period appeared to enjoy economic prosperity and political stability, but in reality, social polarization was rapidly intensifying.

66. In Judah and Israel, severe injustice had become routine. Large landowners seized the land of powerless farmers, and the courts ceased to be places of fair judgment, instead serving the interests of the wealthy.

67. Religious leaders aligned themselves with power to preserve their positions, and while worship grew increasingly elaborate, people’s lives became more brutal. Sacrifices—worship—were alive, but justice was dead.

68. So how should Micah be read today? In our worship, in our gatherings, and in the work we do together—are justice and kindness present? And are we truly walking with God?

69. Are there other things we consider more important than these? Are we still focused only on our private relationship with God, still primarily concerned with the blessings God gives us?

70. We remain anxious and lacking. Even as we confess that God is with us, our anxiety often does not fade. This is because we reduce worship to habit or to the bare minimum of religious life.

71. What we are doing here today is no small thing. We are standing before God as people who walk with God, revealing justice and kindness—not only to ourselves, but to others we do not even know—bearing a love that reaches beyond us.

72. Today we gather in the name of a General Assembly. We will share many complex matters—review last year’s finances, confirm this year’s budget, and come together today despite delays and various circumstances. Though we will not meet for long, I hope we gather with the expectation that we are preparing for something profoundly important.

73. I earnestly pray that, despite discomfort, worship will become the deep reason for our lives.