I always enjoy this time of the year. It’s cooling down, the mornings are just right, the sunsets and sunrises are beautiful, but that’s not why it is so special to me. What makes it special for me is the fact that twice a year I do a message or series of messages reminding us what God has called us, His church, to do around this time every year.
For the last three weeks we have been taking a closer look at Acts 2:42-47. We have already looked at “What Makes A Great Church”: it’s values, and last week- it’s vision and now this week- it’s venture. For the next few weeks we will break down the venture God has called us to, beginning this Sunday with God’s venture: worship.
We are told that in America we are living in a “post church” generation, which means that some children will NEVER shadow the doorway of a church in their entire life! That startles me and alarms me! With this in mind, when we begin to talk about worship our minds conjures up many different ideas.
Gayla and I have had the privilege of representing our Lord and Sierra Vista Community Church by being in many parts of our world. We have been in some of the most beautiful and ancient mosques in both Egypt and Palestine. We have attended mass in some of the most ancient, ornate gothic cathedrals in Spain, Palestine and Israel. We have also seen some of the oldest pujas (shrines/temples) in Nepal. But we have also sat in some of the simplest Evangelical Christian churches in Costa Rica, Nepal, Spain and Ramallah in the West Bank. Then you consider my own religious up bringing and it’s no wonder we all tend to struggle with an understanding what true worship is.
One of my favorite passages of scripture is (John 4:19-24) where a Samaritan woman encounters Jesus and initiates a spirited conversation about worship. The Bible tells us that she is a Samaritan. In today’s culture she would be known as mestiza (a mixed breed, specifically a person of European and American Indian ancestry.) But, in this case, it was intermarriage of some, though not all, Jews and Gentiles.
This Samaritan woman obviously was speaking to Jesus from her racial, religious, cultural and regional perspective. Her main argument hinged on John 4:20:“Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
It’s interesting to me how this argument is still prevalent today! Well meaning people argue about the how, where, when, and what is the right way to worship. But in the midst of all this, we loose sight of what God has called us to do, which is to WORSHIP Him!
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “worship”? Is it the image of Abraham taking his son Isaac up to the mountain in Moriah, (Genesis 22:5) “… I and the boy will go over there and worship …”? Or is it an Old Testament priest slaughtering an atonement lamb? If you’re from the south, maybe it’s a backwoods snake handler. Or maybe if you were raised in a Pentecostal church, it’s a memory of someone running down the aisle hurdling over chairs. If you are from Northern New Mexico, perhaps it’s a Penitente fraternity where members carry heavy crosses during Holy Week, and have been known to submit to some form of crucifixion.
Let’s go back to John 4:20-24. The first thing we notice is Jesus saying, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” Jesus was calling the woman to live her life as a worship service rather than calling her to go to one. Jesus is the “where” and the “how” we meet with God. Jesus was telling her that the Father is seeking those who will discover Him in the everyday occurrences of life, responding to him in ways that please and glorify Him.
Secondly, Jesus says to the woman, “You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know ...” (v. 22) If you are having trouble worshiping God, this just may be the key! Maybe your trying to worship someone who you do not know. Since I know God and we have an ongoing relationship, worship comes easier for me now.
Let me encourage you, if you have never placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, why don’t you consider doing so today?
The Bible explains how you can have a personal relationship with Him in Romans 10:9-10 “... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Would you confess your faith to the Lord by praying this simple prayer? “God, today I ask that you save me and set me free from sin. I thank you for the gift of forgiveness and enternal life through your Son, Jesus Christ. And by your Holy Spirit, I ask you to be my Lord and Savior.”
If this is the first time you have prayed this prayer giving your heart and life to Jesus; welcome to the family of God!
Jesus makes the following confident statement, “... we worship what we know.”
Now you go and worship what/who you have come to know. See you Sunday!
For the last three weeks we have been taking a closer look at Acts 2:42-47. We have already looked at “What Makes A Great Church”: it’s values, and last week- it’s vision and now this week- it’s venture. For the next few weeks we will break down the venture God has called us to, beginning this Sunday with God’s venture: worship.
We are told that in America we are living in a “post church” generation, which means that some children will NEVER shadow the doorway of a church in their entire life! That startles me and alarms me! With this in mind, when we begin to talk about worship our minds conjures up many different ideas.
Gayla and I have had the privilege of representing our Lord and Sierra Vista Community Church by being in many parts of our world. We have been in some of the most beautiful and ancient mosques in both Egypt and Palestine. We have attended mass in some of the most ancient, ornate gothic cathedrals in Spain, Palestine and Israel. We have also seen some of the oldest pujas (shrines/temples) in Nepal. But we have also sat in some of the simplest Evangelical Christian churches in Costa Rica, Nepal, Spain and Ramallah in the West Bank. Then you consider my own religious up bringing and it’s no wonder we all tend to struggle with an understanding what true worship is.
One of my favorite passages of scripture is (John 4:19-24) where a Samaritan woman encounters Jesus and initiates a spirited conversation about worship. The Bible tells us that she is a Samaritan. In today’s culture she would be known as mestiza (a mixed breed, specifically a person of European and American Indian ancestry.) But, in this case, it was intermarriage of some, though not all, Jews and Gentiles.
This Samaritan woman obviously was speaking to Jesus from her racial, religious, cultural and regional perspective. Her main argument hinged on John 4:20:“Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
It’s interesting to me how this argument is still prevalent today! Well meaning people argue about the how, where, when, and what is the right way to worship. But in the midst of all this, we loose sight of what God has called us to do, which is to WORSHIP Him!
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “worship”? Is it the image of Abraham taking his son Isaac up to the mountain in Moriah, (Genesis 22:5) “… I and the boy will go over there and worship …”? Or is it an Old Testament priest slaughtering an atonement lamb? If you’re from the south, maybe it’s a backwoods snake handler. Or maybe if you were raised in a Pentecostal church, it’s a memory of someone running down the aisle hurdling over chairs. If you are from Northern New Mexico, perhaps it’s a Penitente fraternity where members carry heavy crosses during Holy Week, and have been known to submit to some form of crucifixion.
Let’s go back to John 4:20-24. The first thing we notice is Jesus saying, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” Jesus was calling the woman to live her life as a worship service rather than calling her to go to one. Jesus is the “where” and the “how” we meet with God. Jesus was telling her that the Father is seeking those who will discover Him in the everyday occurrences of life, responding to him in ways that please and glorify Him.
Secondly, Jesus says to the woman, “You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know ...” (v. 22) If you are having trouble worshiping God, this just may be the key! Maybe your trying to worship someone who you do not know. Since I know God and we have an ongoing relationship, worship comes easier for me now.
Let me encourage you, if you have never placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, why don’t you consider doing so today?
The Bible explains how you can have a personal relationship with Him in Romans 10:9-10 “... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Would you confess your faith to the Lord by praying this simple prayer? “God, today I ask that you save me and set me free from sin. I thank you for the gift of forgiveness and enternal life through your Son, Jesus Christ. And by your Holy Spirit, I ask you to be my Lord and Savior.”
If this is the first time you have prayed this prayer giving your heart and life to Jesus; welcome to the family of God!
Jesus makes the following confident statement, “... we worship what we know.”
Now you go and worship what/who you have come to know. See you Sunday!
Questions/assignments:
- Read Psalms 27, 73 & 84, and record your observations about worship.
- Read Exodus 20:1-11. What is the correspondence between obedience and worship?
- Read Psalm 103. What do you think it means to “bless the Lord”?
- Read Isaiah 40 and record the awe-inspiriting aspects of God.
- Read 1 John 4:7-21. What do you observe about God’s love? How does it enhance your worship?
Questions excerpted from Disciple-Getting Your Identity From Jesus by Bill Clem
No comments:
Post a Comment