Enjoy Life, Enjoy God

WORSHIP

April 22, 2010

Worship continues to be a great debate in the church today. In a self-focused 21st century, worship frequently is described by what happens to us "in worship."

 "But the hour is coming and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
--John 4:23,24 NRS

 In Jesus' continued conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, she too makes the mistake. She thinks location is what makes for worship. The Temple in Jerusalem? On the holy hill in Samaria? Jesus says, "No, my dear. Look inside." He calls it, "spirit." This, believe it or not, is not a reference to the Holy Spirit, but our own person. Spirit determines worship, not the location, not the music, not the preacher. What's going on in a worship service is much less important than what's going on inside us. As Jesus keeps talking to the woman at the well, something big starts going on inside her. And it leads to worship.

What's going on inside of you?
Joyfully,

Dale Patterson