John’s declaration that “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth,” renews the idea that worship is not confined to a specific place or time. God himself is not limited to a specific place and time because he is omnipresent; therefore, our worship of him can take place in our homes, in our offices, in our vehicles, or in any other place where we quiet our hearts and listen for his “still small voice.” Worship can take place in the difficult times when we want to cry out to God, [Read more...]
The Second Sunday in Advent: Peace
1The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it, [Read more...]
Worship is about the Seeker
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“True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” We don’t hear the phrase “seeker sensitive worship” much anymore. It was a fad a few years ago where churches attempted to make church enjoyable for those who might have never been to a church or those who might have been turned off by church. [Read more...]
The First Sunday in Advent: Hope
10Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11“Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Hope
“The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” Jesus was now into the meat of his discussion with the Samaritan woman. And he wasn’t finished challenging everything the woman knew about worship. She probably knew the Law very well, even if she didn’t obey it. But Jesus was telling her that she really had no idea what worship was about. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here (emphasis mine), when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” The woman understood that Jesus was talking about the Messiah. But she did not yet understand that she had to wait no longer; Messiah was the very man speaking to her at that moment.
On Sunday, we’ll begin a time of preparation. It is a time in which we look at ourselves reflectively and wait on the coming of the Christ child. We will wait expectantly, just as Israel did for so long, just as so many continue to wait. But, the good news is that, as children of God, we wait with a different kind of expectation. We know Christ has come once, and we’ll remember his first coming this Advent season. But, we also wait expectantly for his second coming. We wait with hope. We wait with peace. We wait with joy. We wait with love.
Impacting the Kingdom Through Worship,
The Hour Is Coming
The Samaritan woman showed that she had preconceived notions about what worship is. In fact, until Jesus began his public ministry, the idea of worship was rather restricted. “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you [the Jews] say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus was about to make yet another alarming statement; he would challenge the prevailing thoughts on worship. “The hour is coming [Read more...]
I Perceive That You Are a Prophet
The woman at the well was clearly not understanding the message Jesus was sending. Despite his having explained the concept of living water to her twice, she still didn’t get it. So he tried a different tactic. He brought the conversation down to her level by asking her to go call her husband and come back to the well. Now, all of a sudden, she started to get the picture. “I have no husband,” she answered. Jesus said, “You are right… You have had five husbands, [Read more...]
Never Be Thirsty Forever
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Sometimes when God allows us to see a little bit more of his glory, we still don’t get it. Jesus had just radically altered the Samaritan woman’s life and she didn’t see it yet. He told her about the “living water” he could give her and she asked him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?” (John 4:11 ESV). Another blind question followed by another incredible answer. [Read more...]
Reading the Bible in a Year
Yesterday I mentioned how impressed I am with the ESV Study Bible and promised to point you to some resources for reading the Bible through in a year. [Read more...]
The ESV Study Bible
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Last week, I received my copy of the brand new ESV Study Bible. Yes, the rumors are true; this thing is an absolute monster! It would hold its own in a duel with one of those super-sized family Bibles that used to sit on my family’s coffee table when I was growing up. [Read more...]
