Worship in Spirit and Truth

Sermon prepared for

Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn WA

By Gregory S. Kaurin, pastor

August 2, 2009

Texts: Psalms 18:1-6, 46; Revelation 5:8-14; John 4:21-24

Worship in Spirit and Truth

Starting today, the next six weeks the focus of our worship and messages is going to be on worship. What is worship? How should we worship? With what do we worship? What style? Why? Whom… do we worship?

“[Jesus said,] ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.’” According to Jesus, was it place, is it place that is critical to be a true worshiper? True worship, Jesus says, worships God in… spirit, and… truth.

We decided on this summer series a few months ago, and part of it has to do with a worship seminar I attended earlier this year—good stuff—but also some things I’ve heard and witnessed in other congregations that I do not want to see or hear in our church. There are some churches that are tearing themselves apart, losing or ignoring the spirit and truth of worship, dividing and consuming themselves over things that are not central.

We sing that old Sunday school song, “The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a…” people. Many of us have sung it since childhood, but do we actually believe it? The Church is a people, worshiping God in spirit—that means with our heart and attention on God. The Church is a people worshiping God in truth—that means being honest about our place before this God, our need for forgiveness, our lack of worthiness and his incredible worthiness.

That is what worship means. It is based on Old English, weorthscipe, or worth-ship, which just meant, having worth, great value. Worshiping God in truth means admitting that he, and all he did for us, is worth …our everything.

I’ve heard of congregations dividing, literally splitting over issues like furniture, over whether the communion wine should be red or white wine, over new hymnals or Bible translations, music styles and instruments. I am not saying that these things aren’t important or worth careful attention. They are the tools of worship, and some tools are better than others. And some are better for different people or contexts.

Worship, with all its space, furniture, art, liturgy, hymns or songs, words and music, these are meant to help us worship God; but there is always a temptation—for all of us—to worship the things of our worship, the tools, instead of the God of our worship.

Worship must be done in spirit: with sincerity and reverence …for God; and in truth: with integrity and humility before God. But when people separate themselves out of a snooty, “We’re doing it right!” I have to ask: are they worshiping the God of worship, or the things, some very specific things, of worship? If so, does that break a certain commandment? Whom shall we worship?

Mark 7:7 – “In vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.”

A ship picked up a stranded man from a deserted island. The captain saw that the man had been incredibly industrious, a regular Robinson Caruso. The man gave the captain a tour of his home, the kitchen, bath and bedroom, garden, barn and storehouse etc. The captain finally noticed there were two well-crafted and identical huts at each end of the main path. The captain pointed to the one, and the fellow replied proudly, "That's my church; that’s where I worship the Lord every Sunday morning." The captain asked, “Well what about the hut on the other end?” and the fellow answered, “Oh that place. Never mind it; that’s just the church where I used to belong.”

I’m not actually talking about liturgical styles or music today. We’ll get into that in a few weeks. This is about something that every church and every one of us is called to face. And if we’re going to continue to be a loving, functioning people, we need to stay honest and humble. It is easy to be distracted, hurt, mislead, upset or headstrong, and lose sight of what we’re all really here to do, what our lives are supposed to do: worship God.

On occasion, I’ve heard the old gas station analogy: “I come to church for my weekly fill.” Okay, will that be regular church, regular-hyped, or super-hyped? The primary focus and direction of worship is not from God to us, it’s not—first—about what we get in it, or from it. Sunday worship is not a spiritual gas station for our weekly fill. We already have eternal life through Christ. Worship is not about getting.

The focus and direction is from us to God. It is about giving. We are such consumers that we lose that focus. I know that I often approach worship with a mind and critique on what I do or don’t get out of it. And when I feel unserved, I am too ready to pick up my toys and go to the hut down the path.

The truth is, as a pastor I don’t play that game. I don’t compete; we are not in competition with other churches. All churches are called to use their different gifts, to worship God and serve as Christ’s body. We come on Sunday, first, not to be served with what and how I want it, but to serve God with what and how he wants it. …in spirit and truth.

I know that right near the surface, or deep down, this is what we really want, what we long for, to worship fully in spirit and truth. His salvation is free, unearned grace. We come here to thank Jesus for his death and resurrection which opened that gift to us. We come here to thank God for creation and food and family. We come here to thank him because we woke up this morning. We come here to take our minds off of ourselves, for a moment, to worship God, to set our minds on the above things.

Colossians 3:2 – “Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.”

An amazing thing happens, though. As we focus on God and the above things, and worship with honest open hearts, and listening ears, something begins to happen to us. Worshiping God, shapes us.

James 4:8 – “Draw yourselves near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Verse 10 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

We will get plenty out of worship. The direction of spiritual and truthful worship is God-ward, but the more we focus on Jesus and God in our worship, the more we will begin to take his characteristics into our own lives. We begin to be shaped and find his traits more and more in us: forgiveness, tenderness, justice, righteousness, purity and love. We depend on these things from God, and as we allow our Sunday mornings and lives to turn more and more to him in worship, the more we will find these traits in us, the more Christian, the more Christ-like we are able to be …for others.

We praise Christ for being forgiving; and we begin to find that we become more… forgiving.

“Set your mind on the above things, not on the earthly things,” “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you,” Humble yourselves,… and he will lift you up. and Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed, by the [constant, worshipful, spiritual and truthful] renewing of your mind.”

I pray over these next seven weeks, we will dig deeper and find how amazing and worthy God really is, and that we will find new ways to prepare for and enter worship so that he can do his work on us.

Left on our own, we have no right to stand before this Almighty God, except that even as we start down the path of worship, this God has already stooped to embrace us. God acts as if we were worth his love, like a Father, a good and loving Father…

Children of the Heavenly Father, safely in his bosom gather

Nestling bird or star in heaven, such a refuge ne’er was given.

That’s the kind of King we worship.

May it change more than your day. Let it change your life.