Spirit and Truth—What is Worship?

Scripture

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

Introduction

During my late teenage and early college years, the “worship wars” were in full gear. A battle (I wish I could find a better word for it!) between traditional and contemporary music and worship styles was waging in churches all across the country. Perhaps you remember those days as well. In his song “The Heart of Worship,” Matt Redman reminds us that at the heart of worship, we find Jesus. And Jesus taught that the worshipers that God the Father seeks are those who worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Program Ideas

Activity

After an opening prayer and worship chorus or song, present the devotional. Once the devotional is finished, invite the women to participate in the prayer stations (spending 3-5 minutes at each station), which are set up in the meeting space. Instrumental music can be playing as the women make their way through the stations.

• Prayer station #1- Color the scripture page while reflecting on the Scripture indicated on the coloring sheet. Pages are available to download at: https://seekingscripture.com/coloringpages.
• Prayer station #2- Write your own prayer/song/poem of worship, focusing on God and not on yourself.
• Prayer station #3- Read Psalm 100 over two or three times and really think about the words you are reading.
• Prayer station #4- Look over the different worship verses available and choose one that will serve as a tangible reminder of why we worship God. The following website contains many suggestions. https://dailyverses.net/worship/esv/niv

What is Worship?

It was a hot day, at the noon hour and Jesus was sitting at a well in Samaria. He starts a conversation with a woman who has come alone to gather water. Read John 4:5-42. There are many elements of surprise within this conversation. That fact that Jesus traveled through Samaria, an area the Jews avoided as much as possible; that He spoke with a Samaritan woman, which was very unusual, and that the woman is there alone at that time of day.

During the conversation, the woman brings up the issue of worship, a major point of disagreement between the Jews and the Samaritans. She says that the Samaritans worship on “this mountain” (Mount Gerizim, the holy site of the Samaritans), but the Jews claim Jerusalem is the place of worship. In His response, Jesus emphasizes that where worship happens is not as important as how we worship: “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24, NLT).

The terms for “worshipers” and “worship” here come from the Greek verb προσκυνεω (proskuneo; pros meaning “towards” and kuneo meaning “to kiss.”) This brings to mind the image of moving forward to kiss someone’s hand, as was customary in former times as a sign of respect or honor. In the Bible we also often see examples of people bowing down before statues and people alike as a way of showing respect or honor.

With these images in mind, we can think of worship as a way to show respect and honor to God. This does not only mean standing and raising our hands with our eyes closed, or dancing while we sing in church, although those are some outward ways of expressing worship. But worship is deeper than those outward expressions. It has to do with the state of our hearts. As Jesus pointed out to this woman, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.” (John 4:21, NLT). It wasn’t necessarily where, but how.

If we are going to worship the Father “in spirit and in truth,” let’s begin by being truthful and asking ourselves, “Who (or what) do I worship?” To whom do we figuratively bow before and show honor and respect? My guess is that our automatic answer is “God,” as it should be. But let’s pause for a moment and think about the way we spend our time, the way we spend our resources, and the way we spend our money. Do we honor and show respect to the Lord by our choices? Do we worship anyone or anything that rivals God’s “first place” in our lives? If so, take this moment to re-prioritize your life and confess if we are (without realizing it) worshipping things (or experiences or places or people) more than God, and commit to making Him the recipient of our worship. Because we are free in Christ, we can enjoy life to the fullest. We do need to remember, however, that we are worshippers of a God who is “…the only proper object of religious worship.” (Salvation Army Doctrine #2). As a popular Christian phrase goes, “Worship is a lifestyle.” Let’s make it ours!