Spirit and Truth - Part One

²¹ “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know;we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ 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. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”  JOHN 4:21-24 (NIV)

In this section of a wonderful exchange between a Samaritan woman and Jesus, something critically important to everyone shines through.  The fact that God the Father is actively seeking a certain kind of worshiper.  If we were to grasp the import of this concept, what would it mean to the way we approach worship?  It seems explicit in this passage that there is a right way to approach the LORD in worship, and because of this, there is a wrong way to approach the LORD.  This truth is borne out through the Scriptures, and for Christians, the concept of correct-worship is tied directly to the requirement for Spirit and truth in worship.  

Take some time to think about this question: if there is a kind of worshiper whom the LORD is seeking, do you want to be that kind of worshiper?  What's it worth to you to cultivate proper and powerful worship in your life?

National Worship Leaders Conference notes

Hello all,

It's been too long since I last wrote, so I confess my sins of busyness and inattention to the important act of writing.  I am in KC this week at the National Worship Leaders Conference.  I'll have much more to share in the days ahead, but for now, I'll tell you the theme is Spirit and Truth.  I've had some great and challenging insights and I look forward to sharing them in the days ahead.   In the mean time, spend some time reading John 4, and think about the importance of what it means to be a "true worshiper" whom the Father seeks.  

Sean