GS064 · 1998
True Worship
Worship is about giving, not receiving. What did Jesus mean about worshipping in spirit and truth?
- Bible
- Jeremiah 7.1-11; John 4.19-26
- Preached at
- Binley, Allesley Park and Whoberley
- Kind
- Full script · Adults
- Themes
- worship
- Graeme's notes
- S064a ia a revision for Allesley Park and Whoberley. Baginton 2017
(Jn. 4.19-26)
One word links all three of our readings today.
Can you guess what it was?
Well, ...it's the word "Worship".
A word which is very much on the minds of David and I, and I hope the other members of the PCC at the moment.
In our Old Testament reading, (Jer. 7.1-11), we heard Jeremiah speaking out God's warning to those who come to worship in his Temple, ...but whose daily lives are the very opposite of what God wants.
Then, in the letter to the Hebrews, we heard the writer encouraging his readers to "worship God in a way that he finds acceptable, in reverence and fear." (Heb. 12.18-end)
And finally, in our Gospel, we heard Jesus saying that:
"true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth:
that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants."
Worship is something that lies at the very heart of the Christian life, ...and its one of the things that we were considering last weekend on our Parish Away Day.
On that day we began to think about the six main areas of our church life together; about:
- prayer,
- evangelism,
- social care,
- discipleship,
- fellowship, and,
- worship.
But don't worry if you weren't able to be with us, for the day was simply an introduction to our Lent Course, to which we hope many more people will be able to come.
The Lent Course will take place, here in church, on every Tuesday Evening in March, ...beginning on March 3rd.
Together we want to think about where God is calling us as a church, and again we will be thinking about these six areas of church life.
We are sure that you will find it most interesting, so if you are able to come, please do so.
Worship is one of those words which we all think we understand, ...and yet we probably understand in many different ways.
If someone were to ask you what 'worship' is all about, I wonder what you might say?
Is it simply coming to church?
Is it receiving communion?
What does 'worship' mean to you?
(pause)
I spent some time this week reading up about it, and was surprised to learn that the Bible gives no single definition of the word. Instead, there are a number of different Greek words, all of which we translate into the English word 'worship', but all of which mean different things.
The original meaning of one of those words is, "to come towards to kiss", ...rather like someone might kiss the hand of an emperor, ...to pay him homage and reverence.
Another word means "to revere", stressing the feeling of awe and devotion in our worship.
Another word means "to serve, ...to give religious service".
Each of these words give us a different insight into what 'worship' is all about, as do our Bible readings for today.
So, let me draw together one or two of these insights.
The first is this, true worship is focussed upon God. It's something that we give to God.
Now that's obvious, you might want to say to me, of course worship is focussed on God. But I've been struck during the past couple of weeks, of how easy it is to turn things round, so that we focus on ourselves instead.
When we think about worship, it's all to easy to think about what we ourselves get from worship, ...what we receive from God, not what we give him.
There's the story about a preacher called Henry Beecher, who was famous in America, and who had quite a large following. He was invited to preach at a church in Brooklyn, New York, ...and the news soon got round.
On the day many people from all over the area turned up to hear this renowned preacher speak. However, instead of Henry Beecher preaching, his brother Thomas appeared in the pulpit instead.
Obviously the congregation was very disappointed, ...people started grumbling, ...and some people were so annoyed that they stood up and started to walk towards the door.
At this point Thomas raised his hand for silence, and announced, "All those who came to church this morning to worship Henry Beecher may now leave; all who came to worship God may remain."
But its so easy to think about worship in terms of what we want to receive from it, isn't it?
Turn for a moment to hymn number 529. We're not going to sing it, I just want us to look at the words.
It's one of my favourites.
O worship the Lord
in the beauty of holiness,
bow down before Him,
His glory proclaim;
with gold of obedience
and incense of lowliness,
kneel and adore Him,
the Lord is his name.
Lovely, isn't it?
And notice how its all about giving,
...giving God our homage,
...giving God our obedience,
...giving God our praise.
But what happens in verse 2?
Is this about giving or receiving?
Low at His feet
lay thy burden of carefulness,
high on His heart
He will bear it for thee,
Comfort thy sorrows,
and answer thy prayerfulness,
Guiding thy steps
as may best for thee be.
Now, I think you'll agree, that this verse is all about receiving,
...receiving help with our burdens,
...receiving comfort in our sorrows,
...receiving guidance about the future.
These are all the things, that we need, ...and all things that God loves to give us, ...but such things are not worship.
...for worship is about giving to God, ...not receiving from him.
One writer put it this way:
"Worship in our time has been captured by our tourist mind-set.
Worship is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure.
For some it is a weekly trip to church. For others, occasional visits to special services.
We go to hear a new truth, to get a new experience, ...and so, somehow, to expand our otherwise humdrum lives."
Why have you come to church today?
You may have come for the fellowship of being with other Christians.
You may have come to meet with God,
...to receive Communion, ...and the strength and comfort that only he can give.
You may have come to hear David preach a stimulating sermon, and are disappointed that it's me!
These are all good reasons for coming to church,
...but if the main reason you come to church is to worship, then we need to be less concerned about what we can receive from God, ...and more concerned with what we can give him.
As you know, we are asking for comments about our new pattern of worship on the third Sunday.
We are very grateful for the comments we have received, and would welcome any more.
And a key question about our Sunday worship is this: ..."How do the services help me and others to give our worship to God?"
And that's different to asking: ..."What do I like? ...or, what do I receive from a service?"
So if worship is about giving to God, how do go about doing that?
Well to answer that we need to turn our attention to those words of Jesus:
"...true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth."
...in spirit and truth.
What did Jesus mean by that?
(pause)
Well to worship God in spirit, reminds us that worship has much more to do with what's going on in here, than with what happens around us.
The Samaritan woman had just said Jesus:
"Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship".
Here in Binley:
"Some people worship in the hall, or at the school, but others say that it is in this building where one ought to worship."
But Jesus reply reminds us that it's not the building which is of ultimate importance, nor is it the form of service, nor is it the style of music. ...Rather, it's what's going on in here.
Now I'm the same as everyone else, I have my own preferences.
I find it easier to worship in some buildings rather than others.
I find it easier to worship with some forms of service rather than others.
I find it easier to worship with some styles of music, rather than others.
But it is our worship itself, ...(the giving of ourselves to God), ...and not our own preferences, which really matter to God.
(pause)
And we are to worship God in truth.
And this, I think, has to do with the integrity of our worship.
You are no doubt aware that in the media at the moment, there is a great deal of interest in people who allegedly behave one way in public, but quite differently in private.
Well that's an issue of personal integrity.
And Jesus reminds us that if we give God our worship, then that same attitude must be reflected in the way we live our daily lives.
Remember the word from the Lord that came to Jeremiah. He was to speak out against those who came to worship God, ...but whose daily lives were far from what wanted.
God calls us to be people of integrity, ...and to worship God in spirit and truth.
Worship is an essential ingredient in the life of the church, ...and something, I know, that is very important to those of us here.
So can I encourage us all to do two things:
First, as an individual, to reflect upon our own worship. How does it live up to what the Bible says?
- Is our worship more about giving, or receiving?
- Do we worship God in spirit and truth?
And second, help us to reflect upon our worship as a church, by coming on the Lent Course in March.
As I said earlier, we'll be thinking about where God is calling us in all the main areas of our church, ...and worship one of the things we will be considering.
So as the writer to the Hebrews says:
"Let us hold on to the grace that we have been given, and use it worship God in the way that he finds acceptable."
Amen.
Other versions
Graeme often reworked a sermon for a different church or occasion. These are the other copies he kept.
GS064A (Microsoft Works)
True Worship
(Jn. 4.19-26 and Jer 7.1-11)
Thank you for completing the questionnaire a few minutes ago; ...let me now remind you why we are doing this.
A few weeks after I came here, I asked each PCC member to consider: "What are the key issues that are facing our church?".
Each member could choose up to five key issues. You may remember that I listed most of them in 'Our 1999 Year Book'.
People mentioned: Outreach into our community, ...fiance, ...prayer, ...children's work, ...and many more. But it was issues to do with our Worship that were chosen by more people than anything else.
Now that didn't surprise me. 'Worship' is something that is particularly important to people who go to church. And that prompted me to go down the route of a questionnaire, ...so that everyone who worships here could have the opportunity to express their views.
I'm looking forward to reading them, ...and I will publish the results in our News Sheet in a fortnight's time, ...and then the PCC will be discussing them the following week.
But what do we mean by 'Worship'?
It's one of those words which we all take for granted, ...and yet one which different people understand in many different ways.
If I were to ask you to describe what lies at the heart of 'worship', what would you say?
(Pause)
- For some people, 'worship' is closely connected with the building. When they say "I'm going to worship", what they mean is that "I'm going to church".
For such people the place of worship is very important. Some of you might know that at my last parish Sunday services took place in four different places...
There was the church, (a beautiful 18th century building), ...and once a month there would also be a family service in the church hall, (to give us a bit more room) ...and twice a month we met at the local school (rather like we do here in Whoberley), ...and also in Binley Woods there was a service in the village hall.
Now for some people it didn't matter where they came for worship, ...but for others the building was very important. I sometimes met people who lived in Binley Woods who would say to me, "Oh, I could never worship in the village hall, ...it just wouldn't feel right."
For them, worship was closely connected to the building.
- For others, 'worship' has nothing to do with the building, but is closely connected with other people. For them, worship is something we do together as a community.
Such people might pray on their own, and read the Bible on their own, ...but 'worship' is something that they do with other Christians, (and it doesn't matter if it's in a church building, a village hall, or a school field).
- For others, 'worship' is mainly concerned with a particular part of a church service.
I've heard people describe a service that they've been to in words like this: "We began with 20 minutes of worship, ...and then we had a Bible reading, ...and then some prayers, ..."
What they mean by 'worship' is singing songs of praise to God.
For others, the heart of worship is receiving the bread and wine during communion.
For others, 'worship' is the whole thing.
So what does 'worship' mean to you?
(pause)
If we look to see how the Bible defines 'worship', we again find several different meanings. In fact there are a number of different Greek words, all of which we translate into the English word 'worship', but all of which mean different things.
The original meaning of one of those words is, "to come towards to kiss", ...rather like someone might kiss the hand of an emperor, ...to pay him homage and reverence.
Another word means "to revere", stressing the feeling of awe and devotion in our worship.
Another word means "to serve, ...to give religious service".
Each of these words give us a different insight into what 'worship' is all about, as do today's Bible readings.
So, let me draw together one or two of these insights.
The first is this: true worship is focussed upon God. It's something that we give to God.
Now that might sound obvious, but its amazing how easy it is to turn things round, so that we focus on ourselves instead.
After all, we all know what we like, don't we? The questionnaire that we have just completed will illustrate the fact that we have each got our personal preferences. It's the same for me too! There are some things that we do at church that I really enjoy, ...and other things that I don't.
But how do we react when we don't get things our way?
There's a story about a famous American preacher who had a very large following. His name was Henry Beecher preacher, and where ever he preached throughout America you could guarantee a large number of people would turn up to hear him.
On one occasion he was invited to preach at a church in Brooklyn, New York, ...and the news soon got round.
That Sunday the church was packed, ...however, for some reason Henry didn't turn up . Instead his lesser known brother Thomas appeared in the pulpit.
You can imagine the reaction of the congregation, as they began to whisper to each other, "That's not Henry Beecher!". The whispering soon turned to grumbling, as people began to express their disappointment, ...and finally, some people were so annoyed that they stood up and started to walk towards the door.
At this point Thomas raised his hand for silence, and announced, "All those who came to church this morning to worship Henry Beecher may now leave; all who came to worship God please remain."
When we think about worship, it's all to easy to focus on what we ourselves get from it, ...what we receive from God, not what we give him.
I think the survey will demonstrate the fact that different people prefer different things. For example, I know that some of you prefer traditional hymns, while others prefer modern songs.
If the survey shows that a large majority of you would like things to change, then the PCC we will give that some careful consideration. The results of the survey will be published in two weeks time, and then the PCC will be discussing it the week after that.
But there's that well known saying that "You can't please all of the people all of the time!" So how will you react if things don't change in the direction you want?
Will you come along and moan at things you don't like?
Or will you simply stay away when its a type of service you don't enjoy?
Well if you're tempted to react in either of these ways, let me challenge you again about your view of worship. Is it something you do for yourself, or is it something give to God?
(pause)
Most of you will recognise these words from the communion service:
Accept through him, our great high priest,
this our sacrifice of thanks and praise.
Worship can be a sacrifice at times, ...and particularly when it's a style of worship that we don't enjoy much. But are we doing it for us, or for God?
So if worship is about giving to God, how do go about doing that?
Well to answer that we need to turn our attention to those words of Jesus:
"...true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth."
...in spirit and truth.
What did Jesus mean by that?
(pause)
Well to worship God in spirit, reminds us that worship has much more to do with what's going on in here, than with what happens around us.
The Samaritan woman had just said Jesus:
"Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship".
But Jesus reply reminds us that it's not the building which is of ultimate importance, nor is it the form of service, nor is it the style of music. ...Rather, it's what's going on in here.
Now, as I mentioned earlier, I'm the same as everyone else, ...I have my own preferences.
I find it easier to worship with some forms of service rather than others.
I find it easier to worship with some styles of music, rather than others.
But it is our worship itself, ...(the giving of ourselves to God), ...and not our own preferences, which really matter to God.
(pause)
And we are to worship God in truth.
And this, I think, has to do with the integrity of our worship.
The media often show a great deal of interest in people who say one thing in public, but who behave quite differently in private.
Well that's an issue of personal integrity.
And Jesus reminds us that if we give God our worship in public, then that same attitude must be reflected in the way we live our daily lives in private.
We find the same message in our Old Testament reading, (Jer. 7.1-11). There we heard Jeremiah speaking out God's warning to those who come to worship in his Temple, ...but whose daily lives are the very opposite of what God wants.
God calls us to be people of integrity, ...and to worship him in spirit and truth.
Worship is an essential ingredient in the life of the church, ...and something, I know, that is very important to all of us here.
So can I encourage you to do two things:
First, as an individual, to reflect upon your own worship. How does it live up to what the Bible says?
- Is your own attitude to worship more about giving, or receiving?
- Do you worship God in spirit and truth?
And second, to pray for the PCC as they reflect upon the views expressed in today's questionnaire. That God may guide their thoughts and discussions, ...so that the worship of our church may be "pleasing and acceptable in his sight".
Amen.