In Spirit and Truth "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4:24 (KJV) Jesus' entire ministry pointed towards the worship of God. For him, worshipping God was seen not only in the temple but in the everyday places of people's lives. Perhaps this is why Jesus' parables, healings and teachings were set in common, everyday life situations. His stories ran the gamut of illness, death, decision-making, sweeping, seasoning food, buying more than is needed, trimming the lamps, boating, fishing, eating, marrying, sowing seeds, investing talents, standing with the oppressed, misplacing loyalties, and relating to family members. Jesus used the articles and events of everyday life to illustrate his message of God's in-breaking Presence. A more complete way of understanding worship is that it is both a private and public action highlighting our need for connection with God and others. So the purpose of worship is to create a "sanctuary" to connect with God and experience grace. This sanctuary allows us to enter into "sacred space" where we are ushered into the Presence of God through the characters and stories of the Bible, prayers, hymns and choruses. So how is it with your worship? What aids your worship? What hinders your worship? How might you use the articles of everyday life to illustrate God's Presence to others? How can you worship God throughout the day? Prayer: Spirit of Truth, breathe on me and help me make time to worship you.2/14/08
Thursday in the First Week of Lent
In Spirit and Truth "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4:24 (KJV) Jesus' entire ministry pointed towards the worship of God. For him, worshipping God was seen not only in the temple but in the everyday places of people's lives. Perhaps this is why Jesus' parables, healings and teachings were set in common, everyday life situations. His stories ran the gamut of illness, death, decision-making, sweeping, seasoning food, buying more than is needed, trimming the lamps, boating, fishing, eating, marrying, sowing seeds, investing talents, standing with the oppressed, misplacing loyalties, and relating to family members. Jesus used the articles and events of everyday life to illustrate his message of God's in-breaking Presence. A more complete way of understanding worship is that it is both a private and public action highlighting our need for connection with God and others. So the purpose of worship is to create a "sanctuary" to connect with God and experience grace. This sanctuary allows us to enter into "sacred space" where we are ushered into the Presence of God through the characters and stories of the Bible, prayers, hymns and choruses. So how is it with your worship? What aids your worship? What hinders your worship? How might you use the articles of everyday life to illustrate God's Presence to others? How can you worship God throughout the day? Prayer: Spirit of Truth, breathe on me and help me make time to worship you.
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1 comment:
Must say I never looked at the stories of the bible as a way to enter into the lives of others through worship or how they worship God.
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