Read John 4:1-26

When I was in junior high, my parents told us we could sit anywhere in church…anywhere – as long as we sat in front of them (and they normally sat in the first 5 rows).  That didn’t give us a lot of options, nor did it keep us from mischief.  One Sunday evening when the service was going on longer than I felt it should, my friends and I were getting a little out of control.  I soon noticed a small paper airplane fly over my shoulder and land in front of me.   I opened up the precisely folded paper and read the word “Behave!”… my dad, always creative, even in discipline!

As I was growing up, the idea of worship seemed to revolve around sitting in a pew that wasn’t comfortable, singing songs I didn’t understand and sitting through too many spoken words…way too many spoken words.  Fortunately, Jesus set the record straight in John 4.  As He spoke with the woman at the well, He told of a time where people would be able to worship anywhere – not just in the temple of Jerusalem or on the mountain Gerizim where the Samaritan people had worshipped for centuries. Jesus said that God was spirit and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.

The concept of worship simply means to revere and adore God. As Jesus explained this to the woman, He said this worship should flow from our hearts, in conjunction with the Spirit, and in the context of the truth of His word. This worship is not only an inward offering but also something others can see.  Paul writes in Romans 12:1 “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” When we back up our worship “talk” with our living sacrifice “walk” God is glorified!

One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 5:10 – it simply says “and find out what pleases the Lord.” The Randy version reads like this “figure out what makes Jesus smile.” Let me encourage us to spend some time today pondering what it means to please the Lord… does the way I worship with my time, treasure and talent make our King smile? Does the way I live resemble a living sacrifice or does it revolve around what I want? 

Let’s work hard on worshipping with our lives and doing the things that please Jesus during the week; that way when we come together on Sunday, our corporate worship will truly bring honor to our King!

Randy Moomaw