In Spirit and Truth

“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshipped?” Jesus replied, “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. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshippers 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 4:19-24 (NLT)

If you were at church last Sunday, you’d have heard Patrick tell us that we’ve changed the order of our service. I’m really excited about this because it’s all in an effort to leave more space for God to move and give time for him to speak. Now we start with just two songs of worship to focus us, then we listen to the talk, and after the talk we have a prolonged time of worship and response. We’ll join together in worship and share words and pray for each other, all while worship is happening, all while we draw closer to God.

The above verse is Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. She asks Jesus where the best place is to worship, and Jesus tells her that it doesn’t matter where you worship, but that we worship in spirit and truth. Jesus is telling us that worship is not dependent on place but on our attitudes. Spirit isn’t referring to the Holy Spirit but to our human spirit; our internal worship, our personal and private communion with God. It doesn’t matter when in our service worship is happening, as long as we are allowing God the time to speak to us. 

I've spent some time thinking about what it means to worship in truth and of course it’s about being genuine and authentic, but I also think it’s about worshipping in relation to the truth of who God is. He is patient and kind, generous and gracious, wise and just, good and true, and so much more. When we worship in the truth of who God is, it becomes less about us. Worship is not for us, it is for God, and it just shows how awesome and loving God is that we get so much out of it! We know and experience God through revelation and, for me, revelation happens during worship. It is the celebration of who God is and, most importantly, it involves being in fellowship with him. I’m so excited and expectant for what God’s going to do with us as a church over the next few months as we leave this space for God to move.