Time To Get Serious: The God Who Is Spirit
How fitting that today’s topic is worship, with having the first youth praise team practice yesterday. The scripture passage for this study is John 4:19-26, Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman. They have a conversation of where the Jews & the Samaritans disagree on where to worship God. Jesus made it very clear that after His coming He was going to clarify this. Worshiping God is not about the place, it is about us meeting with God individually and worshiping Him “in spirit and in truth”. When we come to Him in time of worship it is about an internal connect between God and us, where all worldly and material things are put aside. I understand that during Sunday morning gatherings that the leaders goal, at the inception, is to lead people to that place where they are meeting God one-to-one. However our times of worship don’t stop there. This can happen when God meets us during any time spent with Him. It is our hearts through Christ that worship God.
I like the morning devotion topic, but have a question & need your view. Someone I know made the comment “you don’t have to go to church to believe in God… and where in the Bible does it say that”. “the people at church talk behind your back..that’s why I won’t go…”
I replied that no church is perfect…
I will be searching the Bible for “fellowship” which I have come to realize is important including worship.
Here are two good passages that speak about the need to gather together. Hebrews 10:24-25, Acts 2:42-47. Here’s another thing to keep in mind, Deuteronomy 5:12, this is one fo the ten commandments. Now this obviously doesn’t say that by keeping the Sabath holy means going to church, I believe that this is part of it. Obviously there can also be a dangerous thought, that some people belive by simply going to church that makes you a Christian. No where does the scripture say this. God’s design for church is a place of Christian fellowship and support in our Christian walk. How can we spure one another on if we don’t gather. While I don’t believe that church on a Sunday morning is the only place to get that kind of fellowship & support that God’s desires us to have, there has to be some gathering that fosters this on a regular basis.