How Was Worship this Weekend?

John 4:23-24

By Rev. Dr. Scott Seidler, Senior Pastor

Consider three types of people.

The first type consists of those whose hearts were bent toward God this past weekend in Christian worship.

The second type consists of those who attended a worship service in a Christian church, speaking and doing all the right things, but whose hearts never were truly bent in devotion toward God’s Son.

The third type consists of those who are a combination of some aspects of the first two.  These are the ones who neither attended a Christian worship service nor experienced the bending of their hearts toward God in faith.

Question:  Which of these three is to be most pitied?

Some might say group one, those whose hearts were bent toward Christ.  For though their hearts were bent, their fellowship with other Christians is not evident.  Corporate worship—worship with other believers—is a mark of Christ’s church.

Others may identify group two as especially sad.  Taking our cue from Mark 7, we note lips that utter God-honoring sentiments, yet without the deep conviction of the heart.

Finally, group three may be most pitied because they neither know Christ nor shared time with His children.

In John 4:23, Jesus said, “A time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

The fact is, God could find fault with any of our worship, including the worship of this pastor.  By grace through Jesus Christ, God accepts us our deficient worship, qualifying us to stand in His presence and give glory to Him with our lips and the hearts which stand behind them.  The point is for us to strive and struggle to match our lips and hearts as perfectly as humanly possible.  Then, we leave the rest to God who in Christ more than makes up the difference.  This God-given faith in His Son is the truest form of worship we can experience.