Opening Illustration: Me Church - video clip
Series: What is the Spirit saying to the church today?
Sermon 5: “Know how to worship in Spirit and with Truth”
NOTE: Today we are going to start our service with our teaching before you worship because our subject today deals with how we worship. My desire at the end of the teaching is help you to worship in the Spirit and with Truth.
Thesis: To worship the Lord in Spirit and truth means we are connected to His Spirit and we are worshiping Him with the right motives, the heart in the right place and our minds focused and centered on the right person and mission.
Scripture Text: Played from the Dramatized Audio Bible- have congregation follow along in their Bibles.
John 4:24: Jesus Talks with a Samaritan Woman
1The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John,
2although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.
3When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
4Now he had to go through Samaria.
5So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband.
18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.
20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
The Disciples Rejoin Jesus
27Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people,
29“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
30They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
31Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
35Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
36Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together.
37Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.
38I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
Many Samaritans Believe
39Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
40So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days.
41And because of his words many more became believers.
42They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Introduction:
How do you know if you worship with the Spirit, in the Spirit or even to the Spirit? How do you know if your worship is rooted in truth, what is true worship. This is the type of worship that God the Father is looking for and what He accepts as genuine and authentic? How do you know if you are doing that? Well let’s first understand what worship is.
Worship defined: Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines our term as reverence offered to a divine being or supernatural power it is an act of expressing such reverence.
Did you know that our worship service here at Christian Hills Church is not designed for you but for God? When I worship during the praise time I do it to the Lord – I am saying to Him how much I love Him, adore Him and need Him. I am saying Thank You for your sacrifice and as I do that He touches me – He comforts me – He speaks to me – I actually feel His love.
How about you do you feel Him, hear Him in the service? This experience of the Holy Spirit happens here at Christian Hills but I have also felt it very strongly while at IHOP in Kansas City and at conventions. It’s not just limited to a Sunday morning service or Sunday night Hearts Ablaze service. I can get this experience of worship in the car listening to praise music or even listening to a sermon.
How about you, “Do you sense and see God moving in your time of worship?” Is worship all about you or is it about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit?
Worship is not just about singing either, it’s about praying and soaking in His presence, it’s about making sacrifices to Him as well. That is also worship.
Have you ever taken trips to go see a genuine move of the Spirit? Would you take a trip to an unknown place to see what it means to be a true worshipper of God? The Father seeks true worshippers according to Jesus. Jesus said “God is Spirit and must be worshipped in the Spirit.” True worshippers of the Lord wrap their worship up in the Truth. These two dimensions of worship are linked together and you cannot have one without the other.
T.S. - So let’s take a few moments today to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
I. Worship in Spirit? What is Jesus Saying here to her and to us?
a. Jesus addressing the women at the well:
i. Background: The name “Samaritans” in 2 Ki 17:29 clearly applies to the Israelite inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom. In subsequent history it denotes a people of mixed origin, composed of the peoples brought by the conqueror from Babylon and elsewhere to take the places of the expatriated Israelites and those who were left in the land (722 BC). Sargon claims to have carried away only 27, 290 of the inhabitants (KIB, II, 55). Doubtless these were, as in the case of Judah, the chief men, men of wealth and influence, including all the priests, the humbler classes being left to till the land, tend the vineyards, etc. from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
ii. It is interesting that Jesus did not allow His disciples to go to any Samaritan town to witness but His willingness to address this Samaritan women and to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan reveals His desire to see this group of people restored to right relationship with God the Father.
1. In Jesus day there was a great division and dissension between the Jews and the Samaritans which went all the way back to restoration of the Temple under Ezra. The Samaritans and the Jewish settlement in Jerusalem were at odds because the Samaritans wanted to be a part of restoring the Temple but Ezra would not allow them too because of their syncretism of religions. They had blended all kinds of beliefs together with the Jewish faith and done their own thing rather than in following the Lord’s law. Therefore they were forbidden by Scripture to be a part of the restoration of the Temple. This division and dissension caused the Samaritans to persecute and try to stop the rebuilding of the Temple and the wall of Jerusalem. They used threats, gossip, lies and even intimidation to stop the process. This was the rift that was occurring still in the time of Jesus.
2. But even though this underlying rift was present Jesus tried to bring the Samaritans into the truth and into the Spirit so they could be restored.
3. The truth is many embraced the Gospel of Jesus in the early days of the spread of Christianity. They did experience a great revival within this people group.
iii. Yet, there is in Shechem even to this day about 160 still alive from this ancient people group. They are the “smallest and oldest sect in the world.” Their great treasure is their ancient copy of the Law. Yet they have been slowly dying out of the annuals of history over time.
b. Back to our term - Spirit – “24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit…”
i. Spirit is the Greek word Pneuma:
1. It means breath, blowing or wind.
2. It is the breath of life and it is the power source which gives life to the body, the soul and the human spirit.
3. The term points us to an independent divine Spirit which is connected to truth.
4. Jesus in His teaching promised and pointed to the Spirit – the Holy Spirit. The fulfillment of His teaching, His promises and His prophetic words was and is the Holy Spirit. This is verified in Acts 2. This Spirit – a Holy - Spirit would point to the One (Jesus) who was the Messiah filled and empowered with divine truth. His work according to Jesus was to reveal the truth of God’s Word and God’s way. He would always bear witness to the truth – and that truth was found only in Jesus Christ.
5. The Holy Spirit is holy and always does that which glorifies God. As did Jesus whose teaching always glorified God. Truth always affirms Jesus message and teaching which in turn always points us to God because He is the source of life and breath.
6. Jesus told us in many teachings that we cannot discover truth without the Spirit of God the Holy Spirit. His influence and presence needs to be welcomed and embraced so that we can hear the voice and the direction of God for our lives.
a. Jn 14:26 tells us that the Spirit helps us correctly interpret truth in a society of deception and He will enable us to also recall particular truths from the Word.
ii. The Holy Spirit is referred to by many other names in the Bible: Spirit, Eternal Spirit, Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Promise, Spirit of God, Spirit of the Living God, The Spirit of Glory and of God, The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, the Spirit of your Father, The Spirit of His Son, Spirit of the Lord, The Spirit of Jesus, Spirit of Christ, Spirit of Adoption, Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Life, The Spirit of Grace and the Comforter (Vine, page 1086).
1. All of these names and titles describe the Holy Spirits divine attributes, His mission, His leading and direction, His teaching and communication with the Spirit filled believer.
2. Remember why do we worship? Because my spirit is to connect with Holy Spirit through acts of worship to God. It’s in these moments when we experience the Spirit of God.
c. Now it’s important for us to understand that there are more spirits that inhabit this world.
i. For example Halloween has a demonic spirit attached to it.
1. Have you felt the presence of this evil spirit?
a. Have you seen it on TV and experienced it? Have you sensed this spirit of the time? Have you sensed the demonic spirits at work? Remember this type of fear is not of God. This spirit’s presence has been celebrated over the last few weeks and even worshipped by groups such as the Wicca’s, the Satanist and others. Praise has gone up to this spirit and so have sacrifices.
i. Yes, there a spirit of Halloween? But it’s not the Holy Spirit.
ii. Have you experienced this spirit over the last few weeks?
1. How has it impacted you? Your family? Your ministry?
2. Have you felt angry, depressed, overwhelmed, negative, burdened, or fearful?
3. All caused by a spirit but not the Holy Spirit.
ii. Back to the truth of the Holy Spirit.
1. This Spirit brings enthusiasm for the things of God, hope, joy, feelings of love and grace.
2. This Spirit helps us to wait in anticipation for Jesus’ second coming.
3. This Spirit reminds us of how God loves us and sacrificed for us. How He sent Jesus to die so that we could a intimate personal relationship with Him. It tells us that that Father has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us. To lift us up when we are down. That He is our provider and supplier in life.
d. In Acts 2 we see what happened when a bunch of fear filled disciples and followers of Jesus were hiding out from the Jews who were trying to have them killed.
i. The Holy Spirit came on the fear filled, overwhelmed, stressed out people, and empowered them with wisdom, boldness, and great hope. The believers left this place with fire in their bones and messages on their tongues.
1. The disciple Peter who denied Christ preached the best message of his life and people got saved and filled with the Spirit.
2. The Gospel rose up and moved out with the force and the power of the Holy Spirit moving from person to person. It impacted the Samaritans, Jews, Greeks and Romans and the world would never be the same from this day forward.
ii. The Spirit came as promised by Jesus so that the Great Commission of Jesus would be implemented and fulfilled – we in our life time could see the fulfillment of this commission according to the latest news reports from Missions agencies around the globe. They are predicting that the Gospel will be preached to all people groups by the 2020’s!
1. Lets listen to what happened that day:
a. Acts 2: The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God–fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
7Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?
8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”….The Fellowship of the Believers Acts 2
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
b. All these elements spoken about at the end of this chapter are linked to worshipping in the Spirit.
i. The Spirit always declares the wonders of God!
iii. Application to us: What I saw happened to these followers of Jesus was a Team Spirit emerged.
1. Do you understand what I mean by a Team Spirit? Coaches push Team Spirit weeks in schools and colleges around the nation to get people excited about up and coming games.
2. The church needs to grab a hold of the Team Spirit and push and commit to being united together to win the big games of life.
3. We must rally together, have pep rallies together to grab a hold of the vision of the Holy Spirit revealed to us in Acts 2.
4. We must desire, be willing to be united by the leading of the Holy Spirit for the specific mission for our specific group of believers.
5. Our ultimate mission as a church is to fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus:
a. That is our ultimate mission – that is our purpose – that is our destiny.
b. Let’s read again what this charge is to the church.
i. Matthew 26: 18-20: The Great Commission
18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
c. This is our mission – this is what it means to worship in the Spirit to see people saved daily, to be devoted to the teaching of the Word of God, to give to others who are in need, to praise God together, to fellowship together, to see miracles happening in the presence of the Holy Spirit, to be in awe of God.
T.S. – To be worshiping in Spirit means we are fulfilling the Great Commission and pointing people to the Truth. Remember the Spirit is always linked and connected to the Truth.
II. Worship in Truth? What does that mean?
a. Jesus addressing the women at the well asks her for a drink.
i. There is a discussion between Jesus and the women at the well on life giving water. Jesus tells her he can give this life giving water to her. He can provide this water for her but the woman does not understand this truth. So Jesus moves in another direction to get her attention. He tells her the ugly truth about her life and her relationships.
1. Jesus mentioned the woman’s husband in order to expose her sin and tells her she had 5 and the one she is living with is not her husband 4:18. Then in 4:19 there is a response from the women because of what Jesus told her about her life. The woman concludes that Jesus was a prophet, a person divinely inspired with supernatural knowledge.
2. So because her life of sin is unveiled by truth she moves to a theological argument about were one should worship. People love to pick arguments when their sins are exposed!
a. The Nelson Study Bible states: By mentioning the two different worship sites, the woman was perhaps trying to shift the conversation away from the subject of her own sins to theological questions. Or perhaps she realized that she was a sinner (v. 18), and knew that she was required to offer a sacrifice. The woman probably assumed that because Jesus was a Jew, He would insist that the sacrifice be offered in the temple at Jerusalem. The Jews insisted that the exclusive place of worship was Jerusalem. But the Samaritans had set up a rival worship site on Mount Gerizim, which according to their tradition was where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac, and where later on he met Melchizedek.
3. Jesus in our well scenario uses truth to open up the eyes of a deceived person to reveal their sinful condition and to point her to what is the Spirit and what is Truth.
b. Truth – Aletheia Greek. “24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
i. Truth means one which is upright in thought and deed toward God. In other words true to God’s Word and God’s ways. One filled with truthfulness, with dependability in following the ways and the teachings of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
ii. The truth is defined by Christ in His teachings and revealed through His life and His sacrifice. He is truth – His sacrifice affirmed that, and His resurrection confirmed it.
1. No other one is the truth --- only Jesus.
2. John the Baptist witnessed this truth and affirmed His truthfulness.
iii. Truth is the only reliable basis for defining what is right and wrong. Truth sees all and is able to illuminate us to what is right and what is wrong in our life and in our society. We can only worship the truth - Jesus - through the Spirit of Truth.
1. Jesus enables us to be able to enter into His presence and to be holy enough to worship in and with the Spirit of Truth.
2. The false façade of religion has no Holy Spirit – but it can have a spirit (evil-unholy attached to it) but this will never lead us to truth only to deception and lies.
3. Worshipping in truth has nothing to do with were you do it or how you do it. It has to do with your state of mind and the position of your heart with God, with Jesus and with the Holy Spirit.
iv. 1 John 4:4 tells us that the Holy Spirit leads us to truth and He will keep us from falling:
1. 1 John 4:1-6:
a. Test the Spirits
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
b. Notice John links worshipping in Spirit and in Truth to discernment and then to the action point of love.
c. 1 John 4:7-21:
i. God’s Love and Ours
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19We love because he first loved us.
20If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
c. What opened up the eyes of the Samaritan Women at the well? The ugly truth of her broken life – Jesus told her she was living a wrong lifestyle! Jesus told the Samaritan Woman the Truth!
i. This has been your life! This got her attention!
1. You have had 5 husbands and the man you live with now is not your husband!
a. Jesus told her: “You are not worshipping the real Spirit or Truth.”
b. “You worship what you don’t even know – you don’t have a relationship with God the Father, you have a spiritless religion which is not based on truth.”
c. “So take the life giving water I can give you and drink of it and you will never be thirsty again.
ii. What does the real truth about the church look like today?
1. Remember the funny Video of “Me Church!”
a. This reveals the ugly truth about some churches and some Christians today.
b. There are some ugly Churches and Christians out there.
i. They are ugly because they lack the Spirit and Truth!
ii. They worship a spirit but the wrong one – they claim to know truth but don’t only lies and deception.
iii. Remember the definitions of truth are: Honesty, reality bites, no falsehood, Jesus, The Word, and The Bible.
iv. The reality check some of us need to hear is that the Truth can hurt.
1. The Bibles truths and Jesus’ teaching do hurt, why because they expose our sin, our deceptions, our religions, our wrong mindsets, our fleeting arguments, and our messed up lives.
2. But the Bible, Jesus teachings and worship done in the Spirit and in truth make you examine yourself, your life, your motives, and your heart condition.
a. Now is the time to embrace truth!
i. Why? Because of all of the deception today.
b. If we embrace the Spirit and truth we also discover forgiveness, grace, mercy and above all His love.
i. So what is holding you back?
v. Truth can and will bring healing, forgiveness, freedom and meaning to your life.
1. Truth will bring the vision of Jesus love!
2. The Spirit and Truth brings freedom to our lives.
a. Galatians 5:1: 1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
i. Truth with the Spirit releases the bondage of sin and frees us!
b. 2 Corinthians 3:17: 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
3. Truth along with the Spirit tells us – Jesus is coming again – this expectation of truth, tells me and should excite me that I will meet Jesus face to face one day.
4. Truth gives us hope and a future!
Conclusion:
What does this type of worship look like – Spirit and Truth?
Nelson Study Bible notes the following:
God is Spirit … worship Him … in spirit and truth: God is not limited by time and space. When people are born of the Spirit, they can commune with God anywhere. Spirit is the opposite of what is material and earthly, for example, Mount Gerizim. Christ makes worship a matter of the heart. Truth is what is in harmony with the nature and will of God. It is the opposite of all that is false. Here the truth is specifically the worship of God through Jesus Christ. The issue is not where a person worships, but how and whom.
Note the woman’s spiritual journey. She first viewed Christ as a Jew (v. 9), then as a prophet (v. 19), and finally as the Messiah.
In vv. 35–38, Jesus offered His disciples an opportunity to do something that would be “food” for them. He was speaking about the Samaritans. In them, He saw an opportunity for a spiritual harvest for which the disciples would not have to wait long.
Conclusion leads us to Communion which is an act of Worship!
Communion
Luke 22:7-32: The Last Supper
7Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
9“Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.
10He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters,
11and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
12He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.”
13They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.
18For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.
22The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.”
23They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
24Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
25Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
26But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
28You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
29And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,
30so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
1 Corinthians 11: The Lord’s Supper
17In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
18In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
19No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.
20When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat,
21for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
22Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
Communion Instructions:
Today we will do it individually as a act of worship, when you are ready you can come to the tables, if you need help please raise your hand and a person will bring communion to you.
Here are the instructions for this worship moment in your life:
Do it in the Spirit: In other words don’t go do communion unless you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
I will be here in the middle to pray for anyone who wants to receive Jesus before communion.
Do it with Truth: This means you come with a clean heart and mind to the table.
You have examined yourself repented of sin and come to table in humility, with grace given purity and with a connection to the Holy Spirit.
Remember communion is an act of worship so approach it as reverent and holy!
Worship – praise will start during communion:
Read during the time of praise, song, prayer and celebration.
Psalm 95
“1Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.
3For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts…”
We will have people do the 3 Minute prayer during worship at some point.
Last action we will do is taking the Offering – remember this too is a form of worship
Question to ask: Will you give being led by the Holy Spirit and will you today be truthful before God in your giving.
1 Chronicles 16:29:
28Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength, 29ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
