The Worshiper and God's Presence

“Worshiper” Series – Part 8

“A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE WAS IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDAH. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.  3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.  4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.  5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,  6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;  7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.  8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.  9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth;  10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.  11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.”

- Psalm 63:1-11

Pouring Out in Worship

Worshiper Series – Part 7

“One of the Pharisees asked him [Jesus] to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table.  37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,  38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.  39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner."  40 And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."  41 "A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?"  43 Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly."  44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.  46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.  47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven- for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."  48 And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"  50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 

- Luke 7:36-50

Lament in Worship

Worshiper Series – Part 6

“1  How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?

2  How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

3  Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,4  and my enemy will say, “I have overcome
    him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

5  But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.

6  I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me. “

-Psalm 13:1-6

Offering Unacceptable Worship

Worshiper Series – Part 5

“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD."  2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.  3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,  4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,  5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  6 The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?  7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."  8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.  9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"  10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.  11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.  12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."  13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.  14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."  15 Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.  16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” 

- Genesis 4:1-16

Everyday, Everywhere Worship

Worshiper Series – Part 4

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

- Romans 12:1-2

Becoming What We Worship

Worshiper Series – Part 3

“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" 3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them. 9 O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield. 12 The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron; 13 he will bless those who fear the LORD, both the small and the great.”

- Psalm 115:1-13

Worshiping Created Things

Worshiper Series – Part 2

 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,  5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"  7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.  8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?”

- Galatians 4:4-9

The True Worshiper

Worshiper Series - Part 1

“And [Jesus] had to pass through Samaria.  5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.  7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."  8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)  9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" ( For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)  10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."  11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?  12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."  13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,  14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."  16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband';  18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."  19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.  20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."  21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."  25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things."  26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."

- John 4:4-26