John 4:23-24 (NKJV) 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Defending The Faith Last month we spoke about the subjects of salvation and the church You really can’t talk about one without the other When salvation from our sins is achieved the Biblical way, we are added to the church by God

Defending The Faith So many are being led to believe that they are truly saved, when they haven’t done what God commanded We need to know how to defend what is true in that matter Once we are a part of the church, we need to understand proper worship

Worship Man is inclined to worship; he longs to worship something Look around us today and you’ll see that basically everyone worships something or someone Exodus 20:3-5 (ch. 32 – golden calf)

Worship Psalm 63; 84:2 – longing for God Romans 1:20-25 – Gentiles also sought to worship… Man has always had the propensity to worship What guides this worship?

Worship If it is left up to man… …he will worship strange things – Ex. 32; Is. 44:14-20 …he will worship in strange ways – 1 Kin. 18; Ex. 32:6; Rev. 2:14, 20; Rom. 1 Ex. Article on “Christian Cannabis”

Worship Obviously God knew better Our worship and sacrifice has always had parameters Gen. 4 – Cain & Abel Lev. 10:1-3 – Nadab & Abihu COI w/sacrifices Matt. 15:7-9 (Pharisees & scribes)

New Testament Worship John 4 – Jesus & Samaritan Woman Worship was not going to be about where…but how v. 23 – true worshipers (not false) God is looking for specific worshipers (He’s not so desperate that He takes what He gets)

New Testament Worship v. 24 – must = command Worship in spirit – with our inner being, who we are (our hearts) We can worship God physically w/o worshiping spiritually (not right, but it can be done)

New Testament Worship Matt. 15:8 – Israelites worshiped physically but not spiritually (hearts were not in it – not dedicated to God) I Kings 18:21 – “If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” Matt. 6:24 – Cannot serve 2 masters

New Testament Worship Worship in truth – what is true v. what is false The only way to know is to have a standard = God (object of worship – Matt. 4:10) Since God is being worshiped & He is creator & ruler, He commands truth

New Testament Worship John 17:17; 8:32; 14:6 The truth saves but lies condemn Romans 3:4 - God will always be found true Only way to know truth on worship is to read what God has said/spoken on the matter

New Testament Worship We do all in the name of the Lord – Col. 3:17 Matt. 15:9 – do we follow God or man? The New Testament reveals to us when we study the early church what they did on the first day of the week

Lord’s Supper Acts 20:7; I Cor. 11:18ff Luke 22:14-20 – Jesus said that it be done in His remembrance, the way He set forth Every first day of the week we come together to worship our God and remember the death of Christ

Singing We see the early church singing and we see it commanded as well Ephesians 5:19; Col. 3:16 God’s desire is for our voices to be lifted up to Him in praise, offering the fruit of our lips (Heb. 13:15) Notice what is absent…

Singing A cappella – without accompaniment Original meaning of A cappella was “in the style of the church” The worship of the church was always without instruments The instrument was added around the early 600’s

Praying The early Christians gathered to pray (Acts 2:42; 12:5, 12) We see commands to pray for one another (James 5:13-18) We are to pray everywhere and without ceasing, which would include in the assembly of worship as well (I Thess. 5:17; I Tim. 2:8)

Preaching Acts 20:7 – We also see preaching on that same day and gathering The early Christians continued steadfastly in doctrine (Acts 2:42) Paul told Timothy to “Preach the word!” (II Tim. 4:2)

Preaching Paul also gave the command to teach others, so that they in turn may teach and instruct others (II Tim. 2:2) The Great Commission including teaching and preaching (Mk. 16:15) So it’s obvious we see a pattern of this happening in worship

Giving Something else that was a part of the gatherings on the first day of the week was giving I Corinthians 16:1-2 It was done with the same frequency as the Lord’s Supper (same language as Acts 20:7)

1 Corinthians All of these elements can be seen in 1 Corinthians In 1 Corinthians 14:40 Paul commands concerning our worship that “all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” That’s because “God is not a God of confusion, but of peace” (v. 33)