Deuteronomy Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.

24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose.

26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.

Spirit and Truth Deuteronomy What is worship? What is proper and improper? When and where do we worship? What is the purpose of worship?

Deuteronomy 12 the place 11 Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.

the place 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. 14 Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.

The Lord has not told people the place that is to be holy to the people of Israel But makes it clear it is the place where all worship will be centered “The place” is important

Deuteronomy 14 in the presence of the Lord your God at the place 22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.

that place the place the place 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose.

Deuteronomy 15 in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose 19 Set apart for the Lord your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks. Do not put the firstborn of your oxen to work, and do not shear the firstborn of your sheep. 20 Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose.

We discover what worship is for the people of Israel A place set aside as holy for worship A place where the Lord dwells A place to learning to revere God

Deuteronomy 16 at the place 16 Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed…

at the place Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name.

in the place 5 You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you 6 except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name.

Worship at the place… The lord gives minimum standards At least three times yearly With gifts

Deuteronomy 17 take them to the place 8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose. 9 Go to the priests, who are Levites, and to the judge who is in office at that time.

It is not just a place for worship It is a place for final decisions It is the supreme court

Worship God… In the place Because there God dwells There we learn to honor God At least three times yearly With gifts

This is the Old Testament model What about us, the New Testament people? Let us look at the New Testament Explanations are offered Because we are not expected to know Jewish culture and customs

John 4 7 When 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.) 9 The 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.)

Lots of topics Then the Samaritan woman address this topic of worship The topic of place

19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

in spirit and truth in spirit and in truth 23 Yet 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. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus says It is no longer about a place It is about an attitude Spirit Truth

Matthew “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

In the New Testament… we don’t just talk about the power of the priesthood But the power of every believer

two or three in my name am I 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

In the New Testament worship is… Not a place It is a attitude; a belief system Where two or more come together Purposefully to honor Christ

Putting it all together We are not Jews As we study the Old Testament, we gleam its teachings, however, we are not bound to them or by them We are New Testament people We are the children of the new covenant

Putting it all together If we are to gleam something from the Old Testament it might be this Loving God is a pilgrimage; a journey A specific place gives continuity, commitment and challenge

Putting it all together For us worship is not… Not a specific place Not pilgrimage Not a specific time Not a specific task Worship in the new covenant is... Two or more gathered In the name of Jesus A purposeful gathering With the attitude of honoring Christ

Putting it all together True worship, in essence, cannot be judged If worship equals place, we can say: “they did not come” If worship is spirit and truth – Only God can judge because only He knows the truth

This place is important and beautiful to us But it has no intrinsic value The real value to worshipping here, as a church, comes when we worship in spirit and truth Only you and God know