Worship in Spirit and Truth

John 4:23 says that God desires us to worship Him in spirit and truth. How exactly does that work? Have you ever wondered how to worship in spirit? What does it mean to worship in truth? Richard Foster, the author of "Celebration of Discipline" says, "True worship happens when Gods spirit reaches down from heaven and touches our spirit." In order for this to work we must worship using all aspects of our being. We are all physical. We all have hands, fingers, and toes. We all have voices and lips in which we use to sing praise and worship songs to God. This is our physical aspect. We are also mental. Not literally speaking; but we all have feelings, thoughts, concerns, fears, and emotions. When we are worshipping God physically with our bodies and thinking about God with our minds at the same time this is when our spirit reaches up and touches God's spirit. When our minds and body are together at the same time on the same page. It's easy to sing a worship song and think about something other than God. This is not true worship. It's only when we sing about God and think about God at the same time that our worship becomes true and in spirit and truth. I know this is deep; but this is very important to our spiritual lives. True worship empowers us to change and inspires others to desire to be a part of the Body of Christ.

True worshippers learn to worship by practicing. Each week try to practice worshipping in Spirit and Truth. Come prepared for God to do something great. Come with feelings of expectancy. Prepare for worship by dressing up as if you were expecting to be in the presence of royalty. Worship every day. Don't just worship on Sunday. As we approach the New Year make a commitment to deepen your worship experience with God.

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Full of Grace and Truth

The Apostle John tells us in the 1st chapter of his gospel that God became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Grace and Truth grew legs and walked in our shoes for 33 years. Humanity and Holiness together in the form of a baby lying in a manger. Two gifts are made available to us all through the gift of Emmanuel. Grace and Truth. Grace is something we don't deserve. It's Gods protection and provision. Grace is a free gift. Truth is what everyone needs in our world today. Everyone lies. Doctors, bankers, politicians, and sadly even some preachers. Gods word will never lie. Christ was the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He was the truth that was from the beginning. Christ was God in the flesh. Truth with flesh on it.

Everyone has to make a decision in his or her life about what to do with Christ. We must either accept Him or deny Him. We must choose to accept his gifts of grace and truth or deny it. This Christmas I pray that you will continue to live in the grace and truth of God. If you have never received these gifts I hope you will put your faith in Christ today.

The Virgin Birth

Nothing is more important to the message of Christmas than the truth of the Virgin Birth. Without it there would be no Christmas. Without it our faith would be insignificant. Without it we would all still be outside of Gods salvation. The temple and sacrifices would be the only path to God. Imagine what our world would be like today if the virgin had not conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus was not immaculately conceived the movement of Christianity would have stopped when Christ breathed his last. But, because of the pure blood flowing through His veins He was victorious over sin and death. Therefore, we are able to share in his inheritance of eternal life.

Don't forget to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas this year. The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

This weeks sermon was based on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. There is a lot we can learn from this parable when we think about how to help our church grow. The Samaritan had a missions mindset. He was willing to go out of his way to meet another persons needs. Jesus said he showed mercy to the injured man. Mercy is something we don't deserve. The injured man could have been a con. He could have had his friends jump out of the bushes and rob the Samaritan. The priest and the levite all had good excuses for passing by. They feared for their life. They were in a bad part of town. They could have become ceremonially unclean; which means they would not have been qualified to work in the temple. I'm sure the Samaritan had people to see and things to do and places to go. But, he stopped and met the man's needs and put his own needs on the back burner.

At Shiloh we need to have a missions mindset. I believe we do. I believe in 2009 that we will have an even greater focus on missions. Missions is simply meeting the needs of others. It's ministry in action. It's what we actually do as a church to help Gods people. One of my favorite songs says, 'If we are the body why aren't our hands healing, why aren't our words healing, and why aren't our arms reaching.' We need to identify real needs of people in Franklin and go out of our way to meet them. All of this we need to do in the name of the Lord. If we do these things out of a true conscience and for Gods glory and not of ourselves or the church, then I believe our church will grow because our focus will be on expanding Gods kingdom first. The Bible says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and all things will be added unto you." This goes for churches as well as individuals.

Go with God!!

Bible Study on Revelation

This week we studied the church of Sardis. They were known as the ones who escaped the dark ages. The church of Sardis represents the church age from 1750 until the tribulation. During the 1700's the church was coming out of the dark ages. For the first time since the 3rd century lay people could read the Bible for themselves. The Sardis church was encourged to study scripture and base their church and doctrine on the teachings of the apostles rather than the pagan teachings being taught by heretics and false teachers. Out of this movement came famouse church leaders such as John Wycliffe and Martin Luther. Next week we will take a break from studying and watch a Christmas movie called, "The Nativity."

The Gift of the Magi

The tale of "The Gift of the Magi" is one of my favorite Christmas stories. To me, this story is one of the best examples of love and sacrifice during this time of year. Della and Jim both sacrificed their most prized possessions in order to show their love for each other. Della sold her hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch. In turn, Jim sold his watch in order to by Della a set of very expensive combs for her hair. Neither of them knew of the other's actions until supper time on Christmas Eve.

Of course, the greatest story of love comes from the gospel. In Matthew chapter 2 we read about the birth of Christ and the visit of the magi. The Magi were 3 kings, or wise men, who came to visit Jesus. They gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Their gifts to the Christ child has inspired us for over 2000 years to give sacrificially to those we love each year during this time. Most of all we celebrate the gift of God. God gave us sacrificially His only son. Romans 5:8 tells us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. He laid down His life for us so that we might have eternal life.

I hope today's message has encouraged you and reminded you of Gods great Love.

Bible Study on Revelation

This week we put together a puzzle of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. I am a visual learner and putting things into puzzles and charts helps me learn and remember what I've studied. The seven churches actually existed in the first century. But, they also represent the seven periods of church history from the Apostles until today in the 21st century. If we study the seven churches close enough we will have all the information we need to grow a healthy spiritual church. The letters to the seven churches is like a church growth manuel. If we copy the churches that were comendated by the Angel we will please the Lord. If we fall into the same habits and down falls of the churches that were rebuked we will fail to evangelize and reach the lost for Christ. I hope many more will join us in our study of the seven churches.