A VISION SERIES CONNECTING THROUGH WORSHIP SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

Transcription

1 A VISION SERIES CONNECTING THROUGH WORSHIP SEPTEMBER 13, 2015

2 BRENTWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH JOHN 4:21-24; COL. 3:12-17 SEPTEMBER 13, 2015 TEACHING PLAN PREPARATION > Spend the week reading through and studying John 4:21-24 and Colossians 3: Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools (such as a concordance or Bible dictionary) to enhance your preparation. > Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group. > Pray for our pastors, the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the study. HIGHLIGHTS BIBLICAL EMPHASIS: In John 4, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman at a well and describes to her what true worship looks like in the kingdom of God. Then in Colossians 3, the apostle Paul challenges readers to make worship an integral part of the Christian life, both privately and corporately. TEACHING AIM: As a result of today s study, you will be challenged to join in our mission to connect people to Jesus Christ through worship. 2 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

3 INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going. In the past 18 months we ve launched two new regional campuses and one new ministry campus. There are many new members who aren t fully aware of the vision God has given our church. We stand at the place we ve always wanted to be, poised for greater influence with the gospel in Middle Tennessee. It s critical to ensure that we are unified together as a church family. We exist to connect people to Jesus Christ, and we ll make that our priority until the Lord returns. 1 The first aspect of our church s vision that we will discuss is connecting through worship. Brainstorm a list of characteristics or descriptions of worship, and record responses on a whiteboard or tear sheet. 2 What are some of the key aspects of corporate worship at Brentwood? 3 On the other hand, what are some ways we worship when we are outside of the walls of our church? Worship is our response to God for who He is and what He has done. Worship is congregational, when we are gathered together; but worship is also missional, it happens when we are scattered throughout the community. As the cultural landscape continues to change and idols are everywhere, we must consistently make a declaration that our lives are committed to the one, true God. UNDERSTANDING Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > Have a volunteer read John 4: Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

4 In John 4 Jesus had a conversation with a woman who not only was a Samaritan but an immoral person as well. The Samaritans were despised by the Jews since they were considered half-breeds, descendants of Jews who intermarried with pagans, fellow captives of Assyria. This woman in particular had been married five times and was living with a man who was not her husband. As Jesus talked to this woman at Jacob s well in Sychar, He began to reveal to her His identity and His knowledge of her past. In verse 21, however, Jesus shifted the conversation to spiritual matters and the topic of worship. According to John 4:21-24, how should we worship God? How do these verses shed light on what it means to truly worship? The Jews and Samaritans disagreed on the location of God s holy temple where His Spirit dwelt. Jesus comments to this woman reveal that God intended both the tabernacle and the temple to be temporary arrangements in His redemptive plan. His manifested presence in a sanctuary was a privilege Israel enjoyed under the old covenant, but it would eventually be replaced with His personal presence in His people as a provision of the new covenant the indwelling Holy Spirit who would come after Christ s ascension. In fact, as Jesus explained to the woman, that time had arrived: an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The old covenant and its provisions were coming to an end and a new covenant was being inaugurated. Under the new covenant, there is no sacred place or sacred space. We can and should worship our Father anytime and anywhere, for the Father wants such people to worship Him. Look more closely at verse 24. What does it look like to worship God in spirit (see John 3:3-8; John 1:12-13)? 4 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

5 What does it look like to worship God in truth (see Ecclesiastes 5:1-3)? With verse 24, Jesus explained true worship. God is not a physical being. God is spirit, so the physical realm is not of primary concern for Him. Since God is spirit, those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The Father always looks at our hearts (1 Sam. 16:7). If our hearts are not in tune with Him and do not respond to Him according to the truth of His Word, then we are not really worshiping Him. True worship flows from hearts that are right with God and lives that are consistent with the truth of the Scriptures. How do you prepare your heart for worship? How should our public and private worship change in response to our understanding of who God is and what worship is? While John 4 shows us the importance of a heart of worship, Paul s instructions in Colossians 3 highlight why and how we must connect to Jesus and one another through worship. > Have a volunteer read Colossians 3: What words or phrases in this passage describe worship? In verse 16, Paul challenged his readers to let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you. What does this mean, and how did Paul say we do this? Paul s words to the Colossians in these verses reveal that worship should be central to who we are as a church body, and that worship 5 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

6 should focus on the Word of God and the person of Jesus. Our worship whether through teaching, prayer, or singing should be undergirded by the gospel and centered on Christ. How can you tell if your worship is Christ-centered or self-centered? Are there any ways in which these two kinds of services would be similar? How have you seen a connection in your worship between your time in the Word and your singing? Why do Christians sing? What purpose does singing serve? Singing has always been a part of the worship of believers. In Acts 16:25, Paul and Silas sang while they were in prison. Their singing lifted their souls, focused them on God in the midst of struggle, and gave a witness to those who heard them. As we grow in our understanding of who God is and what He has done for us through our study of the Word, we can t help but sing songs of praise and gratitude to Him. Read Ephesians 5: What do you think Paul meant when he wrote we should speak to one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? How do we do that as we meet together for worship as a church? How do we do it when we go out into our community? In addition to the Word, the Holy Spirit also drives us to worship. When we are filled with the Spirit, we desire to serve others and God. One of the ways we do so is by reminding one another that we worship the one true God. 6 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

7 Our cultural landscape continues to change and idols are everywhere. What are some of the things and/or people competing for your worship? How do the texts we have read today help you remain committed to God despite those daily temptations? APPLICATION Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives. 1 How does our discussion of worship challenge you today? 2 Describe a specific way you have been encouraged and strengthened by corporate worship at Brentwood. 3 What attitudes or other distractions need to be eliminated so you can focus on God in your corporate or personal worship? 4 Why is connecting through worship an important part of our mission as a church? 5 How can we make our group gatherings a more intentional time of worship? 7 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

8 P R A Y Lead your group in prayer, thanking God for His work on the cross and for the joy that is found in responding to His work in worship. Ask Him for forgiveness if you have placed your focus on anything other than Him. And ask Him to make us a church that takes seriously our mission to connect people to Jesus through worship. FOLLOW UP Midway through this week, send a follow-up to your group with some or all of the following information: > Questions to consider as they continue to reflect on what they learned this week: What is one way you have worshiped God outside of our church this week? What moved you to worship? What has competed for your worship today? How have you responded to that idol or temptation? > A note of encouragement, following up on any specific prayer requests mentioned during your group gathering. > The challenge to memorize John 4:24 and our mission statement: Our mission is to connect people to Jesus Christ through worship, discipleship, and service. 8 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

9 COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 13, 2015 JOHN 4:21-24 In this passage we find one of the strongest worship statements in the New Testament. Ten of John s thirteen uses of the Greek word for worship appear in these few verses. We learn immediately that place is irrelevant and that worship is not primarily in body through physical motions and activities but in spirit. The text does not refer to the Holy Spirit but an attitude of heart which acknowledges God and his sovereignty over our lives. Furthermore, worship must be done in truth honestly, biblically, centered on Christ. This paragraph shows the difference between religion and the gospel: religion describes humankind s search for God; the gospel describes the way God reached down to humanity. But the repeated phrase a time is coming grabs our attention, especially in view of the addition in verse 23 and has now come. Rather than the hour of crucifixion, as John also uses the phrase, the emphasis here seems to rest upon the first advent. The Messiah has appeared; the gospel has already been proclaimed; life and light are available. True believers must stop this mindless, endless, meaningless bickering about sites and sounds of worship. God is not interested in Jews or Samaritans, Presbyterians or Methodists, Calvinists or Arminians. He is interested in worshipers who must worship in spirit and in truth. Nevertheless, honesty and candor required that Jesus correct the woman s theological error: the Samaritans were wrong since salvation is from the Jews. But that was an Old Testament argument and a new time has come, bringing with it a new attitude and aura of worship. Temples and tabernacles, mountains and cities were fading symbols of the past, shadows of the spiritual reality who now stood before her. COLOSSIANS 3: : The phrase in Christ refers to God s new people. The phrase there is not has the force of there cannot be. It expresses the impossibility of humanly devised barriers among God s new people. Christ is all and in all. He is the sphere in which all believers live, and He is all that ultimately matters. 9 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

10 COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 13, 2015 Also, He lives in each Christian, who represents Him to all other believers. Thus faith and love remove earthly categories in God s new people. The result is His people s oneness. New people in Christ were to put on certain virtues as they would don new clothes. Paul addressed them with three descriptive terms. They were God s chosen ones. Through faith in Christ, they had taken their place among God s people. Believers were holy set aside for God s service and for moral purity. They also were loved; they lived in God s love. Paul listed five attributes of believers as new people in Christ. The phrase heartfelt compassion conveys the idea of feeling so deeply with others who are hurting that a person shares their pain. The Greek word translated kindness has the idea of goodness, of considering others good to be as important as a person s own. Humility is a healthy view of oneself in which a person thinks neither too highly nor too negatively of self. It also involves willingness to forgo rights and privileges to help others. Gentleness has the sense of strength that is controlled and channeled constructively. Patience literally is longsuffering. 3: Paul added two character qualities to his list. The Greek term rendered accepting means putting up with. Believers were to endure offenses patiently. Forgiving has the sense of pardoning others as a gift of grace. If a believer had a complaint (grievance) against another Christian, the offended person was to take the initiative to forgive the offender as (in the same manner) the Lord graciously had forgiven the one offended. Christians were to take the initiative to forgive others because of their personal experience of Christ s forgiveness. Above all literally is over all. As an outer garment covering the items Paul had listed, believers were to put on love agape, determined good will that seeks others best interests. Such persistent good will is the perfect bond of unity. Christ had called believers to His peace spiritual wholeness under His lordship. The phrase in one body implies believers oneness under Christ s rule as the Head of His body, the church. They were to allow Christ s gift of spiritual health to exercise control (literally, act as an umpire ) at the center of their lives (in their hearts). Gratitude was to be a continuing characteristic of their life together. The exhortation to be thankful applied especially to corporate worship. 10 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church

11 COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 13, :16. Christ s word the genuine message as opposed to the false teachers empty substitute was to continue to have priority in the church. The word richly has the idea of flourishing or being abundant. Paul pointed to three ongoing activities that should issue from Christ s indwelling word or message. Teaching referred to instruction in Christian living. Admonishing involved warning against false teachings and encouraging one another. Mutual instruction and encouragement were to be offered in all wisdom carefully, tactfully, and with the right motive. Singing joyfully expresses worship and praise. Psalms were Old Testament songs of faith that originally were sung to musical accompaniment. Hymns were songs of praise and probably were Christian compositions. Spiritual songs may have been spontaneous melodies or compositions similar to today s gospel songs. Believers joyful singing was to express to God the constant gratitude that flowed from their hearts. 3:17. Paul urged believers to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Name is a synonym for person. Thus the phrase is the same as in Christ in close relationship with Him. The words in the name of can mean in the authority or power of. Jesus supplies power for Christian living. The title the Lord Jesus stressed that they were to represent their Savior and Master well in their daily lives. Paul again emphasized believers expressing gratitude to God the Father. God was believers Father in the sense that they were members of His family through faith in Christ. Their joyful gratitude was channeled through Christ, who made possible their relationship with the Father. We live in accordance with new life in Christ when our behavior reflects our relationship with God. He provides us with daily power to live for Him. 11 Connecting Through Worship Brentwood Baptist Church