WHAT CAN I EXPECT WHEN I VISIT SOUTHGATE?

When the woman at the well asked Jesus where the proper place to worship God was located, Jesus responded by saying, "You will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem...a time is coming and now has come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and his worshippers must worship him in Spirit and truth". (John 4:21, 23-24).

By saying these things, Jesus is sharing with us several very important concepts about worship: first, he tells us that worshipping God is not place centered--the thing that makes worship important is not the place where it happens; second, he tells us that worship is directed to God who shows himself as our Father--we worship from the perspective of a family; third, true worship comes from those who have the Holy Spirit, because God is Spirit, and true worship is worship in Spirit; fourth, true worship involves truth--it must be done how God wants it done and done by people whose lives are in tune with the worship they offer; fifth, God our father, actively seeks those who will worship him in these ways.

Why is it so important to understand all this? Jesus' five principles about true worship tell you a great deal about what we do when we assemble together as Christians

First, we know that while part of our worship to God occurs when we come together on Sundays, Wednesdays, or other special occasions, a large part of our worship occurs at home, on the job, or while we are with friends. Our church building is just a convenient tool that lets us meet together, but it is not a special "holy place." What we do in our daily lives is every bit as important in worshipping God as is our singing and praying (See Romans 12:1-2 or 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This does not mean our meeting together at church assemblies is unimportant (see Hebrews 10:25). We just recognize that all of life is part of our worship to him.

Second, we come together as a family to honor our Father in Heaven. We join our hearts and voices together as one body in praise and worship. As a family, we have hurts and pains and illnesses that bother us. We speak plainly about them to each other and to our Father. We believe sharing and praying to our Father about these spiritual and physical needs is a very vital part of our worship that pleases God. We have seen God mightily answer our prayers to meet both spiritual and physical needs. We also share a family "meal" when we come together on Sundays. Each Sunday we gather as one body, as a family, remembering the death of Christ in the Lord's Supper, proclaiming to all that He is coming again to take us to our home (1 Corinthians 11:27-34).

Third, because worship involves the work of the Holy Spirit (Philippians 3:3), we understand that it is a privilege to worship God. As Christians who have received the Holy Spirit, we are reminded of the grace of God that saved us and of His precious presence in us that He gave us when we were saved (Acts 2:38). We know that our prayers are made even more precious to our Father because of the work of the Holy Spirit interceding for us according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27; Jude 20). Our singing is joyful and full of praise because the Spirit fills us as we speak of our hope and teach one another in our singing (Ephesians 5:18-20). We recognize in the blending of the many voices and the sharing of our different backgrounds the work of the Holy Spirit drawing us into closer fellowship (2 Corinthians 13:13; Philippians 2:1; Ephesians 4:3-6).

Fourth, God is Ruler and King of our lives and is worthy of our devotion and praise. When we meet together, we worship God to please and honor him. Worship must be offered in ways that truly please Him--in ways he has told us please Him! He has given us His grace and has generously blessed us by making us His people, so we joyfully try to please Him by being obedient to His will in our worship of Him. But right forms and right words do not make God happy when they come from hypocritical hearts and lives that belie the words spoken in church assemblies. So, just as we try to worship God as He is revealed to us in His Word, the Bible, so we also try to live lives that are consistent with the words we proclaim. This doesn't mean we are always right or perfect. We still live in a real world and are imperfect people, but we are trying to blend our worship words and our daily lives to be consistent with the will of our Holy God. This is why much of what we do when we come together involves encouraging and building up one another so that we can better live to please the One who loves us enough to die for us (Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Corinthians 14:26).

Fifth, God yearns for and seeks out men and women who long to live for Him and worship him. God is a Father longing to draw his children back into that special relationship which brings joy to both Father and child. As the apostle Paul said, God wants us to "seek him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:27-28). As His children, we invite you to join us in honoring God as your Father.

To sum it all up, we meet together to share in our common life in the Spirit by praising, honoring, and seeking God. Since this is directly tied to the way we live the rest of the week, we also seek to meet each other's needs, encouraging one another to a more dynamic life lived for God. He has done so much for us and is fully worthy of our worship!

Please let us know if we can be of help in any way. We want you to have a place you can come and worship the Father, remember the Son and His sacrifice for us, and be strengthened by His Spirit as you sing, pray, and share in encouragement. Our hope is that you will join us as we worship God and encourage each other.