Worshiping in Spiri

The Bible tells us, "Every year his (*Jesus') parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover."

I've taken that trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem. It's just about straight up hill, and walking it would take a day I would imagine. With the 5 o'clock traffic of walkers, it might take two days.

And every year they went.

They would get a group together and trudge up that hill, through those gates and they would go to worship at the temple.

Oh, for that dedication today.

I wonder how many are preparing for worship TODAY. That's what scripture says we should do. We should prepare for worship. We should not go on the spur of the moment. We should not race out of our houses for the services on Sunday morning. Certainly we should not "sleep in" because we had a rough Saturday night.

To these folks, Jesus' parents included, worship wasn't something you did on a whim. It was some serious business.

Paul puts an emphasis on worship in his letters to the church in Corinth. He says this: "Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head..."

What I want you to notice is not the fact he was hung up on what you wear but the fact he thought that there should be respect and preparation for worship. He thought that enough to write a memorable letter dictating what worship should be. A prayer. A Word. Hymns. A tongue (speaking in).

Worship is giving more than you get. Worship is serious, even when it's funny. Worship is simply pouring instead of receiving in the cup.

This week I've been inspired, as I am nearly every Conference. I've been deep into the sermon. I've been deep into the Word. I've been deep into redesigning worship to make it more accessible.

But ultimately it is about the Spirit coming to us and chaning who we are. Can it happen every Sunday? I don't know why not.

Let go and let God move us. That's the remedy for a week of worry and woe. Only Jesus.