SOME THINGS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER - 7
Worship That Really Matters. The Bible Is All We Need. The Importance Of The Resurrection.
WORSHIP THAT REALLY MATTERS
“23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24, KJV).
Loved ones, for faithful, devoted children of God, worship is certainly the highlight of each week. It is a blessed privilege and an honor to bow before the Great I Am. Jesus placed worship as a high priority (Luke 4:16). Sadly, far too often worship has been decreased to merely a "ritual" or an empty routine (Matthew 15:7-9).
God is the Audience in worship, and as such, He not only deserves, but He demands our full attention and devotion. How tragic when individuals fail to really worship the God of Heaven. Many professing Christians merely go through a series of rehearsed actions only to walk away without ever biblically worshipping.
Jesus spoke regarding worship that really matters as He sat by Jacob's well and conversed with a Samaritan woman. He said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
Firstly, worship is aimed at the proper person, "God is a Spirit...." What is often passed off as worship in the 21st century is simply entertaining the attendees. Man has become "center stage," and he must be dazzled and astonished. We rate the preacher's performance, the song leader's abilities, and the "feel" of the building that surrounds us. We give the worship a grade, much like we would grade a movie at the big screen. All the while, we miss the scriptural fact that it is God who is center stage; it is He who we must aim to please and not ourselves!
Secondly, worship involves participants; "...and they that worship him...." Worship is hard work! We have become accustomed to padded pews and temperature controlled buildings to the point that many view worship as a relaxing time—a time to get comfortable and unwind. However, worship that really matters tests our minds, our concentration levels and even our physical stamina. Singing, studying, praying, giving and remembering our Lord requires effort and energy. We must be rested, both mentally and physically, in order to really participate as God demands. The very word "worship" denotes prostrating one's self, as a peasant falls before a king. That is quite a different picture than someone relaxing in a padded pew!
Thirdly, worship includes a prescribed pattern. In our text Jesus gave two characteristics of true worship: 1. In spirit; 2. In truth.
"Spirit" involves the emotions and will of the worshipper. Worship that does not prick the emotions is not worship in spirit! How can a true worshipper not be affected when he or she considers what great love and sacrifice was given on behalf of each of us?
"Truth" involves that which God demands as far as the acts of worship. Worship is serious. God is outraged when people attempt to worship and fail to do it properly (Leviticus 10:1-3). Both truth and spirit must be present in order for worship to be biblically correct.
According to the teaching of the New Testament, true worship on Sunday, the first day of the week, consists of partaking of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26-29; Acts 20:7; Acts 2:42), preaching the word (Acts 20:7; 2 Timothy 4:2), praying (Acts 2:42; 1 Thessalonians 5:17); giving (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; Acts 20:35), and singing (1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:19; Hebrews 13:15). Please notice that no piano, organ or any other kind of mechanical instrument was used in the worship of the first century church.
The New Testament also speaks of vain worship (Matthew 15:9), ignorant worship (Acts 17:22-23), and will worship (Colossians 2:20-23). We do not want our worship to fit into any of these categories. We must practice true worship. This is the only kind of worship that is pleasing to God.
Never are we closer to our Creator than when we fall before Him and worship! However, the opposite is true as well. May worship that really matters ever be our priority, and may we daily, "enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise..." (Psalm 100:4).
--------------------------------------
THE BIBLE IS ALL WE NEED
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11, KJV).
Loved ones, the Bible claims to be the inspired word of God: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible as it is meets all of man's spiritual needs. When the Bible speaks about the beginning, it is right (Genesis 1-3). When the Bible speaks about geography, it is right. Rivers, mountains, and cities were right where the Bible says. When the Bible speaks about history, it is right. Rulers, world powers, and nations were just as the Bible described. When the Bible speaks about science, it is right. God does sit on, “The circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22). The earth is round and not flat as believed for generations. When the Bible speaks of medicine, it is right. It says to isolate those with contagious diseases. Speaking of the leper the Bible says, “He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp” (Leviticus 13:46). The lost person is somebody's father or mother, son or daughter, brother or sister. Take time to share the gospel with them. Friends, learn about God and His plan for your life by reading your Bible daily (2 Timothy 2:15).
---------------------------------------------
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
“42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, KJV).
Loved ones, a young man, 16-years-old, is walking through the gym at his high school. Suddenly he crashes to the floor, hitting his head. Others realize that something is very wrong with him. A teacher rushes to the youth and lifts his head, but the young man is dead. He has suffered a heart attack.
The doctor walks out of the examination room and asks the children of their mother to be seated. He says, "I am sorry, she has cancer and there is nothing we can do. Your mother has only weeks to live."
The anchorwoman on the evening news reports, "There was a fatal crash this afternoon involving five vehicles. Four of the victims are in intensive care. A 57-year-old and an 83-year-old died in the fiery crash. The names are being withheld pending notification of family."
What is the purpose of these illustrations? Each tragic event testifies that all mankind will die! Many young people live life daily with little thought of dying. The sober-minded person will realize that death comes to the young as well as the aged.
Sooner or later we all will be touched by death’s reality. Thus, we all should ask, "What does the Bible say about death?" and "What happens when you die?" People of all ages desire to know the answers to these important questions. GOD'S WORD HAS THE ANSWERS.
Our study will focus on 1 Corinthians 15, referred to as the great "resurrection chapter" of the Bible. The people of Paul's day, like we today, asked the same questions.
The Bible gives us many assurances that there will be not only a resurrection, but also a BODILY resurrection (1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). It is rather startling to discover how many today have not comprehended the Bible teaching on this subject.
God's Word declares that Jesus “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” in the resurrection (Philippians 3:20-21). “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50, 54), but in the heavenly abode we will definitely have bodies – spiritual bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-49).
When Jesus walked this earth, He spoke these words: "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). Every Christian should read 1 Corinthians 15 often. The resurrection should thrill our thoughts with the grandeur that is to come and cause us to prepare accordingly.
The Bible doctrine of resurrection is not exclusive to the New Testament. It was first made evident in the Old Testament Scriptures:
1 Kings 17:17-24 – The soul returned into the widow’s dead child, and he revived.
2 Kings 4:8-37 - The dead son of the Shunammite woman revived.
Genesis 5:21-24 – Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
2 Samuel 12:23 – David said, “But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
Daniel 12:2 – Daniel stated that, “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
In the New Testament a clearer picture is revealed of the bodily resurrection of man. The resurrection is a witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, then He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not worthy of our faith and worship.
Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting of death and gain the victory over the grave (1 Corinthians 15:54–57). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.
John 11:25 – Jesus spoke to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, and said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” In that statement Jesus claimed to be the source of both life and the resurrection. There is no resurrection apart from Christ, no eternal life.
Jesus does more than give life; He is life, and that’s why death has no power over Him. Jesus confers His life on those who trust in Him, so that we can share His triumph over death (1 John 5:11–12). We who believe and obey Jesus Christ will personally experience resurrection because, having the life Jesus gives, we have overcome death. It is impossible for death to win.
If one embraces the Bible as being the inerrant, Holy Spirit-inspired Word of God, then the resurrection cannot be denied. Did Jesus rise BODILY from the tomb? “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14).
Listen to these facts of the Gospel of Christ… “3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Man must believe in this Good News or forfeit salvation/eternal life (vs. 1-2).
The BODILY resurrection of Jesus is one of the most substantiated truths in history. To deny the bodily resurrection is to deny the evidence. The empty tomb, where Christ was laid, bears testimony of Christ's BODILY resurrection.
The tomb of Christ remains empty and unexplained unless He did, in fact, arise from the dead and bodily ascend back to Heaven, as the Bible states He did (Acts 1:9). Just as certainly as Christ was taken up into heaven, He will come again “in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is important because it validates who Jesus claimed to be, namely, the Son of God and Messiah (Romans 1:4). According to Jesus, His resurrection was the “sign from heaven” that authenticated His ministry (Matthew 16:1–4). The resurrection of Jesus Christ, attested to by hundreds of eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:5–8), provides irrefutable proof that He is the Savior of the world.
Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important? It demonstrates that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. It shows that God has the power to raise us from the dead. It guarantees that the bodies of those who believe in Christ will not remain dead but will be resurrected unto eternal life.
When you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, transforming power occurs in your life. Unless you believe that Jesus was who He claimed to be (God's Son) you cannot be saved (Hebrews 11:6; John 8:24). “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). Your belief in the resurrection will determine where you spend eternity. “Abraham… looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
Shared with you by Samuel A. Matthews, preaching with the Liberty NW church of Christ, meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. The God of Heaven and Earth is so good, and His love reaches all. We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35) – 28 August 2026