I think it’s safe to say that when most of us, as believers, hear the word “worship,” our minds go to a worship service. Prime time for most American churches is the Sunday morning worship service and much of the ministry work that is done during the week in a typical church is preparing for that worship service. I often say in my training, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that there is a Sunday in every single week. Every seven days, fifty-two times a year, there is a Sunday service (or two or three …) that requires a great deal of all who will be involved from the preacher to the nursery workers.

Worship services are biblical and important, but I want to look at worship through a different lens with this post. Rather than considering a worship service, let’s consider a worship life, a life of service that is, indeed, worship.

In John 4 we find the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Much is said by Jesus in this exchange that has great teaching value, but let’s zero in on one thing. Jesus informs this woman that true worship is worship in spirit and in truth. Jesus has much more in mind here than how one participates in a worship service. He’s addressing how one lives a worshipful life.

What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? Again, much could be said, but let’s look at two particular verses – Romans 12:1-2. In Romans 12:1, Paul explains that presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is true spiritual worship. So to worship in spirit is to live a sacrificial life, putting God first and all else second. In Romans 12:2, Paul further explains that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. What is it that renews our minds? Our minds are renewed by the Word of God, which is the truth. To worship in truth is to be driven by the truth that is found in God’s Word.

The worshipful life, then, is a life of sacrificial commitment to Jesus Christ guided by a mind that is renewed by the Word of God. To live such a life is to pay the cost of faith, and as we pay that cost, we worship.

Paying the cost of faith is WORTH IT, and if we truly pay the cost of faith, it’s WORSHIP. (Romans 12:1-2)  kenpriddy@kenpriddygroup