RCCG SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL LESSON 2: TRUE CHRISTIAN WORSHIP – 10TH SEPTEMBER 2017

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RCCG SUNDAY SCHOOL MANUAL

LESSON TWO

SUNDAY, 10TH SEPTEMBER 2017

TOPIC: TRUE CHRISTIAN WORSHIP

MEMORY VERSE: ‘’God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” – John 4:24

BIBLE PASSAGE: John 4:19-24

 

INTRODUCTION:

Worship is a state (an attitude) of the spirit. Since it is an internal, individual action, it could/should be done most of the time (or all the time) in our lives, regardless of place or situation (John 4:21). Therefore, Christians worship all the time, seven days a week. When Christians formally gather together in worship, still the emphasis should be on individually worshiping the Lord. The nature of Christian worship is from the inside out and has two equally important parts. We must worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

 

LESSON OUTLINES

  1. Worshiping in the spirit
  2. Worshiping in truth

 

WORSHIPING IN THE SPIRIT

Worshiping in the spirit has nothing to do with our physical posture. It has to do with our innermost being and requires several things:

  1. We must be born again (John 3:3). Without the Holy Spirit residing within us, we cannot respond to God in worship because we do not know Him (1Corinthians 2:11b). The Holy Spirit within us is the one who energizes worship because He is in essence glorifying Himself, and all true worship glorifies God.

 

  1. Worshiping in spirit requires a mind centered on God and renewed by Truth (Romans 12:1-2). Distractions of many kinds can flood our minds as we try to praise and glorify God, hindering our true worship.

 

  1. We can only worship in spirit by having a pure heart, open and repentant. When King David’s heart was filled with guilt over his sin with Bathsheba (2Samuel 11), he found it impossible to worship. He felt that God was far from him, and he “groaned all day long” feeling God’s hand heavy upon him (Psalm 32:3-4). But when he confessed, fellowship with God was restored and worship and praise poured forth from him (Psalm 51:17). Praise and worship toward God cannot come from hearts filled with unconfessed sin.

 

WORSHIPING IN TRUTH

The second part of true worship is worshiping “in truth”. All worship is a response to truth, and that which is truth is contained in the word of God. Jesus said to His Father, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17b). Psalm 119 says, “Thy law is truth” (v. 142b) and “Thy word is true” (v. 160a). To truly worship God, we must understand who He is and what He has done, and the only place He has fully revealed Himself is in the Bible. Worship is an expression of praise from the depths of our hearts toward a God who is understood through His word. If we do not have the truth of the Bible, we do not know God and we cannot be truly worshiping.

 

CONCLUSION:

Worship is an attitude of the heart. A person can go through the outward motions and not be worshiping (Psalm 51:16-17; Matthew 6:5-6). God sees the heart, and He desires and deserves sincere, heartfelt praise and worship.

 

QUESTIONS

  1. What are the basic requirements for true worship in spirit?
  2. What does it mean to worship God in truth?

Comments

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Discussion1 Comment

  1. God accepts the worship of true believers, those who worship him in spirit and in truth….How do we know if someone is worshipping God in spirit and in truth?

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