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Worship in Spirit and in Truth
encounter with the Samaritan woman in John’s Gospel. Jesus said to her, "The time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24, NIV). In today’s WORSHIP QUOTE, theologian Marva Dawn explores this spirit/truth quality of God-honoring worship. WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH Can our churches ask better questions so that the music we use in worship enables us to be both filled and free with the Spirit and also grounded in biblical and doctrinal truth? Without the emotion and willingness of Spirit, our music becomes dry and dusty—without life. Without doctrinal bones as a skeleton, the Body is not enfleshed in a healthy way. It is essential that our worship music—as well as all the formative elements of our congregation’s life—continuously holds in tension the opposite necessities of both Spirit and truth. These two form a dialectical pair, for they are both important but seem to be pulling in different directions. How can we keep them both prominent and balanced? —Marva J. Dawn, HOW SHALL WE WORSHIP?: BIBLICAL GUIDELINES FOR THE WORSHIP WARS, [Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003], p. 8. ISBN 0-8423-5636-3. [This little book is highly recommended.] For other WORSHIP QUOTES dealing with "spirit and truth worship" or Pentecost, take a look at these: www.wqotw.org/WQOTW/2000_WQs/WQ06062000.txt (Harold Best) www.wqotw.org/WQOTW/1999_WQs/WQ051899.txt (Timothy Dudley-Smith) www.wqotw.org/WQOTW/1998_WQs/WQ052698.txt (T.S. Eliot) www.wqotw.org/WQOTW/1999_WQs/WQ052599.txt (Gordon Fee) www.wqotw.org/WQOTW/1997_WQs/WQ123097.txt (Brother Lawrence) www.wqotw.org/WQOTW/1997_WQs/WQ051397.txt (John Stott) www.wqotw.org/WQOTW/1998_WQs/WQ042898.txt (John Stott) Have a great week. Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu/icw |