True Worship - part 2

Two weeks ago we looked at Isaiah 1:1, 10-20. The theme of my Word of Hope was “True Worship”. I said that there are two parts to this reading:

1.     Real or Ritual Worship – when we gather together.

2.    Living True Worship – beyond the Church doors.

We looked at part 1 on Sunday. This Sunday we will look at part 2.

In Ephesians 3:14-21 we read (in the International Children’s Bible version): 

¹⁴ So I bow in prayer before the Father. ¹⁵ Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him. ¹⁶ I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong in spirit. He will give you that strength through his Spirit. ¹⁷ I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. ¹⁸ And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love. I pray that you can understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. ¹⁹ Christ’s love is greater than any person can ever know. But I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God. ²⁰ With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. ²¹ To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.

I have given you this passage today because, during our Friday morning Prayer meeting on 15^th August, this passage was laid on someone’s heart. They read it, and we were all touched by it. It is a joy to share it with you.

How can we practice and live out True Worship? With power: God’s dunamis. From that Greek word came the word “dynamite”. With dunamis we bow down in humility before our Heavenly Father. We receive our true name: as God’s son or daughter. We ask our glorious God to strengthen us in spirit with the dunamis – power – of God’s Spirit. We ask God for honest faith. We embrace God’s immeasurable love: being strong in love and built on love. We seek to understand, receive and offer God’s love - in all of its height and depth and width and length – becoming like Jesus, who is Love Incarnate.  We ask God for a new vision, not of our own making, but of God’s exceedingly abundant vision: “that God is able [dynameno) to do much, much more (hyperekperissou) than anything we can ask or think of”. I like the Greek: our imagination is limited, but God’ imagination is “hyper”. The Greek can also be translated as “exceedingly abundantly” or “far more abundantly” or “infinitely more”. We can’t fathom what God is able to do – nor what God is able do through us!

My challenge to us all is to read and prayerfully ponder on this passage. When? When we gather for Worship, and when we live out True Worship: seeking to shine God’s light into the world.

With hope and joy,

Rev. Frank (Van Der Korput), Supply Minister