Sermon by the Rev. Andrew S. Rollins

Sunday, September 7 (Proper 18A)

Text: John 4:23

Title: “Will We Worship God Today?”

Yes, We Will Have Church

This has been an exceedingly strange week for all of us. Not since Katrina and Rita have I had this feeling of such uncertainty. Many of us are still without electricity, still cleaning up from the damage. And even though we’ve had power at St. Alban’s most of the week, Sunday really snuck up on me. I got to Friday and couldn’t remember what day it was. I can’t decide what I’m supposed to try to accomplish this week. I need a hug (and I’m not usually like that)! It’s just a weird time.

Today we have no regular bulletin, no choir director, no choir. We still don’t have electricity so my socks are dirty. Despite all this, we are going to have church anyway.

Will I Worship God Today?

But since that we are all here today with our tired bodies and weary souls in church I will ask all of us just one simple question, “Will we worship God today?”

Will we worship God today?

I know that we’re all physically sitting here in what we call a ‘worship space.’ But simply sitting in a worship space does not in and of itself mean that we are going to worship God. [My old youth leader used to frequently intone, “Just because you sit a garage doesn’t make you a car. Just because you sit in a bakery doesn’t make you a donut. Just because you sit in a hanger doesn’t make you a plane. Just because you . . . . Well, you get the idea.] Jesus warned the Pharisees with a word from the prophet Isaiah: This people honors me with their lips but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me.

So it’s fair to ask the question: “Will we worship God today?”

Praising God

It’s not so hard to praise God. Anybody can praise God. In fact, the Bible says you don’t even have to be a human being to praise God. The whole creation praises God. The sun, moon, and stars praise God. The mountains, the wild animals, the creeping things, and the flying birds. The Bible says all those things praise God (Psalm 149).

Praise is when I thank God for something He has provided for me.

Ben Taylor, a member of the Bishop’s Staff, was up here all week. On Wednesday morning I arrived and he fixed me a breakfast of French toast made with French bread and cinnamon, cream cheese filling, raspberry sauce topping and hot coffee. I said “Praise God!”

When our electricity finally comes on at home I am going to shout, “Praise God!”

Praising God embraces what God has done for me. And we should praise God, who is the source of every blessing. All good things come from God’s hand.

Praising God is typically how we pray: “Lord, we thank you for this meal and the hands that have prepared it. Lord, we thank you for providing us with clean water this week, for a safe home, for a family to love . . . for Winn Dixie opening.”

Anybody can praise God when things go your way.

But my question is, “Will we worship God today?”

True Worship

Worship, true worship, is different. Worship goes much deeper.

Worship is when we thank God for who He is despite our present circumstances, despite our particular trials and tribulations. Worship is essentially honoring God for who He is. That doesn’t mean making God honorable or increasing his honor (as if we can give God something He doesn’t already have). Worship means recognizing the honor that belongs to God and feeling the worth, the majesty, the glory of God. Worship means ascribing to God the honor that is appropriate to God’s character (John Piper).

When we worship God, we stop listing what he has done for us and begin to focus on who He is: “Holy, holy, holy. Lord, Lord God Almighty. Even if I don’t get my tank of gas today, you are still the Alpha and the Omega. Even if I don’t have a clean shirt, Lord, you are Savior and King.”

Praise is limited by the smallness of one life lived. Praise is limited by the circumstances of my life. But worship is unlimited because it’s tied to the unlimited grandeur of God Almighty.

Will we worship God today?

Worship, true worship, is a matter of the spirit, the spirit and truth. To the woman at the well, Jesus said, But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him (John 4:23).

From this we learn that real worship is an experience of the spirit. The body is involved; we kneel, we stand, we raise our hands, we bow our heads. But real worship is essentially an experience of the Spirit. And it is an experience of Truth, the Truth of who God is. God is holy . . . even if there is a line at the Circle K.

Worship is not dependent upon the circumstances (good or bad) of the moment. Worship is dependent upon who God is, even apart from me. God is God, even if the electricity is off for another three weeks.

Will you worship Him today?

Will you worship Him?

Real worship may make you look foolish. When Entergy says your neighborhood will be out of electricity for another 21 days, can you say, “Well, glory to God!” People will think you’re strange if you really worship God. When the frantic, caffeine jacked AM radio announcer starts talking about Hurricane Ike, can you say, “Be still! The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” People will think you’re nuts if you worship God.

Will you worship God when you have an oak tree in your living room?

Praise is what you do after the electricity comes back on and the fans are turning again; worship is what you do while the power is still off and the room is dark.

God deserves our worship.

He deserves our worship because He’s our Creator and Deliverer. God deserves our worship because He’s the Anointed King.

Worship God this morning because He is El Shaddai. He is your Messiah, your Savior. God is your Prince of Peace. He’s your Good Shepherd. He’s the Word made Flesh. He’s your Salvation, your Hope, your Liberator.

He is the Son of God. He is the Supplier of All My Needs. He’s my Friend. He’s my Great High Priest. God is the Source of All My Blessings. He’s the Gate; He’s the Gatekeeper; He is the Lord God Almighty.

Will you worship Him today?

Will you worship Him?

The theme of this sermon is heavily indebted to T. D. Jake’s sermon “He Loved Me Enough to Be Late.”