SERMON DISCUSSION GUIDE

Worshiping According to God's Word
 
Leviticus 10:1-3; John 4:1-26

(Rev. Erik Veerman)

Does God approve of all the worship that Christians offer him? Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu didn't pay careful attention to God's word regarding worship, and they were killed by God as a result. Why did it matter how they worshiped God? God uses worship to reveal His nature, His gospel, and our relationship with Him, but false worship muddies the message. Nadab and Abihu's worship showed that they did not fear God or pay attention to His word. They made God look less holy and their own sin look less serious. They corrupted the gospel by corrupting the message of justice and reconciliation revealed in God's instructions for worship. So God judged them. The heart of the second commandment is that God defines how He is to be worshiped. We may not struggle with making and worshiping statues or idols today, but we do struggle with imagining that God is like the creatures of the world that we see. The people of Israel tried to worship Yahweh in the form of a gold calf! We also imagine that God is like men or that He operates according to our earthly expectations. We think and act like God wants what we want as if He was made in our own image! We must look to God's word alone to know what God is like and how He is to be worshiped by those who are made in His image. We must worship God in spirit and truth. Christ has fulfilled the message communicated by the Old Testament temple worship. As Jesus communicated to the Samaritan woman at the well - the temple would no longer be relevant, nor would Israel be the only people who truly knew God; God would be worshiped everywhere and by all people because of the coming of the Messiah and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. God (who is spiritual in nature) did not intend for worship to be eternally confined to a physical space or people; worship is in spirit and in truth. Worship must be according to God's revealed truth about Christ in His word and from the transformed inner person by the Spirit, not from the rituals and ceremonies which were merely means to those gospel ends. So what has God commanded for worship today? God has commanded the ordinary means of grace: Word, Prayer, and the Sacraments. This includes reading, preaching, singing, and confessing God's word, it includes many kinds of prayer, and it includes Baptism and the Lord's Supper. May we be zealous for God's worship from hearts that seek above all things to do His will alone when we corporately gather to commune with our triune God through the gospel. Application Questions: In Leviticus 10:1-4, why were Nadab and Abihu judged for their worship? In light of God's holy nature, our sinfulness, and the gospel message of worship why is it important that worship be accurate according to God's word? What is really at the heart of the 2nd commandment (Exod. 20:4-6)? Is it really about making statutes or worshiping a different god? What does the reason given (vv. 5-6) for the second commandment say about its importance? In John 4, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman about something great that was coming through the Messiah and the Holy Spirit. Worship would no longer be located exclusively at the temple or among the Israelites who had God's word. It would reach to the very hearts of all peoples. What did the coming of Christ do to brings about these things? What does it mean to worship a spiritual God in spirit and truth?  What has God commanded for our worship today? Are there any practices in the broader church that you find difficult to support from Scripture?  Scriptures for Further Study: Psalm 96:1-3; Exodus 20:4-6; 1 Peter 2:4-6