Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO In spirit and in truth Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA March 14, 2004 Main Scripture text: John 4:21-26. In this text, Jesus explains that God is looking for people who will worship Him "in spirit and in truth." To worship "in truth" involves at least three things: The direction of our worship. Our worship is directed toward the one true God, who has been revealed to us Jesus Christ, God in human flesh. Indeed, Jesus described Himself as "the way, the truth, and the life" -- and declared that He is the only avenue to the Father. Honesty. We must be honest with God -- and with ourselves -- about our sins. We must be honest with our brothers and sisters our needs. Living out our worship. Our lives -- everything we do -- should be worship to God. We must walk our talk. It is an affront to the Lord go through the forms of worshiping Him, while living like the devil. To worship "in spirit" means that our worship comes from the heart. It is not simply an outward, physical thing. The goal of worship is to experience God. Our corporate worship is "in spirit" when we open ourselves to that experience. We worship "in spirit" when we make room for the Spirit of God to speak to us in such a way that His agenda is revealed. God's agenda can be revealed in several ways, of course. He can reveal His agenda ahead of time to the pastor and to church leaders. But He may also reveal His agenda in the midst of corporate worship through the exercise of spiritual gifts in the body of believers. Because we want to experience God, we must earnestly desire the spiritual gifts and allow room for them to be used in our worship services. We must allow God to alter our plans. Responding to the prompting of the Spirit is key to worshiping "in spirit." I want you to be open to that prompting, and be willing to speak out what God may be putting on your heart. Supporting texts: John 1:1, 14 | John 14: 6 | James 5:16 | Isaiah 1:11-20 | 1 Corinthians 14:1 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 040314a: In Spirit and In Truth. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us