Spirit - not the Holy Spirit; the word here means identity. Your identity. When people say 'She has such a sweet spirit,' - that's what Jesus was talking about. It's what makes you you. What things make you unique? What has God put inside of you that causes you to respond in praise and worship? This explains why there are so many expression of the church of Christ - people are captured into worship in different ways - some using liturgy, some using hymns from previous generations, some using the newest songs available, some using dance music, others using quiet contemplation… You get the idea. The reason why the church is so broad and dynamic is because that's how God made people. The one thing that unites all of these things is that people engage with God using one of these expressions of worship.

Worshipping in spirit also means we need to worship God in the way that we live our lives. Your identity is expressed with every breath you take, in your thoughts, words and actions. Does your life express love for God and a passion for Him, or a double sided life, living with one foot in the house of God, singing songs and bringing tithes, but the other in selfish worldliness? This is a high calling, impossible to achieve on our own, but as Paul said, 'Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!' (1 Cor. 7:24&25, NIV) God can free us to be the people he wants us to be, living lives sold out for him, and bringing him and him alone the glory.

What is your 'spirit'? How can you most effectively engage with God?
Do it!

Truth - meaning 'not hidden'. What is it that God has not hidden from us? Well, lots! Primarily, he has revealed Jesus as the human face of God. This is what Philippians 2:6-8 is on about - Jesus revealed God to us in human form. How else has God revealed himself? Through creation, through the prophets, through his commandments, through his laws and through the sacrifices he required. This is why truth sums up the need for basing what we do on the principles laid down in the bible: when we meditate, we do not empty our minds, but contemplate the promises and nature of God; when we come to God, we do not come as we think God wants to see us, but as we are (read the Psalms for proof); we recognise that there is a distance between us and God, caused by sin, which means there is a cost involved in entering God's presence - a price once paid by the blood of animals in sacrifice, but mercifully, once and for all, paid for by the blood of Jesus on the cross.

In worship we respond to the truth of who God is, as revealed in the bible. Worship is easy when we believe with our whole heart that God is love, we are His children, he cares for us, looks after us, provides for us, created us, calls us, equips us, encourages us, gives us love, joy, peace and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit; if we don't believe these things then worship can become impossible. How do we get this faith? '…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.' (Romans 10:17, NIV) Where do you find the word of Christ? The bible! Get into the word of God, allow faith to grow, and worship will deepen as you respond to the truth of our God.

We need to be truthful and honest about us, too, and not hide the reality of who we are and what we do. We are all aware that we fall short of the glory of God, but God knows that and has made a way for us to come to him. 'Therefore… we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus…' (Heb 10:19, NIV). 'Come as you are, as you were, as I want you to be,' to quote Kurt Cobain. (Sad that he expresses the heart of the Father stronger than many churches.) Anyway, this is how God invites us to come - remember it's because of Him that we gain access to his presence in the first place.

Do you know the truth of who God is?
Do you come to him as you are?

Father - this is what makes our faith so different. It's not all about doing the right thing to impress a God who might just let us into heaven eventually if he feels like it. It's not about a God who demands impossible things from us. It's about coming to a father who loves us, who made us and cherishes us. This is linked to 'truth' but is more than that - this is expressing that our worship should be intimate. Jesus describes the Father as caring, and giving good gifts to the ones he loves. When you come to worship God, do you come with the knowledge that he has adopted you, that you are the apple of his eye? He is tender hearted, and within worship there is a place to be vulnerable with our God. This is why so many times of worship include ministry - it's time to be open and real before God, allowing his Holy Spirit to bring healing into hurting places.

Do you come to God in intimacy, vulnerability and tenderness?

All in all, Jesus offers us a way to worship that does not have to tie in with any religious practices. It can be expressed through these, but it is much more than them too - it is a lifestyle, lived with the integrity of being who God made you to be, based on the truth of the scriptures, and the reality of God as our Father. This is what it means to worship as a Christian, and that is why at TG we try to reflect many different expressions of worship. The charismatic church has based nearly all of its worship expression around songs, mainly because this is the primary way that communities can corporately express their worship. They allow us to communicate with God, they speak truth into our lives, and (often) they allow us to express ourselves 'where we're at'. But let's not stop there. God made us creative - let's create. But don't chuck the baby out with the bathwater. Psalms is the song book of the people of God, so don't throw out the acoustic guitar and rainbow strap just yet. (Actually, do!) But use the creativity that God has put inside of you - it doesn't matter how: computer programming, stock brokering, hedge trimming, life guarding, bar tending… Let your whole life worship God in spirit and in truth.