Recently, I had the privilege to watch the new documentary Spirit & Truth and I want to explain why you should take time to watch it yourself.
The Necessity of Worship
As followers of Christ, we are called to worship God. Worship is not something that’s optional. God has created us as beings who will worship God or something else. When we pause to consider the necessity of worship—that God has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light for the very purpose of worshipping him—we then begin the journey of a life of worship. Psalm 100:3 says, “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” As sheep of his pasture, we are there for him—to serve him and to magnify him. Our call to worship God is seen clearly in the scene when John fell down before an angel in a posture of worship, and the angel corrected him – telling him to worship God.
I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God” (Rev. 22:8-9).
The Confusion of Worship
In our modern day, the concept of worship has been skewed and confused from the way in which God originally designed it. It’s not just modernity that has caused the problems, even in ancient times, the human heart has always had a propensity to worship and serve the creation rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). We see it with Aaron and the Israelites who fashioned a golden calf in order to worship God (Ex. 32). We see it with Nadab and Abihu who offered up strange fire to God (Lev. 10). We see it with the church at Corinth who perverted the Lord’s table resulting in the judgment of God (1 Cor. 11).
Today, much of what is called worship isn’t really worship at all. If anything, it’s the honor of selfish desires and cravings rather than the honor of God. We see this in the way modern worship services are designed, the elements of the services, and most critically in what is often missing in the “worship” services of many local churches each week.
The Excellence of the Documentary
Les Lanphere does a great job in this documentary. From the way the storyline develops through a series of interviews—the lesson of biblical worship is communicated clearly from the pages of the Bible.
The way in which modern motion graphics are employed in the film is not a distraction, but a major addition to the way the story unfolds and the way the truth of biblical worship is taught.
I was interviewed for this film and enjoyed talking with Les Lanphere. Perhaps one criticism would be that there were not enough Baptists interviewed for the film, but the truth of the text of Scripture was certainly presented well and that’s the reason I encourage you to watch it and share it with your friends.
Questions to consider as you watch the film:
- What is family worship?
- What’s the goal of family worship?
- Why we do organize the worship service the way we do each week?
- Who or what should regulate the weekly worship service?
- If we don’t sing Psalms, why not?
- What are the ordinary means of grace?
- Should the church be looking to the people to see what they want or should the church be looking to God to see what he wants when it comes to worship?
Where can you find the movie?
Pre-order Spirit & Truth:
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/spiritandtruth
