APPROACH: Honesty

Genuine worship includes honesty. The Gospels are full of encounters between Jesus and people who confessed their sin, doubts, weaknesses and failings. They came to God without pretense or façade. The Gospels are also full of people who came to Jesus feeling that they deserved to be recognized by God. They took pride in their religious practices, expressed contempt for the sinful practices of others, found security in their lineage and protected their religious worldviews. They felt challenged by Jesus and fought back. They hid their inadequacies and excused them in light of other people's failings. Those who discovered the love of God in Christ and divine nature of His soul approached Him with humility. They confessed their fear, their sin, their soul's poverty and discovered love, forgiveness, purpose, direction, God. If we approach weekend services honest about our failures and weaknesses, we will find our worship acceptable to God.