Worship Fail

Have you ever been sitting in a worship service and thought back to your previous week?  Suddenly your heart sinks because the words that are coming out of your mouth do not line up with your actions or attitudes.  Instead of singing “I Surrender ALL” you feel like you should be singing, “I Surrender SOME” or maybe some of the other worship songs in the above video.

Where is the truth in your worship?

In John 4 Jesus interacted with a woman who lived a life of failed worship.  Jews looked down on this Samaritan not only because of her ethnicity but also because she was a promiscuous woman.  Jesus tells her (in John 4: 23-24) that the Father seeks people who worship in Spirit and Truth to be His worshippers.

In this story there is a great amount of cultural tension present.  The fact that Jesus was speaking to a woman was scandalous for their culture.  Also, the fact that Jesus, a Jew, was speaking to a Samaritan was scandalous because of the racial tensions between the Jews and the Samaritans.  To make things even more scandalous, this woman was sexually promiscuous, having had multiple husbands.  This woman was a failed worshipper.  Jesus could have done two things.  He could have preached condemnation on this woman and quickly removed any hope of her being redeemed.  Another reaction Jesus could have had was to run far, far away from this woman…but He didn’t.

This woman at the well may have begun her day with a worship fail, but she ended it on the right note.  She believed that Jesus was the Messiah and proclaimed this truth to all who would hear (John 4:39).  Her repentance was evident.

Jesus loved this failure of a woman and spoke words of life to her. These same words of life are offered to you and me.  When we fail at worshipping God, throughout our week, God is right there offering us forgiveness.

Sunday morning is a great morning to begin worshipping.  One element of your worship service on Sunday (whether individually or corporately) should be a time of repentance.  Repentance is an integral part of worship.  It is how we can prepare our hearts to worship God in Spirit and truth.  It is how we turn a worship fail into a worship win.

Corbit White
Corbit White is a pastoral intern at Faith Church and is preparing to serve as a missionary in Berlin, Germany.