Worship Preparation Guide for Sunday, October 26

This Sunday God’s people at Westwood will gather for worship.  Central to this worship will be the Word of God.  It will be read.  It will be sing.  It will be prayed.  And it will be preached.  With the Spirit’s help it will be applied to our lives and change us. 

We can be absolutely confident in the Word we read, sing, pray and preach for many reasons, and one of them is seen in this week’s passage.  Jesus promises the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures.  But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. (John 14:26)

The Apostles didn’t have recorders or video equipment.  They didn't have stenographers transcribing Jesus’ teachings for their later use.  So how can we be confident they remembered the words and recalled the conversations correctly?  What Jesus promises in John 14:26 Peter later confirmed in his epistle:   And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.  (2 Peter 1:19-21)

Paul testifies to this same truth when he writes: Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.  (I Cor. 2: 12-13)

As you prepare for worship this week I want to remind you of a couple of essential truths concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

The Holy Spirit reveals God to us.  Apart from the Spirit opening our hearts to experience the presence of God and to hear from Him, our gathering is just that, a gathering of people. Unless the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see the Lord, we will not see Him.  Pray He will open our spiritual eyes.  Unless the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to hear and receive God’s Word, it will not be heard.  Pray He opens our hearts to hear.  Unless the Holy Spirit empowers the preaching, it will only be lifeless words. Pray He empowers the Word and the Preacher.

The Spirit’s ministry of granting believers spiritual insight, of making the truth real and alive to us, is at the core of our worship.  Unless the Holy Spirit enables us to worship, it will not happen.

This Sunday we will sing an old hymn by Isaac Watts entitled Come Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove.

I encourage you to use Watt’s lyrics as a part of your worship preparation prayers.

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, 

with all thy quickening powers;

Kindle a flame of sacred love 

in these cold hearts of ours.

In vain we tune our formal songs; 

in vain we strive to rise;

Hosannas languish on our tongues, 

and our devotion dies.

Dear Lord, and shall we ever live 

at this poor dying rate?

Our love so faint, so cold to thee, 

and thine to us so great!

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove, 

with all thy quickening powers;

Come, shed abroad a Savior's love, 

and that shall kindle ours.