A W Tozer once said that the "most important thing about us is what comes into our mind when we think about God". That's quite a claim! Author J B Phillips obviously felt that we were failing in this most important task when he wrote a book in the 1950's called "Your god is too small". Over the next four Sundays we are going to be using some of Phillips' ideas to help us notice where we have settled for a shrunken God - a caricature of the real Person.
At the same time, the two Alpha courses running in the church at the moment (adults on Tuesday nights and youth on Sunday evenings) are also taking us on a journey that invites us to think about our ideas about God. Much of the material is familiar, but I have found the courses so helpful in challenging some of the faulty or lazy thinking that can creep into my mind unnoticed.
As we gather to worship this weekend, may we remember William Temple's all-encompassing definition of worship, which includes the renewing and filling of our minds with right thoughts about God: "Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose".