WORSHIP
Questions to think about:
How can worship help me?
What good does it do?
Why worship at all? How
do we have meaningful worship individually and corporately?
“Worship” is to
show by action one’s respect, reverence, allegiance,
or honor to a deity. The worship
of God is nowhere defined in Scripture.
It is not confined to praise; broadly it may be regarded as the
direct acknowledgement to God of His nature, attributes, ways, and claims,
whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or
by deeds done in such acknowledgement.
(It’s obeying any of God’s
commands that are written to you in the Bible because of the above motive.).
The vocabulary of worship
in the Bible is very extensive, but the essential concept in both the Old and New
Testament is “service.” In both
testaments, worship (Heb. “boda” and Gk.
“latreia”) is signifying originally the labor of slaves or hired
servants. And in order to offer this
“worship” to God, His servants must prostrate themselves and thus manifest reverential
fear and adoring awe and wonder.
In the Old Testament there
are instances of individual worship (Gen.
24:26ff; Ex. 33:9 – 34:8). But the
emphasis is upon worship in the congregation (Psa. 42:4; 1 Chron. 29:20).
In tabernacle and temple worship, ritual was prominent. Apart from the daily morning and evening
sacrifices, the celebration of Passover and the observance of the Day of
Atonement would be highlights in the Jewish calendar. The ritual acts of shedding of blood,
presenting incense, pronouncing the priestly blessing, etc., would tend to
emphasize the ceremonial to the detriment of the spiritual aspects of worship,
and even tend to introduce a sense of tension or conflict between the two
attitudes (Psa. 40:6; 50:7-15; Mic.
6:6-8). But many in
This highly-developed
public worship offered in the tabernacle and temple is a far cry from earlier
times when the Patriarchs believed that the Lord could be worshipped wherever
He had chosen to reveal Himself. But
that public worship in the temple was a spiritual reality is clear from the
fact when the sanctuary was destroyed, and the exiles found themselves in
Babylon, worship remained a necessity, and to meet this need the synagogue
service, consisting of: the Shema (Jewish
confession of faith stated in Deut. 6:4-9; 11:13-21; Num. 15:37-41); prayers;
Scripture readings; and exposition was created.
But later in the second temple, the daily services, the Sabbath, the
annual festivals and feasts, and the praises of the hymn book (Book of Psalms) of this second temple
ensured that worship remained a vital factor in Jewish national life.
In the New Testament,
temple and synagogue worship are again found.
Christ participated in both, but He always inculcated the worship that
is the love of the heart towards a heavenly Father. He taught that the approach to God through
ritual and priestly mediation was now unnecessary. At last, worship is true, a service
offered to God not only in terms of temple worship, but of service to
one’s fellows (Lk. 10:25ff; Matt.
5:23ff; Jn. 4:20-24; Jas. 1:27). At
the beginning, however, the Church did not abandon temple worship; and probably
Christians continued to attend the synagogue services too. And when the break between Judaism and the
Church finally came, Christian worship may have been modeled on the synagogue service.
The great contributory
factor in the break away from the Jewish Sabbath, temple, ritual, etc., was the
bitter antagonism of the Jews against the Church. But so far as the New Testament is concerned,
our notions of Christian worship are very vague. Clearly the day of worship par excellence was
the Lord’s Day (Acts 20:7), although
we do hear of daily services at the beginning (Acts
Worship would be conducted
in believers’ homes. In such circumstances,
official ministers would be unnecessary.
Simplicity would be the keynote of these house-church worship services,
consisting for the most part of praise (Eph.
The essence of worship
consists of giving one’s life to, in attitude and action. It’s the spiritual service of worship (
·
“proskuneo”
(Gk. “pros” – towards; “kuneo” – to kiss) – an act of homage (showing/acknowledging one’s loyal servanthood
to another) or reverence – Matt.
· “sebomai” (Gk.) – to revere, stressing the feeling of devotion – Matt. 15:9; Mk. 7:7.
·
“latreuo”
(Gk.) – to serve – Phil. 3:3; Acts
So,
to worship is to acknowledge/show by word and/or action (service), in attitude,
motive, and/or thoughts your supreme respect, honor for, loyalty/devotion to
the person(s) or things revered.
Matt.
Are you worshipping (showing or acknowledging your loyal servanthood to) the Lord God and serving (in supreme devotion and honor) Him only, or do you worship other gods (e.g., movie stars, musicians, athletes, cars, clothes, food – Phil. 3:19, the television, computers, career, politics, a college degree, a boy/girlfriend, etc. – 1 Jn. 2:15-17)?
Why are you worshipping anyone or any thing besides the Lord God, especially when you consider Lk. 4:6-8?
Why should you only worship the Lord God?
What will it take to cause you to only worship the Lord God?
2
Ki.
[“fearing the Lord” – supremely respecting so as to hate sin].
What did the Lord command them – vss. 35, 36?
Are you fearing the Lord God – Prov. 8:13, supremely respecting God so as to hate sin?
Do you humble
yourself before God in bowing down (Acts
How does one serve the Lord (Jn.
Are you serving the Lord by following Christ (i.e., doing what He commands and exhibits in character and mission); by praying; by preaching the gospel; by presenting your body a living and holy sacrifice (in giving your life to God); by feeding, clothing, visiting needy, sick, and imprisoned believers, and by teaching God’s Word?
Rev. 22:8, 9; Col.
2:18 Who are we
not to worship, and why (Heb.
Do you ever worship (acknowledge supreme servanthood, loyalty, and honor to) angels or any people or things other than God (e.g., Mary, the Pope, your family, girl/boyfriend, etc.)? Why?
Who only are we told to worship?
Why (Acts
Acts 10:25, 26; 14:8-15 What did Peter say to Cornelius, and why?
What did Barnabas and Paul say to the Lycaonians, and why?
Do you ever idolize religious or spiritual people because of their great faith, their answers to prayer, their fine speaking or teaching ability, or for any other reason? Why shouldn’t you?
What will keep you from doing so?
Gen. 8:20; 12:7, 8; 26:18, 25; 35:1-3 How and where did these four men of old worship God?
[To “call upon the name of the Lord” means to use the name of God in worship by proclaiming/praising the works and character of God (H. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, vol. 1, pp. 227, 421), or proclaiming/praising/acknowledging the whole nature of God revealed to man (Keil-Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 1, p. 120).]
[It means “to
worship God” (Gen. 4:26), a
synecdoche (a figure of speech) or “to
be a true worshipper of God” (Rom.
Do you
call on the Lord’s name when worshipping Him? Why
(1 Pet. 2:9; Rom.
The word
“altar” (Heb. “mizbech”) means a
place of sacrifice, and was erected mainly to commemorate some event in which
the person had dealings with God. In Ex.
20:24-26, God instructed Moses to tell the people to make an altar of earth or
stones, upon which to sacrifice their offerings. The form of this passage, in which God tells
Moses to pass on this instruction to the people, suggests that it, like the Ten
Commandments at the beginning of the chapter, was addressed to each Israelite
individually, rather than to Moses as their representative as in Ex. 27. It may be that the layman, under this
provision, was permitted to perform this himself (Josh.
Acts
Does your worship of God ever include any of these particulars (Col. 3:16)? Why?
Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:21-26 What does God rather delight in in our worship of Him?
Do you worship God with these characteristics rather than performing religious rituals out of a hypocritical, sinful heart? If not, when and how do you plan on starting? Why?
Isa. 1:11-15 Why will God not accept these acts of worship – vs. 15? What should they do first, vss. 16, 17?
Are you ever guilty of trying to worship God while having unconfessed or on-going sin in your life?
If so, what should you do first before coming to worship God (1 Jn. 1:9)? Do you?
Why (Psa. 66:18)?
Psa. 29:2 How are we to worship the Lord?
Do you praise God for (i.e., acknowledge back to God) His attributes and perfections while being yourself in a holy and right relationship with God?
If not, how do you plan on being
holy or Spirit-filled (in a right
relationship with God, Eph.
Psa. 5:7; 48:9; 63:1, 2; 89:7; 100:1-4; 138:2 How does the Psalmist say that he worships God?
Are any of these expressions of worship a part of your worship of God? If so, which, and how often?
Psa. 95:6; 103:1-5; 149:1 How does the Psalmist tell us to worship God?
Again, are these things a part of your worship of God?
When did you first realize that they should be?
How often are they expressed in your worship of God? Why?
Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philemon 1:2 Where did these churches meet for worship?
Have you ever had a worship service in your home?
Why?
Lk. 19:45, 46; Isa. 56:7 What was God’s house to be known as?
How much is God’s house today known for this? Why?
Jn. 4:20-24 (Phil. 3:3) How must true worshippers worship God the Father (or whom does the Father seek to be His worshippers)?
Why?
[“Spirit and truth” means rendering such homage to God that the entire
heart enters into the acts and doing this in full harmony with the truth of God
as revealed in His Word. A balance
between a humble, spiritual attitude and doctrinal soundness is important. Such worship will not only be spiritual
instead of physical, inward instead of outward, but it will also be directed to
the true God and in accordance with how He wants to be honored, served, and given
supreme allegiance to, as set forth in Scripture. Jesus basically states the
same thing in Matt. 15:8, 9, except here, He uses the words “heart” and
“doctrines”.].
Acts 15:21; 13:14, 15; Lk. 4:16-20 What else is involved in worship?
How much of your worship of God involves this? Why?
Heb.
Are you acknowledging back to God that He is all-powerful, all-wise and all-knowing, present everywhere, loving, patient, kind, forgiving, merciful, full of grace and truth, righteous, just, holy, eternal, Self-sufficient, infinite, unchanging in character/attributes, faithful, good, sovereign, holy wrath, Creator of heaven and earth and all that is in them, and so forth (read Psa. 145:8-17; 89:8-14; 119:10-18)?
What other kinds of sacrifices is
God pleased with (Heb.
Had you ever realized before that doing good and sharing is an expression of worship if done with the right motives (i.e., love for people and God)?
How much of your worship of God involves doing good and sharing, and what is your motivation for doing these things?
Rom. 12:1 What is a living and holy sacrifice and a spiritual service of worship?
Are you presenting your body/life to God in an acceptable manner (i.e., holy, ceasing from sin), or are you doing your own thing with your life (i.e., self-centered goals and life-style)? How, and why?
Acts
How does this thought affect you?
Does God need our gifts or sacrifices or service? Why (vs. 25)?
Then why
offer God anything or do anything for Him (Heb.
Heb.
Why?
Is this what you are doing? Why?
How can you do this?
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEANINGFUL
WORSHIP
First, ask God to correct your attitudes.
Instead of thinking that you are not going to get anything out of the
service, go with the expectancy that you will.
Often, even though the sermon may be poorly prepared and of no value to
you, the Spirit of God will speak to you through the song service, or through
the reading of Scripture, or in silent meditation.
Second, go early enough so that in the quiet meditation that precedes the
worship service, your heart is prepared.
Ask God to speak to you, to meet your deepest needs. Bow reverently and quietly. Do not talk to others and don’t encourage
others to talk to you.
Third, pray for every part of the service: the prayer time, the Scripture
reading, the song service, the choir, and especially for the minister that he
may speak in truth, love, vision, and the power of the Spirit of God. Pray for those around you too.
Fourth, pay very close attention to everything that transpires. Do not allow your mind to wander. Meditate upon each word of the hymns that you
sing, upon each verse of Scripture that is read. As the minister speaks, ask God to speak to
you through him.