There comes a point when we must examine or evaluate our worship experience. In yesterday’s post it was noted that worship is to serve and pay respect to God because the Lord is worthy. The heart of worship is to please God.
Because God is our Master, the Lord gives us instructions. “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28-31)
Jesus reinforced this by saying "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)
True worship gives importance to the things God has asked us to do. When we enter the sanctuary we must evaluate if the activity is about us … or about pleasing God.
One thing I have noted in some churches (and from some people) is that we do not want children bothering our worship. Jesus would say to us: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Mt 19:14) He said this for good reason. Moses said, “Assemble the people--men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns--so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God.” (Dt 31:12-13)
It is of more importance to pass our passion and love for the Lord our God on to the next generation than to enjoy the ambiance of a worship service or home devotions ourselves.
Another detractor of worship in today’s churches is music (whether contemporary or traditional). Many feel music should be about what the individual enjoys … even (look around!) to the exclusion of others. Jesus said, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.” (John 4:12) Paul said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
Again, (Deuteronomy 31:12-13), God wants all people to be present in our worship services. Generally congregations should include young adults, senior adults, children, youth and parents. Music should draw all in the church together (rather than drive a wedge to push generations apart).
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:5-7)
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
Worship in Spirit
On Sunday Morning our tradition is to come together to “worship” God. We have translated this to what happens during the worship hour relating music and preaching to worship. The problem is worship has become an action rather than an attitude.
If we define worship as an action which we do, then we can check it off for the week by attending a “Worship Service.” If worship is defined as an attitude then it becomes a lifestyle.
Webster defines Worship as:
1. chiefly British : a person of importance —used as a title for various officials (as magistrates and some mayors)
2. reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also : an act of expressing such reverence
3. a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual
4. extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem
In middle English this is worshipe worthiness, respect, reverence paid to a divine being, from Old English weorthscipe worthiness, respect, from weorth worthy, worth + -scipe –ship.
The Old Testament word most often translated as worship is shachah (appears in 166 verses, strongs H7812) which means to bow down. Bowing down is showing respect, trust and honor. When we bend the knee we give the opportunity for the person standing over us to strike us down.
There are two words which the New Testament often translates as worship:
doxa – (Strongs G1391, appearing in 151 verses)- Estimate of a person, in NT adding glory & Honor. Splendor, brightness, Glorious condition
proskyneō – (Strongs G4352, appearing in 54 verses) means to kiss the hand, to bow down, to kneel.
Some would also add the Greek word latreuō (Strongs G30000, appearing in 21 verses) which means to serve, and its Hebrew equivalent `abad (Strongs H5647, appearing in 263 verses), again relating to serving (in the Temple) or as a servant serving a master.
So … Worship is to serve and pay respect to God because the Lord is worthy. If I understand the role of a servant correctly, it does not mean “one who makes a visit one hour a week in order to sing songs which convey our adoration for the Master and hear instructions which can be disregarded or put off until we come the next week … if we feel like it.”
Worship is an attitude we carry in our hearts and minds all day, every day, because we count our Master, the Lord our God worthy of our respect, our honor, and our life. We seek to carry out His every wish as we live our life. We seek to meet with the Lord every morning because we love Him and desire to please Him. Each morning we share our Love for Him and receive instructions, with frequent check points through the day to share our Love and to make sure we are on track. We attend church on Sunday to share fellowship with those who are like minded. Our duties on Sunday include, encouraging “one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)
If we define worship as an action which we do, then we can check it off for the week by attending a “Worship Service.” If worship is defined as an attitude then it becomes a lifestyle.
Webster defines Worship as:
1. chiefly British : a person of importance —used as a title for various officials (as magistrates and some mayors)
2. reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also : an act of expressing such reverence
3. a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual
4. extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem
In middle English this is worshipe worthiness, respect, reverence paid to a divine being, from Old English weorthscipe worthiness, respect, from weorth worthy, worth + -scipe –ship.
The Old Testament word most often translated as worship is shachah (appears in 166 verses, strongs H7812) which means to bow down. Bowing down is showing respect, trust and honor. When we bend the knee we give the opportunity for the person standing over us to strike us down.
There are two words which the New Testament often translates as worship:
doxa – (Strongs G1391, appearing in 151 verses)- Estimate of a person, in NT adding glory & Honor. Splendor, brightness, Glorious condition
proskyneō – (Strongs G4352, appearing in 54 verses) means to kiss the hand, to bow down, to kneel.
Some would also add the Greek word latreuō (Strongs G30000, appearing in 21 verses) which means to serve, and its Hebrew equivalent `abad (Strongs H5647, appearing in 263 verses), again relating to serving (in the Temple) or as a servant serving a master.
So … Worship is to serve and pay respect to God because the Lord is worthy. If I understand the role of a servant correctly, it does not mean “one who makes a visit one hour a week in order to sing songs which convey our adoration for the Master and hear instructions which can be disregarded or put off until we come the next week … if we feel like it.”
Worship is an attitude we carry in our hearts and minds all day, every day, because we count our Master, the Lord our God worthy of our respect, our honor, and our life. We seek to carry out His every wish as we live our life. We seek to meet with the Lord every morning because we love Him and desire to please Him. Each morning we share our Love for Him and receive instructions, with frequent check points through the day to share our Love and to make sure we are on track. We attend church on Sunday to share fellowship with those who are like minded. Our duties on Sunday include, encouraging “one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Worship: in Spirit and in Truth
John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
There is a sin which is afflicting our churches today. The sin is exclusionism in our worship services. I do not think we mean to be exclusive. I do not think we intentionally ban people from worship. But in practice as we shape our desires into our worship service we miss the mark of God’s desire.
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said "it is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning." While we think we are open to all, through the selfishness of our hearts we are now more exclusive than we were in the 1950’s. While we have made strides to include people of other races and cultures within our worship, our loss of care for others has built within America many age segregated congregations.
Churches “target” age groups. They sing only Contemporary Worship Songs, or Traditional Hymns in order to please perceived constituents. We send children out so “they can enjoy their time,” and we can worship “without being disturbed” by our kids. In doing so, we push aside the very things God teaches us. (Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:7; 11:2; Matthew 19:13-14; Leviticus 19:12-18; 19:32; Proverbs 17:6; John 13:35)
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman, he immediately faced her exclusionist spirit. She said, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.” She enjoyed being around people who were like her, and she desired to exclude those who were not her type.
Jesus began to deal with the woman and the things which shaped her:
1. She was drinking from her well. Jesus is the Living Water
2. She saw faith through her nationality and culture. Jesus wants us to see things from God’s perspective.
3. She wanted to do things in her strength. Jesus wants us to get out of the way so God can do His work.
4. The woman asked for Living Water for selfish purposes
5. Jesus called attention to her sin, the woman desired to hide this truth.
6. The woman tried to evade truth. Jesus showed her she must open her spirit for God’s involvement.
7. The woman desired to be comfortable in her worship. Jesus said she must open her life so God could move.
Because “God is Spirit,” He reads the intent of our hearts. Is worship more about ourselves and our style … or about God and His desire to draw all people to Himself. Does our worship bring people together (Acts 4:32), or exclude those not like us. Are we willing to learn from others and expand our hearts, or do we desire our worship service to fit a certain “culture.”
How do we know if we are exclusionary? We must look at numbers (are we growing or retracting). We must look beyond numbers to see if people are leaving … and why they are leaving. Does our style offend them? (Matthew 5:23-24, 43-48ff). We must be open to the truth.
Worship should be a time we come together, and give our all to God. We must care for others, and they must care for us. And we must truly look to God. We must worship in Spirit and in Truth. Our spirit must be right within us and we must acknowledge truth.
There is a sin which is afflicting our churches today. The sin is exclusionism in our worship services. I do not think we mean to be exclusive. I do not think we intentionally ban people from worship. But in practice as we shape our desires into our worship service we miss the mark of God’s desire.
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said "it is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning." While we think we are open to all, through the selfishness of our hearts we are now more exclusive than we were in the 1950’s. While we have made strides to include people of other races and cultures within our worship, our loss of care for others has built within America many age segregated congregations.
Churches “target” age groups. They sing only Contemporary Worship Songs, or Traditional Hymns in order to please perceived constituents. We send children out so “they can enjoy their time,” and we can worship “without being disturbed” by our kids. In doing so, we push aside the very things God teaches us. (Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:7; 11:2; Matthew 19:13-14; Leviticus 19:12-18; 19:32; Proverbs 17:6; John 13:35)
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman, he immediately faced her exclusionist spirit. She said, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.” She enjoyed being around people who were like her, and she desired to exclude those who were not her type.
Jesus began to deal with the woman and the things which shaped her:
1. She was drinking from her well. Jesus is the Living Water
2. She saw faith through her nationality and culture. Jesus wants us to see things from God’s perspective.
3. She wanted to do things in her strength. Jesus wants us to get out of the way so God can do His work.
4. The woman asked for Living Water for selfish purposes
5. Jesus called attention to her sin, the woman desired to hide this truth.
6. The woman tried to evade truth. Jesus showed her she must open her spirit for God’s involvement.
7. The woman desired to be comfortable in her worship. Jesus said she must open her life so God could move.
Because “God is Spirit,” He reads the intent of our hearts. Is worship more about ourselves and our style … or about God and His desire to draw all people to Himself. Does our worship bring people together (Acts 4:32), or exclude those not like us. Are we willing to learn from others and expand our hearts, or do we desire our worship service to fit a certain “culture.”
How do we know if we are exclusionary? We must look at numbers (are we growing or retracting). We must look beyond numbers to see if people are leaving … and why they are leaving. Does our style offend them? (Matthew 5:23-24, 43-48ff). We must be open to the truth.
Worship should be a time we come together, and give our all to God. We must care for others, and they must care for us. And we must truly look to God. We must worship in Spirit and in Truth. Our spirit must be right within us and we must acknowledge truth.
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