PENTECOSTAL WORSHIP
What is Worship? Worship occurs 188 times in the Bible
Hebrew definition of Worship in Old Testament = 07812
Greek definition of Worship in New Testament = 4352
Scriptures on Worship with bow
Scriptures on Worship with falling down on Face to Worship:
Why do men fall down? Does God require us to fall down?
What is the only creature on Earth that must fall down to worship?
What is the only creature on Earth that walks upright?
Scriptures on Worshipping in the Beauty of Holiness:
Hebrew Definition of Holiness in Old Testament = 06944
Miscellaneous scriptures on Worship such as "worship at His footstool".
What are some of the denominational influences on worship?
What are some of the childhood and adulthood influences on worship?
What are some of the worship backgrounds of the people? List and Define.
Baptist
Catholic
Methodist
Episcopalian
Old Regular Baptist
Pentecostal
Acknowledge influences, but then how should this Body of Christ Worship?
What were some of your greatest moments of Worship? When? Where? How?
Have you ever become dissatisfied with worship? Why?
What were you doing or not doing?
Is worship necessary?
Can't we do with or without it?
Is worship "charismatic"?
What is charismatic?
According to Dictionary definition: Possessing charisma.
Then what is charisma? 1. An extraordinary spiritual grace that benefits others.
2. Extraordinary personal power or charm.
Is this the "charismatic" that we talk about in church? NO!!!!
According to Vine's Dictionary of New Testament Words: Charisma = a gift of grace, a gift involving grace (charis) on the part of God as the Donor, is used:
(a) of His free bestowments upon sinners
(b) of His endowments upon believers by the operation of the Holy Spirit in the churches
BE CAREFUL!!!!
To the best of my understanding, strictly speaking by definition of terms, charismatic means the practice of the gifts of the Spirit.
In this sense of definition, anyone who believes and practices the operation of the gifts of the Spirit can be defined as being charismatic.
But, what we see as being charismatic is an abuse of the above definition. We live in a time when anyone can live any way and claim to be operating in the gifts of the Spirit.
It appears to me that some of these individuals have steered away from just calling themselves Pentecostal, which we see as incorporating the gifts of the Spirit, to preferring a term that implies the use of the gifts with no commitment to lifestyle.
Also, the use of the term Holiness, as we perceive it, has been abandoned because again it involves the defining of a clean, separated lifestyle. They want the benefit of the gifts without a commitment to "come out from among them and be ye separate".
What does all this have to do with us?
Can we worship without fear of being called a "charismatic"?
I believe we are losing the God given (or better yet commanded) opportunity to worship for fear of being branded as charismatic. We have escaped the labeling perhaps, but in doing so, we have also abandoned our liberty to worship.
SPECIFIC ACTS OF WORSHIP IN PENTECOSTAL CHURCH
For each act of worship suggested, answer these questions.
1. Is it Biblical? 2. Is it Reasonable? 3. Is it Acceptable?
Vocally
--- Praises
--- Prayers
--- Singing --- Use Scriptures on Singing and Songs both Old and New Testament
--- Tongues
--- Screaming, Screeching, Yelling, Whoops -Some what similar
when your team scores
Physical Expressions (other than vocal)
--- Walking
--- Leaping
Acts 3:8-10 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
--- Running
--- Running Pews
--- Weeping
--- Crawling
--- Laying
--- Dancing
--- Shaking, Quivering
--- Shouting?
Hebrew Definitions of Shout in the Old Testament = 07321 & 08643 & 07442
Greek Definitions of Shout in the New Testament =2019 & 2752
Music in the Church?
Is it Biblical?
Is it Reasonable?
Is it Acceptable?
If one were to take the position that only those things which Scriptures specifically allows are allowable and those which Scripture does not specifically mention are prohibited then the perimeters of musical practice in the New Testament would be severely limited. There are two basic reasons why this cannot be the case and why the "philosophy" of church music in the NT is, in fact, exceedingly broad.
First, the OT was still considered the scriptural authority for the Early Church ( II Tim 3:16-17). Hence its broad principles and practices were normative, though now Christ-centered. Second, by maintaining the perspective on righteousness, faith and lawfulness inherent in God's revelation throughout the OT, the writers of the NT are careful to maintain these by extension. Hence Paul's conclusion in Romans 14 that nothing is impure in itself is an extension and a further filling out of the concept of the goodness of creation found early in Genesis. To Paul, the ultimate right was to avoid the offense of one's own conscience or that of his neighbor, by the superiority of quality of life over categories of creation. Zondervan Pictorial Encyc. of the Bible pg 318 Music
Does it promote worship?
How should the sound level be? Loud? Soft? Varied?
Is there a scriptural basis for the sound level or should it be something that most in the congregation feel is reasonable?
Instruments?
--- Acoustic Guitar
--- Electric Guitar
--- Bass Guitar
--- Steel Guitar
--- Piano --- Electric --- Keyboards
--- Organ
--- Tambourine
--- Drums
--- Horns
--- Shakers
Only a few of these are found in the Bible.
We will not find any of today's modern, electrical, musical instruments in the Bible.
Categories of Musical Instruments:
1. Idiophones = Pairs of similar instruments struck together.
a. Cymbals
b. Shakers such as beads in a hollow gourd.
c. Bells
2. Membranophones = Drums
timbrel or tabret
The fact that women often used it in dance (Exodus 15:20) suggests that it was usually a small (hand-beaten) drum or tamborine.
3. Aerosphones = Blown
a. Animal horn
b. Trumpet
4. Chordophones = Strings
a. Lutes --- Strings stretched along a neck attached to a resonating body as in guitar-like
and violin-like instruments.
b. Harps --- Have the neck at an angle to the body, either arched or angular (neck attached to body at near right angle)
c. Lyres --- Have a body with two arms joined by a crossbar, the strings going from body
to crossbar.
d. Zithers --- Have many strings stretched across a body, either struck (dulcimer) or
plucked (psaltery).
These are some of the instruments believed to have been used in worship, etc.
Use Overhead of Musical Instruments.
AGAIN, WHAT IS WORSHIP?
Do we worship?
Is our worship biblical, reasonable, acceptable?
Is our worship Christ-centered?
Do we worship or entertain? Sing my favorite or sing unto the Lord?
To sing a special is no problem as long as we remember why we sing.
How would the church community classify our worship?
(I know we don't have to meet these expectations. So with this out of the way, let's answer the question.)
How would our sister churches classify our worship?
Is our worship passive or active?
Does our worship meet the needs of the entire congregation or does it pertain to a select group?
Does our worship address all ages?
Should it be varied or attempt to reach everyone and involve everyone?
Is our worship varied or is it predictable?
Is there a problem with knowing what to expect?
Is there a problem with spontaneity?
As a church body, how can we promote biblical, reasonable, acceptable, Spirit-filled,
Christ-centered worship?
As an individual, how can we prepare ourselves to/for worship?
