We are coming into the heart of our worship series. This is crucial for us as a church to understand. It is my belief, that the American Church lost its identity, especially when it comes to issues of worship. We are in trouble theologically and spiritually when it comes to worship. So, I want to see us as a church arrives at a place where we are intentionally pursuing a healthy, biblical culture of worship.
I heard someone recently say, "I think that all music—not just Christian music, but all music—is worship music because every song is amplifying the value of something. There is a trail in our lives that leads to what we really worship. A trail of our time, our affections, our allegiance, our devotion, and our money. That trail ends up before a throne, and whatever is on that throne is what we worship” (Loui Giglio).
We are all wired by God to be worshipers. The problem is that most of us have really bad gods. We’re all worshipping something. We are great at it. The question is do we love [worship] the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength? Does your life reflect a life of worshiping Christ?
The purpose of this series is to transform our lives into a life of worship, especially when we gather together here on Sundays. The questions we are seeking to answer today is, “What is worship?” and “Do you understand the meaning and purpose of worship in your life?”
I. The Definition of Worship
If we are going to understand why we worship, I must first define my terms of what I mean when I am talking about worship. William Temple defined worship as “…the submission of all our nature to God; the quickening of conscience by His holiness; nourishment of mind by His truth; purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart by His love; and submission of the will to His purpose. All these gathered up in adoration is the greatest expression of which we are capable of.”
• The quickening of conscience by HIS holiness (not mine)
• The nourishment of mind by HIS truth (not mine)
• The purifying of imagination by HIS beauty (not mine)
• Opening of the heart by HIS love (not mine)
• The submission of the to HIS purpose (not mine)
The basis of our worship, and the only basis of our worship, is to be the person, nature, and character of God through His son, Jesus Christ. Look at the psalmist’s declaration:
95 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the LORD is a great God
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
(Psalm 95:1-11)
I want you to notice a few things about the characteristics of these few verses. Psalm 95 is an invitation by David for others to join him in worshipping God. David then thematically attributes this worship because of God’s character, God’s creations, God’s presence, God’s sovereignty, and God’s salvation. There are elements of thanksgiving, joy, music, prayer, and thankfulness all wrapped together in these 11 verses. In fact, of the 150 Psalms recorded in the Bible, 85 have elements or calls to worship.
We worship God because He created us to worship Him, not because of what may receive from it or because it makes us feel good. God created us to worship Him. In fact, that will be our eternal job in heaven.
II. Our Approach to Worship
In John, Jesus approaches a Samaritan woman at a well and strikes up a conversation with her. The conversation turns to the idea of worship. Listen to what Jesus says to her:
Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is nowhere when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:21-24).
This is an amazing conversation that we’ll be coming back to over the next several weeks. Jesus insists this does not know who she’s worshiping. How many are doing the same today? The Samaritans held to a view of God that makes him utterly unknowable; they worshiped what they do not know. “They stand outside the stream of God’s revelation so that what they worship cannot possibly be characterized by truth and knowledge” (D.A. Carson).
But that’s not how it’s supposed to be. When we reduce worship to a place or a method, we are limiting God. We are reducing Him down to do our own limitations.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
This is what I meant when I said that just being at a worship service does not mean that you are worshipping. Worship, according to Jesus must include 2 expressions simultaneously together in order for it to be worship: you must worship in Spirit and you must worship in Truth.
The primary purpose of the Holy Spirit is to give glory and lead us to give glory to Christ, the Lamb of God. That is something that cannot be manufactured through lights, or music, or whatever. Worship must be Spirit-led and Spirit-driven. “Perhaps our greatest problem today is that we come to church worshiping ourselves—wanting mainly to get something out of it for ourselves—instead of worshiping God” (Philipps)
The other expression is truth, which is not to be separated from the essence of the Holy Spirit. They cannot be separated. Truth is the full and faithful exposition and fulfillment of God and His Word. Worship in truth requires the right conception of who we are worshiping, anything else is idolatry.
III. The Vocabulary of Worship
There are two terms I want to define in our study this morning of worship. In the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament, we find the words liturgia and proscunine as translated into our English for worship
1. Proskuneó literally means, to lean forward and kiss the ground in reverence, fear, and homage. It is where we get our word “prostrate.”
In Esther 3:2 The people were ordered to bow down (Proskuneó) and pay homage to Haman, but Mortechi refused to do so.
Matthew 2:2 “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 28:9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
It is interesting to note that nearly all of the uses of Proskuneó after the ascension of Jesus are used in the negative connotation (Acts 10:25 Cornelius with Peter; Revelation 19:10 John with the Angel in heaven).
2. Latrea – It is often translated “service” and mean to perform religious rites as a part of worship
Jesus used this and proscuneo together during his temptation, citing Deuteronomy 6:13, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ Luke 2:3 tells us that Anna served God with fasting and prayer in the Temple day and night.
Joshua 24:15, “As for me and my house, we will serve [worship] the Lord.
3. Litergia – refers to the ceremonial act in worship such as Zechariah in the temple. (Child dedication, marriage, burial, foot washing, Lord’s supper)
4. Homolea – to profess, and say together in unity, back to one another.
IV. Our Foundation of Worship
The worship service on Sunday morning is the point to which all of your life converges and the fountain from which your life emerges. If your life is not consistent with Sunday morning, then you are not worshipping, even if you are here at church. The worship service starts in the parking lot with directing your heart toward God, not when the music starts.
On the other hand, if the worship service is not providing the multi-sensory meaning sufficient to challenge our life, then we haven’t worshipped either. Worship continues when we leave this place. A person does not worship God because they are attending the worship service. Rather, a person comes to the worship service because they are a worshipper and desire to give something to God.
What I want you to grasp, and to change in your heart today is that coming here is not about you. It’s not about what you are going to get. It is coming to give something to God. The priority of this begins with the work on the Cross.
Take it to the Cross
Closing Song: All Who Are Thirsty
Close
Pray
Sermon Notes
I. The Definition of Worship
II. Our Approach to Worship
III. The Vocabulary of Worship
IV. Our Foundation for Worship
Study Questions
1. When you think about a worship service, what are the elements that stand out most in your mind? Do those focus more on you or God?
2. Look at the various words used in the bible for Worship (Prosckuneo- to bow down, Latrea – service, Litergia – Ceremony, Homolea – Unity) How do we see each one of those displayed today? In what ways or which ones are missing?
3. In your own words, define what worshipping God in Spirit and Truth means. How is your definition reflected in the Bible?
