Welcoming to Worship, Part 3

Recap

#1 Worship always involves revelation and response (our faithful response to God’s gracious revelation)

#2 Worship is something we do individually & in community

#3 Habitual life of worship is more important than our acts of worship in a religious setting ()

#4 Habitual life of worship & intentional congregational worship informs and strengthens one another (maturity of faith, individually and collectively is an ongoing life giving activity)

Let’s Pray

Introduce story from fishing

-showed up early to the tide. had alarm set, watching people (nothing in it for me, so I went back to sleep)

-got up around 630ish, cooked food, got gear ready, and waded out into shore, in hunt for possible fish (many of us were gathered, many looking for fish, as far as we know only one fish was caught) but what else was gained, when we stepped onto the shore and began participating in the endeavor of fishing? beauty, birds, rushing water, teaching the boys the principles/technique/etiquette of fishing, crashing waves, catching sea hair, climbing on rocks, just being out & not at home

never enjoyed not getting fish as much as I did yesterday.

Principle #5

Worship Requires Participation

it’s not a spectator sport.

moving from how we worship as individuals, into how we worship in community.

Current climate of the general collective

-watch worship

take their seat and wait for the show; professional performance, drama, video, basket is passed and off they go.

no more than watching, saying a few lines, singing along, bowing heads, and being quiet for the entire time.

also creates an environment where people then critique or judge the experiences, like we are going to go on rotten tomatoes and give a user review.

service of worship

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Worship in the Old Testament

OT Participatory Worship

Psalms

Leader and response

very participatory

loud and raucous b/c of the people gathering, not b/c of the amplification. the function of a worshipping community, not of a worshipping few.

Assisted the community into the activity of worship

Theology of amplification

NT Participatory Worship

Romans 12:6–8 ESV

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

NT Participatory Worship

1

1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

Romans 12:6–8 ESV

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Romans 12 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans

Romans 12:3–5 ESV

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

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-brought together for the sake of the body, not just the individuals

A) brought together for the sake of the body, not just the individuals

“So, when we come together, we should not come to be spectators, to observe, to watch, to appreciate, to enjoy. No, we should come to give, to bring our own worship gifts to the Lord and for the building up of the community.” —Gary Parrett

B) Worshipers are active

Worshipers are active

bowing down, active, serving, contributing,

bring our gifts to the Lord and to the community; bowing down, serving, contributing (these are all active ideas)

C) Consideration of Interaction

-Amen (affirming the words that are brought to the body)

“Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?”

-Interaction with the preaching

-

-Reading of scripture (this is the word of God for the people of God -Nehemiah 8:6

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The Use of ‘Amen’

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 14:16 ESV

Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?

2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Ephesians 5:18–21 ESV

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

A) speaks to each other in psalms & hymns & spiritual songs

B) singing and making melody to the lord in your heart

C) giving thanks

D) submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ

This expresses ways that we speak to one another and treat one another, in our gatherings of worship

these are ways that worship become participatory

Principle #6

Worship involves participation of our entire being

i.e.—cognitive affair -worship centered around the sermon;

emotional- mind is disengaged

activists-busy doing things

individual and in community, we tend to be cognitive, a heart person, an activist—we tend to herd in our likenesses.

I think we ought to discover how to incorporate every aspect of our being into our worship gatherings

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deut

Psalm 103:1 ESV

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

Our Spirits

whole being

We could think of worship as worship in spirit. It is hard to say exactly what the Bible means when it speaks about our spirit. But that deep, innermost part of my being, that passed from death into life when I put my faith in Jesus, worships God as deep calls unto deep. He calls me from the depths of His heart and my spirit responds. There are responses to God that are too deep for human expression, but we must also worship God with our minds and our emotions and our bodies. 

Our Spirits

Our Minds

We need to participate actively on the intellectual level, think about the songs that we are singing, think about the prayers that we are praying, think about the word that is being preached, wrestle at an intellectual level with the truth of God that is being presented to us. That is basic to worship. Any vision of worship that has disengaged minds is unbiblical, inappropriate, and dishonoring God. 

Our Emotions

But we must also engage our emotions in the worship of God. The perfect expression of a human life of worship is Jesus of Nazareth. In the life that Jesus lived during His earthly sojourn we find that He was free to express His emotions before God and others. His emotions and His passion were plainly part of how he loved the Lord God. So, He loved the Lord not only with His mind and His actions, but He loved His Father also with His emotions. 

We find His emotions on display in a number of passages in the New Testament — rejoicing when the seventy come back and report how fruitful their ministry had been, angry at the temple when the money changers had defiled the House of Prayer, weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, in anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

All of our emotions too, can be rightly brought before God and submitted to Him. So, we bow our minds before God, but we bow our emotions before God as well. They, too, can honor God. There is time for deep sorrow in our worship; there is time for deep rejoicing; there is time for fear and trembling before God in worship. By what possible means, by what possible justification, could we withhold our emotions from God in worship when He has commanded us to love Him with all that we are. 

Our Bodies

Finally, of course, we must worship God with our bodies. We can think of this again, both in terms of our corporate and intentional gatherings and in our individual lifestyles of worship. 

In our corporate gatherings we may think of postures of worship — bowing down, lifting hands, shouting, being still, singing. All of these are engaging our body in physical acts of intentional worship. But, of course, the more basic idea is that we worship God by offering our whole beings, our bodies as living sacrifices to God. So, I use my hands for righteousness and my whole being for justice. 

It is interesting that the root meaning behind many of the Bible words for worship are, in fact, physical terms. Shachah again, literally, means “to bow down.” The Hebrew word for “bless” comes from a root that literally means “to kneel.” The word for “give thanks” comes from a word that means “extend the hands.” So even in the terminology of worship there is physical action that is in view. 

In our corporate gatherings we may think of postures of worship — bowing down, lifting hands, shouting, being still, singing. All of these are engaging our body in physical acts of intentional worship. But, of course, the more basic idea is that we worship God by offering our whole beings, our bodies as living sacrifices to God. So, I use my hands for righteousness and my whole being for justice. 

Invitation to Respond

It is interesting that the root meaning behind many of the Bible words for worship are, in fact, physical terms. Shachah again, literally, means “to bow down.” The Hebrew word for “bless” comes from a root that literally means “to kneel.” The word for “give thanks” comes from a word that means “extend the hands.” So even in the terminology of worship there is physical action that is in view. 

what are ways that you are a spectator? what ways do you limit the ways you worship God?

what do you have? (Think and the story of the 5000) What are ways that you can bring your gifts to the body?

As a body how might we need to adapt or add to the worship gathering?

How is God inviting you to enter into worship with your whole body?

Not coercing a response, but establishing a framework of why we do what we do when we gather. also establishing places for conversations to take place as the Lord guides us in our individual and collective worship experiences.

Let’s pray

When we gather together for worship, our worship requires participation. Worship requires participation; it is not a spectator sport. This is true about all worship, but my particular focus now and in the rest of our discussion is going to be on our worship as a community when we gather together. 

I am going to be thinking a lot about that phrase from Paul in , a phrase that is repeated several times, “when you come together,” seemingly a reference to the worship gatherings of the church of Corinth. 

When we come together, principle #5 says, that worship requires participation. It is not a spectator sport. So often, when people are in a worship gathering, a worship service, a service of worship, which is not a bad terminology by the way, it seems like we are at a spectator event. Especially the larger and larger churches become the more and more it seems that the worshipers, for the most part, are reduced to spectators. 

“I am going to watch worship; I watched worship very well.”

I have pastored for many years in the Korean-American church. When I was first learning Korean there were a number of phrases that struck me as very unusual. It was always funny to me to notice that when I pointed these phrases out to a Korean friend, they had never struck them as funny at all; they were just part of their experience. I am sure the same would be true of someone learning English and being dumbfounded by some of our terminology and some of our colloquialisms and expressions. 

One expression that I had heard in the Korean church often was, when friends would be on their way to a service of worship, they would say a Korean phrase that basically meant, “I’m going to watch worship.” Then, as they come out, I might hear them say, “Oh, I watched worship very well.” There are Korean phrases to that effect. I thought this was a very curious thing: to watch worship. 

Not only is this part of the Korean expression, it is a reality in so many churches. People go in, they take their seat and they wait for the show. The show begins, and often it is a very good show and sometimes it is not such a good show, but it often is a professional performance. There is a professional preacher preaching, professional musicians making music, professional choir singing or a praise team singing praise music to them. Sometimes a drama is done for their sake. Then a basket is passed around, they have paid for their show, thank you very much, and off they go. 

Often the entire participation of the people who have gathered is no more than watching, saying a few lines perhaps of some responsive reading, if that is part of it at all, singing along at some songs, and then bowing their heads and being quiet for most of the time. 

Sometimes it even seems like someone will be performing a special song or the preacher is preaching a sermon, and there are many people who are not only spectators but seem to see themselves as judges. I have been in meetings before where I almost expected, after the song was finished, that people around me would break out cards with numbers on them — 6.6, 5.8, 4.4 — you know, rate the song or rate the sermon. Obviously, when we think along these lines of just watching worship or worship as a spectator event, we are far removed from the biblical understandings. 

Old Testament participatory worship

Psalms

In the Old Testament, of course, worship was very participatory: the worshiper bringing sacrifices to be offered to God, the worshiper offering tithes of all their harvest. Even in their gatherings of worship, if you will read through the Jewish hymnal, the Bible hymnal of the Psalms, undoubtedly many of the Psalms were sung and said responsively, a leader and a response, a leader and a response. Worship was very participatory. 

And, by the way, in the Old Testament if the worship gatherings became noisy and raucous events it was not because of amplification, it was because of the participation of the whole assembly. Often I think those gatherings were noisy and loud and lively events of worship as the people praised God, but the loudness, the volume, was the function of a worshiping community not of a worshiping few. 

Theology of amplification

We really have to think about our theology of amplification today; there will be an implication for us to return to. We are the first few generations now, over the last few decades, who have ever wrestled with the implications of amplifying our praises and our preaching. In Judeo-Christian history, worshipers in Jewish and Christian traditions for centuries did not have the music amplified, for good or for ill, as you see it. 

But one of the problem areas that I do not think we have attended to enough, thought about enough theologically, is what do we do with new technology when it presents itself to us. Do we simply pick it up and embrace it in uncritical ways or do we wrestle with some of the implications of it? 

One of my concerns on the area of amplification is that now, in many churches, you have these very gifted, talented few who are up front with their voices and their instruments, they are mic’ed and they are amplified, and there is a disincentive to many in the congregation to sing. 

I have been in many services where I could not hear myself sing if I wanted to. I cannot hear my neighbor sing. All I can hear are the chosen few with the amplifiers singing for us. This is a tough one, a difficult one, but the fine line that praise music leaders need to learn to walk is to use their amplification just enough to help the community worship, but not so much that they usurp the role of the community as worshipers. They are not to take the place of a community in worship but to assist the community to worship. We will return to this thought more. 

New Testament Participatory Worship

In the New Testament, the idea of everyone participating in worship is also very clear. Back to Paul’s language of ’when you come together,’ think of . “What shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” 

Two big concerns in 14:26 of 1 Corinthians are, when you come together, everybody brings something to the table and, secondly, it is brought for the sake of the whole, not just for the sake of the individual. 

So, we could say that Paul’s understanding of what worship looked like in Corinth, and what it ought to look like in the church is that it was very participatory; all were participants; everybody brought something. 

We could look to other Pauline language, in for example, where again Paul says, “Whatever your gifts may be, use them for the sake of the body.” So, when we come together, we should not come to be spectators, to observe, to watch, to appreciate, to enjoy. No, we should come to give, to bring our own worship gifts to the Lord and for the building up of the community. 

Worshipers are active

Worshipers are called to be active. Bowing down is an active idea; serving is an active idea; praising is an active idea; contributing is an active idea. In the New Testament it seems from Paul’s teaching that, again, it involved worshiping by bringing some of our giftedness to the community when we gather together for worship. 

The Use of ‘Amen’

A couple of other thoughts about the participatory nature of worship, also in , when Paul says, “Some will bring things.” One of the things he mentions is the bringing of a tongue. But he is going to charge that those who speak in tongues ought not to do so publicly unless there is an interpretation. 

In verse 16 of chapter 14 he says, “If you are praising God with your spirit alone, how can one who finds himself among you and does not understand say, ’Amen’ to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what your are saying?” 

Here is another kind of response that Paul envisions as part of the worship gathering, the saying of ’Amen.’ He says we ought to be able to ’Amen’ one another when we come together. You brought a word; I brought a word. You brought a Scripture; I brought a hymn. We ought to be able to ’Amen’ one another. 

I preach most of the time in congregations where there is not a lot of ’Amen-ing’ going on and I think it is very sad. I love it when I have opportunities to preach in communities where the congregation participates even in the preaching by ’Amen-ing’ the preacher. 

One of our African American faculty colleagues, at a chapel talk at the seminary a couple of years ago, was about ten minutes into his sermon and finally stopped and said, “I am just struggling with the silence in the room here. I am used to having some kind of feedback when I preach.” 

And he said, “usually when I preach, if I am doing well, I will hear somebody say ’Preach it, brother, preach it.’ And if I am not doing so well, I will hear someone else say, ’Help him, Lord, help him.’” We all laughed, of course, but I was thinking of how wonderful it is when I have been in communities, and the congregation was responding to me and participating as I preached. 

Again, the kind of participation Paul envisions is an informed ’Amen.’ I have been in some congregations where the ’Amens’ were not so informed and not as strategic or wise as they should be. It is another possibility of participation. In fact, we do not know exactly what this may have looked like in a New Testament environment, and I am sure that there is no one way it may have appeared.

Paul also mentions this idea in , “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ’Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ’Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 

Some liturgical scholars, New Testament worship thinkers, have suggested that there was a liturgical ’Amen’ that was part of the worship gatherings of the people. In any case, again, it seems clear that this was another form of participation; as revelation is given, there is an ’Amen’ that is spoken. 

As a revelation is clarified in our understanding today, we believe that God has revealed Himself completely and perfectly in Jesus Christ, and in the Scriptures. But as this revelation is declared to us, taught to us, proclaimed to us, part of our response is the ’Amen.’ 

That is why I love the practice that, when the church reads the Word of God together, when the Word of God is read publicly, there is some sort of response to the Word itself, a simple form of response like ’Amen.’ The whole assembly saying ’Amen’ is a beautiful thing.

This happened in the Old Testament in a beautiful story from the Book of Nehemiah. In , Ezra comes forward and reads the book of the law to the people. Ezra opened the book, all the people could see him because he was standing above them, and as he opened it, the people all stood up. “And Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ’Amen, amen.’ Then they bowed and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” A beautiful picture; the Word is read, the people ’Amen, Amen.’ 

I think we need to find ways to remind our people that the Scriptures are no mere word, they are, indeed, the very Word of God. We need to remind them of that truth, marvel in that truth, and respond to that truth, some sort of response. The Word well read, people responding ’Amen,’ lifting our hands if we would, or falling on our faces if we are bold. 

I love the liturgical practice where, when the Scripture has been read, the reader says with conviction, “This is the Word of the Lord,” and the people respond to that truth, that beautiful truth, with the cry of, “Thanks be to God.” Some form of response to the word is a very important kind of participation for us. 

We could speak also of the response in the language of Paul in . In , Paul says that we are to be, “Continuously filled with the Holy Spirit,” and then, expounding upon what that looks like, Paul uses four participial phrases. “Continuously filled with the Holy Spirit,” is the imperative, and then these four participles follow. 

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? First, it means “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Second, “singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord.” Third, “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.” Fourth, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” 

In a sense, these are all, also, ways that we participate when we come together. We come together and speak to one another songs and hymns and spiritual songs. We give thanks to the Lord in the presence of one another, a very big idea carried over from the Psalms. We stand in the midst of the assembly and give praise and thanks to God. And, we submit to one another in our love and lives lived out before each other. Again, these are all beautiful ways to respond to the Lord in worship, because worship requires participation.

Principle #6: Worship involves participation of our entire being.

Principle 6 is that worship requires or involves participation of our entire being. Not just part of my being responds, but all of my being responds. Sometimes we reduce our involvement as worshipers to one part of our being. 

Whole Being

For example, in some churches our worship seems to be very much a cognitive affair; so we worship God with our minds. It is a worship centered around the sermon, where God’s revelation is unpacked for us and proclaimed to us. Then comes the appropriate response of engaging the mind around that presentation of the Word of God. But sometimes worship seems to be strictly cognitive and very little of the rest of us involved. 

I have been to other churches where the worship is very emotional and the mind seems to be disengaged, as though the cognitive dimensions of our being did not matter at all. Other churches are activists; they are very, very busy with doing things all the time. They consider that, and justly so, worshipful activity to the Lord. 

We have these various parts of our being — our heads, our hearts, our hands. I think by nature, individually and also in community, we have tendencies to be head people or heart people or hands people. Sometimes what we will do is, if we find that we are head people, very cognitive, we will find other cognitive people and will join one another and be a church together. So our service will be very cognitive. 

An emotional person will come and feel a little bit left out and they will go find another church where all the heart people have gathered. I think it is very sad that we divide ourselves up in these ways. We really need to push ourselves to be participating in worship with our whole being. 

Think back to one of those fundamental Scriptures for understanding worship, . In light of the fact that there is but one God who is the Lord, “you must love that one God with all that you have, all your heart, all your soul, all your strength.” Jesus adds to this, “all your mind,” as He picks this up in the New Testament. 

I do not believe that or the New Testament counterpart is intending to be a comprehensive look at every part of the human being. Rather, it is intended to make the point that, whatever I have, all that is within me, is to bless His holy name. says just that, “Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”

Our Spirits

We could think of worship as worship in spirit. It is hard to say exactly what the Bible means when it speaks about our spirit. But that deep, innermost part of my being, that passed from death into life when I put my faith in Jesus, worships God as deep calls unto deep. He calls me from the depths of His heart and my spirit responds. There are responses to God that are too deep for human expression, but we must also worship God with our minds and our emotions and our bodies. 

Our Minds

We need to participate actively on the intellectual level, think about the songs that we are singing, think about the prayers that we are praying, think about the word that is being preached, wrestle at an intellectual level with the truth of God that is being presented to us. That is basic to worship. Any vision of worship that has disengaged minds is unbiblical, inappropriate, and dishonoring God. 

Our Emotions

But we must also engage our emotions in the worship of God. The perfect expression of a human life of worship is Jesus of Nazareth. In the life that Jesus lived during His earthly sojourn we find that He was free to express His emotions before God and others. His emotions and His passion were plainly part of how he loved the Lord God. So, He loved the Lord not only with His mind and His actions, but He loved His Father also with His emotions. 

We find His emotions on display in a number of passages in the New Testament — rejoicing when the seventy come back and report how fruitful their ministry had been, angry at the temple when the money changers had defiled the House of Prayer, weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, in anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

All of our emotions too, can be rightly brought before God and submitted to Him. So, we bow our minds before God, but we bow our emotions before God as well. They, too, can honor God. There is time for deep sorrow in our worship; there is time for deep rejoicing; there is time for fear and trembling before God in worship. By what possible means, by what possible justification, could we withhold our emotions from God in worship when He has commanded us to love Him with all that we are. 

Our Bodies

Finally, of course, we must worship God with our bodies. We can think of this again, both in terms of our corporate and intentional gatherings and in our individual lifestyles of worship. 

In our corporate gatherings we may think of postures of worship — bowing down, lifting hands, shouting, being still, singing. All of these are engaging our body in physical acts of intentional worship. But, of course, the more basic idea is that we worship God by offering our whole beings, our bodies as living sacrifices to God. So, I use my hands for righteousness and my whole being for justice. 

It is interesting that the root meaning behind many of the Bible words for worship are, in fact, physical terms. Shachah again, literally, means “to bow down.” The Hebrew word for “bless” comes from a root that literally means “to kneel.” The word for “give thanks” comes from a word that means “extend the hands.” So even in the terminology of worship there is physical action that is in view. 

So again, Principle 5: worship requires participation, and Principle 6: worship requires participation of all that we are. We can think of that at many levels. 

The substance of our worship is always more important than our style or form of worship

Style of Worship vs. Heart of Worship

Style of worship is secondary to the substance of worship

Liturgical form of worship