What is Worship?
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Intro
Intro
Element -> Elephants story
“Mom, we should come here every Sunday! Did you hear that they have ELEPHANTS!”
While that is a humorous story about a child mishearing and misunderstanding something, I do think it speaks to an issue that we see in our culture today.
You see we live in a very egocentric culture, which means that we primarily go through life only thinking about ourselves and how WE can get the most enjoyment out of life.
We pick our careers not on what might be good for those around us, but based upon what I like.
We pick our clothing without concern for the consciences of others, but we wear what I want to wear.
The list is never ending, but everything that we own, everything that we do, everything that we eat, it’s all about what I like!
If I don’t like it, I can choose not to have it in my life. It doesn’t agree with my personal convictions? It doesn’t exist to me!
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful that we have this freedom to choose what is in our best interests. And if we have a heart that has been trained by Biblical principles and Biblical truth, if we’ve made the switch from being egocentric to Christ centric, then this mindset can work to our benefit.
But if not this desire to choose what I want often starts to creep into areas where what “I” want, what I “prefer”, what I like, doesn’t matter at all.
Now there are several Biblical topics that this applies to, but this morning we are going to only focus on one.
What is Worship?
What is Worship?
The question that we are interested in answering this morning is “What is worship?”
If you remember there have been several words that I’ve addressed over the last few months that we use often in our religious circles, but they often mean different things to different people and that leads to chaos and confusion in our communication with one another.
We discussed recently how “sin” is one of those words that has lost it’s dreadful meaning in the world and is now often used to describe something good.
We discussed last week how the terms “Lost” and “Saved” when they are used in a religious context are rarely understood even among church going people.
And it seems to me that the meaning of “worship” has also been obscured if not completely lost to our world.
In fact, in 2016 the Pew research center conducted a nationwide poll in which they asked Americans what they looked for when considering a place to worship and here where the answers.
83% Said that the quality of the sermons was a factor
79% said that feeling welcomed by the leaders was a factor
74% said that the style of services was important to them
70% appealed to the physical location of the building
56% looked for kids education
42% valued volunteering opportunities
and 29% said other factors.
Now I’m not saying that any of those things are bad things to look for when considering a place to worship.
But what I want us to notice is that no where on that list is God mentioned even once, unless he’s included in the 29% of other factors.
Does that not show a terrible disconnect regarding what worship is all about?
We desperately need to know and to inject into our culture the answer to the question, “What is worship?”
We Start this morning by looking at the Biblical words translated as Worship
We learn a great deal about the meaning of Biblical concepts by looking at the original languages.
We do this most often with the Greek words for Love being - Agape, Phileo, Eros and understanding their differences yet how they would all be translated as one word in English - Love
The same is true with worship. There are several words translated as worship in the Scriptures, but we are going to look at only 3 this morning.
Proskuneo - most often used greek word translated as worship in the Bible and is probably closest in meaning to our english word worship.
This word literally means “to kiss toward” someone or something.
Carries the idea of humbling yourself before someone else, to bow before them in recognition of them as your superior.
EXAMPLES
This is the word used by both Satan and Jesus in
5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”
This is also the word that is used to describe how Jesus was worshipped as a baby ()
How the disciples worshipped him in
How he was worshipped after His resurrection ()
And it is this word, Proskuneo, that Jesus used in the text that was our scripture reading this morning
21 Jesus said 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 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.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
Letreuo - Also translated worship at times in Scripture
And this is a word that describes religious service, or works done in religious service.
Letreuo is the word that would be used to describe the work of the PRiests done in service to God.
The word Letreuo appears some 21 times in the NT and is usually translated as service or serve, but in three instances it is translated as Worship
Stephens speech ()
41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
- Paul before Felix at Caesarea
14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
So as you see this word carries with it the idea of service.
The last Greek word this morning that we will look at is Sebomai
Show devotion or reverence for someone or something
This is the word that Jesus used when he said
9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
and it is also translated in the book of Acts as “religious” or devout.
So we see from these three Greek words that worship contains multiple facets to our worship to God
Proskuneo shows submission and honor.
Letreuo shows service
Sebomai shows devotion or reverence.
Worship = Worth-Ship
Worship = Worth-Ship
Saxon/Old English word Worth - Ship which is a compound word containing two words that we understand well.
The first of course is worth.
Which has a variety of meanings, but in this case it is used to describe the significant value of something in our lives.
Ship
State of being
Apostleship, Discipleship
So even our English word describes Gods Worthiness, his state of being worthy of our Submission and honor, our service, and our devotion.
Why These Apply to God
Why These Apply to God
Creator
Yet this reason alone would not be enough to worship God.
Savior
Is this reason enough?
Perfectly Righteous
4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
Savior
What is God Worth to us?
What is God Worth to us?
So what is worship?
Worship is rooted in the truth of us understanding God’s worthiness of praise as the Perfectly righteous creator of the universe.
When we fail to worship, we are in essence saying that God is worth-less
Worth-less than sports
Worth-less than family
Worth-less than my sleep
Our response to the truth of God’s worthiness is our worship
Petition
Praise
Proclamation
Participation
1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3 Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal. 5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7 and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. 16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18 another company turned toward Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. 19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. 22 So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.