Spiritual DNA
Worship has multiple levels, a couple of those levels are referred to as vertical, and horizontal worship. Vertical worship is the connection to God. It allows us to send our worship to God. It allows us to bring glory to God in all aspects of worship. Paul challenges us to honor God in all we do, of course that includes worship music, worship liturgy, worship sermons and so on. Horizontal worship is the corporate aspect of worship. Again, while worship is not about us, it does involve the community of faith. We as the body of Christ worship God together. We were made to be in a community of faith so that we can worship God together; the challenge to horizontal worship is to make sure it remains God centered and not a show! I will use two specific examples of worship: The first is 2 Samuel 6: 12-22 this is the story of David dancing before the Lord. This is the example of vertical worship. David could care less who sees him, or what anyone (including his wife) thinks about it. He is worshiping God. He sings, leaps and dances with all of his might and Joy! He also worships God by giving gifts to others who are in the worship setting. With this form of worship, it is all about God. This is contrary to a lot of churches who think that worship is only about them. The second story will be the woman at the well. John 4: 19-24. In this portion of the scripture the woman asks how her people are supposed to worship; in other words what should their horizontal worship look like. Jesus basically says, it doesn’t really mater what it looks like. What matters is the heart of worship. It must be a worship that is focused on God, and not us!