What Makes Worship "Worship?"

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The older woman in my choir says the use of drums and all else that goes with it is not "worshipful." Yet, if you ask her what we should sing in the service next week, she says "something lively." To an observer, that's showing simply a preference in taste or style of music. But to her, what she doesn't like is not "worship."

In general, worship to me is the modern version of what was done in the Old Testament. The people sought forgiveness of their sins, presented sacrifices, and praised God for what He had done for them in word, song, and sometimes dance (!). So today that would be prayers of confession, singing, presenting our gifts (both tangible and intangible) and prayers of praise and thanks. Anything else, even preaching, is extra to worship. Not that we shouldn't combine them, after all, you've got a ready-made audience! But worship need not include a sermon to be worship.

 

I have done a little studying on worship, and most often scriptures that mention worship say they fell down and worshipped, knelt and worshipped . . .so, worship is more of a humbling of yourself, not just singing.

Now I'll read the article.

 

Good article, I especially like the "Focus on God" section.

 

Worship? (I'll read the article later. )

God is a Spirit, and those that Worship Him must do so in Spirit and in Truth...

Two parts here:

Spirit - This embodies both attitude of heart (emotional fervency) and attitude of mind (obedience).

Truth - This embodies both the Truth of God Word and our Actions based on the Truth...

Truth without action is fruitless...

In Churches that practice so-called CCM Praise and Worship they Praise well enough but very seldom actually Worship...

Worship is in the most simplistic definition ascribing worth to something, in this case God...

But, from the Spiritual side Worship *must* also include the Selah, the pause to reflect, a quietness before the Lord...

One of my Favorite P&W verses is:

And, often it is used (incorrectly) to incite Effusive Jubilation and a 'rather ruckus display of Praise'...

Well the Praise is Great and a Good thing in preparation for Worship....

Inhabiting means to come and sit down with you... In one useage the root means to 'marry'...

That is when we Praise God makes Hs home with us...

Praises, in this case, can be rendered "Hymn" as in a song of adoration...

That's what, IMHO, makes worship, worship...

It's when we stop telling each other how Great God is and settle down, humble ourselves, enter His Courts and tell Him face to face how much we love Him, Adore Him, and are 'married' to Him...

David says I was Glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord... Or VERY JOYFUL...

So, the ecstatic jubilant Praise has it's place...

But, it is a road traveled. Not the destitnation...

The destination is God's Presence, His Courts...

 

Just read the entire article... Quite Nicely Done!

 

My 2¢ worth...

I think the word "worship" has been semi-hijacked these days by music ministries to just mean worshipping God in song...How many CDs are out there with either "Live Worship" or "Praise & Worship" on the cover?

I love what John Wesley wrote about John 4:23 "The true worshippers shall worship the Father - Not here or there only, but at all times and in all places."

 

I scanned the article. There was another fella some time ago, I think it was Odemus but am not sure, who posted a link to a Bob Kauflin article saying that music was morally neutral.

I posted a detailed reply then, and will to this one in a few days. Some good things, mostly erroneous, especially in the Worship Wars link. The music history in that is abominable. Music was sophisticated and fully developed in Palestine during the first century. There were harmony and polyphony as well as an abundance of instruments and instrumentalists and a wide array of styles.

More to come on that later.

 

I'm formulating a response to Kauflin's points in the article you cited, but I will also include a sizeable discussion on material in the Worship Wars link from that page.

This is, after all, the Music Ministry forum. And it's a debate forum.

 

Dear Joshua,

Merry Christmas!

I read the article and it seems to be summed up in the section "Fueled by Faith":

" Playing beautiful music, singing and lifting hands, closing our eyes, or being part of a church that teaches on worship — none of these ensure that we are worshiping God. We must actively believe the words we are singing and saying to the point that it affects our minds and hearts. We must consciously meditate on the words we are singing, rather than, say, on what we'll be having for lunch. Exercising faith in this way can be difficult, for we are easily distracted. But God, the author and perfecter of our faith, will give us grace to overcome, even in the midst of our weakness (and hunger).

Hebrews 11:6 makes the necessity of faith clear: "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." We approach God in faith, or we do not approach him at all.

Faith is the hand of the soul, and without it we cannot grasp eternal things. It is only by faith that we can recognize God, approach him, speak to him, hear him, feel his presence, and be delighted with his perfections. Where there is no faith, there has been no quickening of the Holy Spirit, for faith is of the very essence of spiritual life.

It is vital that we understand the distinction between the role of music and the role of faith in drawing near to God. Music has many benefits. It moves us emotionally. It helps us to reflect on, remember, and be affected by the truth. However, apart from faith resonating in our hearts, we are no closer to God when we sing than we wash dishes or do homework.

Ultimately, this means that as I seek to exalt God, I place no value in my own efforts, enthusiasm, talents, intelligence, background, repentance, or desire. My confidence lies in the faithful character of God, the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on my behalf, and the trustworthiness of his promises. This is worship fueled by faith."

Faith is the "heart of worship".

In Christ,

Dale

 

I'm not sure how Dr. Bob intends this statement, (tongue-in-cheek, sarcasm, etc.) but there is truth to it. I think obedience is an aspect of worship, hence, an offering to the Lord falls into this category. Of course, simply being there at the assembly qualifies if this obedience premise is accepted. Any time we excercise obedience, there is an aspect of worship taking place, therefore, we can be worshipful daily as we lead our lives.

 

And for the most part, probably not there either

 

I can agree with the connection of giving of our money and true worship. I'll gop as far to say that if one is overly offended by this notion maybe he worships money.

 

I promised a detailed response, but my time right now is so limited, that a detailed response is impossible. Let me just deal with the basic premise of Kauflin's article and call it good for now.

Boiled down, Kauflin's point was that true worship is whatever one believes is true worship if in his own mind he really believes he is worshipping God. He marginalized the arguments against the demeanor (or style) of worship as secondary and hypersensitive.

Fortunately, the One who is to be worshipped has defined true worship for us, But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Here it is in a straightforward maxim, a universal and non-optional principle. True worship is defined by its object and manner.

This bears repeating.

True worship is defined by its object and manner (or style). Equally.

If the manner is wrong, then of course, the object is offended, and really not being worshipped. I have yet to hear anyone offer the opinion that the Father is not to be the object of our worship, yet Kauflin made that the central plank in his arguments. If we were focused on God, then none of the "secondary" issues (e.g. music) would be issues.

Kauflin is saying that the object of worship is the defining element, and that attention to manner or demeanor is "idolatry". But Jesus is clear, the object AND the manner. And this we understand even unconsciously. Our manner of interaction with someone is determined by our character and the nature of the relationship. Always. ANd so why must our manner be in spirit and in truth? Because God is a Spirit, and God is the Truth.

So Kauflin's article has done nothing to answer any of the questions. He only skirted the issue by offering an "incomplete and misleading" definition. We're still where we were before, debating over what makes something spiritual or carnal.

There is much more that needs to be said about true worship, but this post is longer than I like to make them. My purpose was to reveal the error in Kauflin's basic premise. I've done that. Everything else is academic.