Why Worship Is Not Music and What True Worship Is

Why Worship Is Not Music and What True Worship Is

We are accustomed to starting every Sunday service with songs of praise and worship, but we should not think that this is the entire definition of worship. True worship of God involves much more than beautiful music and well-chosen words.

Darlene Check, Worship Leader, Hillsong Church Australia

Darlene Check o.

Clive Staples Lewis, famous theologian and writer

Clive Staples Lewis wrote about the right attitude: “Books or music in which we think there is beauty will betray us if we rely on them; beauty was not in them, it only manifested itself through them, and through them what was desired was manifested. These things are beauty, memories of our past - good images of what we really desire; but, if mistakenly taken for wishful thinking, they turn into dumb idols, destroying the hearts of those who worship them. Because they themselves are not something significant ; they are only the scent of a flower that we have not found, the echo of a melody that we have not heard, news from a country where we have not been.”

Terry Terry, Director of Education, Music Academy, IHOP-KC International House of Worship

The problem with our understanding of worship is that it is not a biblical understanding.

Sergey Golovin, President of the Christian Scientific Apologetic Center, Ukraine

Sergei Golovin , president of the Christian Scientific Apologetics Center, president of the international educational society “Man and the Christian Worldview”, dean of the Interuniversity Faculty of Apologetics of Christianity, member of the editorial board of the journal “Theological Reflections”:

“Probably everyone loves to sing. Not everyone, however, knows how to do this, but this does not prevent many from being known as pop stars. Others, knowing how to sing, allow themselves to do so only in their souls, when they are sure that no one can hear them.

Why do people sing? The more I think about it, the more I am convinced: this is our destiny - man was created to sing. We sing when we are happy, and when we are sad, we also sing. Something in us demands that we pour out our feelings in singing. But even listening to joyful songs, we sometimes shed a tear. Why? It's impossible to explain - the song expresses something that cannot be expressed in words.

Yes, my version is this: man was created to sing. Moreover, we began to speak only because we had forgotten how to sing, and we began to speak in prose only because we had forgotten how to speak in poetry. This is a historical fact. The first speech we know of by man was a song (Genesis 2:23).”

How to Worship God

Philip Wagner, senior pastor of the Oasis Church in Los Angeles, USA, founder of the Generosity ministry, spoke about what it means to worship God. Worship means submitting our lives to His will.

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).

Worship means focusing on God.

True worship is based on the desire to honor God. It requires personal revelation from God based on Scripture. Worship is not based on what we like or dislike. It is not based on our personal preferences or priorities. God is at the center of worship.

Worship means going astray.

We need to learn to put aside our experiences, opinions, questions and ourselves so that we can bow with reverence. It's all about letting go. Sometimes we take the path of our personal experience of true worship.

Terry Terry Shares His Favorite Method of Personal Worship

Worship means making a personal sacrifice.

It is easier to glorify God when everything is good and we are at the top of our success. It is necessary to sacrifice our own feelings and fears so that we can fully focus on Him. “Through Him therefore let us continually offer up the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips giving glory to His name” (Heb. 13:15).

Worship means praising God in the face of pain and loss.

King David demonstrated what it means to glorify God in the face of loss and pain. His child died. He prayed and prayed, but the child still died. It's hard to imagine the pain he had to go through. But after this tragic event, we read in the Bible: “Then David rose from the ground and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothes, and went to the house of the Lord and prayed. Returning home, he demanded that they give him bread, and he ate” (2 Samuel 12:20). It is so important in times of suffering to seek God rather than turn away from Him.

Worship means celebrating who God is and what He has done.

“A psalm of praise. Shout to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with joy; go before Him with a shout! Know that the Lord is God, that He created us, and we are His, His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with praise, into His courts with praise. Glorify Him, bless His name, for the Lord is good: His mercy endures forever, and His truth endures forever” (Ps. 99:1-5).

Finally, it is worth remembering that:

• Worship is NOT about pretty music and words.
• Worship is NOT memorized phrases.
• Worship is NOT a way to show off.

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In the Spirit

The expression “spirit” here denotes the opposite of the flesh and everything that has a carnal character that limits the freedom of the spirit. The Jews and Samaritans had the idea that the success of prayer depended on external conditions, mainly on the place where the service was performed.

The word spirit is capitalized here. Jesus is not talking about the Holy Spirit here, but about the spirit that is within us.

May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved completely without blemish at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:23)

Most likely, we intuitively understand what spirit means. Sometimes we use the expression “we lack the spirit.” Meaning courage, some kind of inner strength, motive, motivation.

The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you. (John 14:26)

παράκλητος

Parakletos - comforter, intercessor, protector. But this word also has another meaning. Stimulant, summoner, encourager. That which gives us an internal stimulus, desire, disposition of the heart, a dream.

Speaking about true worship in the spirit, Jesus does not deny worship, its external manifestations, as some may mistakenly believe. He only speaks of a narrow view of the worship of God, that it must be performed in a specific place, involving a specific ritual, and so on. Jesus is talking about our inner state, the disposition of our hearts, our inner urge to serve God.

For example, Jesus condemns verbosity in prayer. In the Sermon on the Mount, He says: do not pray like the pagans, who repeat the same thing and think that the more words they say, the more effective the prayer.

On the other hand, Jesus himself outwardly demonstrates his worship and reverence for God. He lifts his eyes to heaven during prayer, He kneels during prayer in Gethsemane.

If we look at Jesus' calls, they were not all about destroying people's outward worship, but about putting spirit into the things they did. Not just not to kill, but not even to allow a bad word or thought about another person. Not just don’t cheat on your friend, but don’t even allow yourself such thoughts inside.

Praise from the heart. Serving with a Dream. Zeal for the kingdom. This is an emotional experience. Our senses connect. Our spirit responds to the image and voice of God.

It turns out that something can distract us from worship.

I beg you, sing - it pleases God!

I beg you, don't be late!

I beg you, don't drink coffee while singing!

Thoughtfulness - praying with the Spirit, praying with the mind. Matthew 6:7 pagan verbosity. There are songs that we stopped singing, because if you say the words 50 times, then you no longer think about the meaning, but automatically sing.

When you pray for many years, there are constant phrases. Try to look for new words in prayer, this will revive your relationship with God.

Let us worship God in spirit. This is what our Lord did and what pleases God!

Content

• 1 Early Church Fathers
• 2 Reformation liturgies
• 3 Today 3.1 General elements
• 3.2 Sacramental tradition
• 3.3 Reformation tradition
• 3.4 Evangelism

Glorifying God

Let's look into the past, how it all began: when God created man, He did not create him so that the person would be a Christian, so that he would preach or not sin. He created man to walk with Him. Our purpose from creation itself is to be in His presence. And we have such an opportunity here, already now.

Let us now look ahead to what awaits us there in Heaven. Revelation 4:10-11,19:1-7.

“Then the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and lay down their crowns before the throne, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and by Thy will all things exist. and it was created” (Revelation 4:10-11).

What's going on there? Praise and glorification! This is what I wanted to talk about today.

Praise and glorification have amazing power and can make an incredible difference in our lives.

Unfortunately, people did not always attach due importance to praise (which sometimes happens now). This is not just a little glorification, a little praise, it is a disaster for people, and I did not come up with this, the Scripture says so:

“But how, having come to know God, they did not glorify Him as God and did not give thanks, but became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened; calling themselves wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things; and God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, so that they defiled their own bodies" (Romans 1:21-24).

What is number one on the list of reasons why God left man in his lusts? They did not glorify Him as God. It is not that they began to commit adultery, steal or kill, but they did not glorify Him as they should. Unworthy glorification cost man His presence.

In the story of the ten lepers from Luke 17:12-19, it seems to me that this Samaritan was the only one who did not reach the priest, while everyone else, having obeyed Christ, went and showed themselves to the priest. It seems that it even turns out that this man disobeyed Jesus, but we do not see even a hint of reproach in his direction, moreover, Jesus sets him as an example. What is the reason? He came and gave glory to God!

Interestingly, Jesus noted his faith. And what did He see it in? In the case of the centurion, everything is clear, he [the centurion] said that Jesus does not even have to come to him, it is enough to simply command. What did this man do that made Jesus discern faith? Praise!

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Confidence in the invisible! Only faith makes it possible to glorify God in any circumstances!

Another amazing story in Luke 7:36-47 is about the Pharisee Simon, who arranged a banquet for Christ, but did not show due respect to Christ and the woman who anointed His feet with oil and wiped them with her hair.

“If you wanted to dishonor or humiliate a person who entered your house, then you should not have ordered your servants to wash his feet. This rule of foot washing was especially carefully observed in the house of the Pharisee, to whom outward cleanliness meant everything. Jesus clearly said that when He entered Simon's house, no one washed His feet (Luke 7:44). It seemed that Simon wanted Jesus to come, but he did not want to honor Him. How often do we want God to be present in our meetings, but we refuse to honor Him as we should and neglect to worship?” (Tommy Tinney, Seekers of God, p. 171);

… “Mary denied her glory to serve Me.” If all the disciples were in that house, then there were at least 12 more people there, and not one of them achieved the intimacy that she acquired that day. The disciples missed this opportunity, even though they were good people like Peter, James and John.

Friend, listen to me: you can be a disciple, even do what disciples are called to do, but still neglect worship! Do you really think that God needs us because He needs workers? Isn’t He the Creator who went out onto the balcony of heaven and scooped up the seven seas with a handful? Didn't God raise mountains on earth? It is clear that He does not need you as a worker. What He really wants from you is worship.” (Tommy Tinney, Seekers of God, p. 173)

“Jesus said to her: Believe Me, that the time is coming when you will worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You do not know what you bow down to, but we know what we bow down to, for salvation comes from the Jews. But the time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such worshipers for Himself. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24).

God doesn't need us as workers! He doesn't need anything we can do. God is looking for people to worship Him! Worship is not works, it is the state of our hearts before Him! It is awe in His presence, it is kneeling before His throne, it is hands reaching out to Him, it is words of praise and glorification.

A worshiper is a person who has come to know God! It is impossible to recognize Him and not fall on your knees before Him! God is looking for those people who would know Him!

“But You, O Holy One, dwell in the midst of the praises of Israel” (Psalm 21:4).

Demand determines supply. Thirst determines the measure of God's presence.

There are two interpretations of this passage: 1. God comes first, and because of this, everyone begins to praise Him; 2. First glorification, then He comes. Personally, I lean towards the second point of view and here's why: God was originally among His people, but when they stopped worshiping Him, He left them. They were oppressed, taken into slavery, etc. But when they began to cry out to Him, He came again and had mercy.

Redirecting love

Worship is an emotional experience, not in a sentimental way, but in terms of redirecting our love for ourselves or other objects of our worship towards Jesus Christ. And such worship makes us forget about ourselves, our preferences and desires.

Our reason for worship should be Jesus, not us.

Worship is very important. But, in essence, the central figure in worship is not a person at all. It is my great hope that one day we will learn to worship in a way that allows us to give up seeking our own to seek Jesus. Let everything in our worship be about Him.

Types of Christian Worship

See also: Church service § Types of church service

Regular Sunday services are part of most traditions. The Eucharist may be celebrated at some or all of them; often it turns on either once a month or once a quarter. Some denominations hold their main weekly services on Saturday rather than Sunday. Larger churches often have multiple services each Sunday; often two or three o'clock in the morning and one or two in the late afternoon.

Sacraments, sacraments, holy sacraments

Some clergy may wear vestments such as the Alb ( pictured
) when performing rites such as baptism

• Baptism common to almost everyone
• Eucharist, Communion, Lord's Supper

Other liturgical traditions: non-sacraments

See also: Christian liturgy

• Traditions common to Eastern Christianity and Catholicism Liturgy of the Hours
• Praises
• Terce
• Sext
• Nobody
• Vespers
• Have some fun
• Nocturnes/Midnight Office
• Orthros / Matins
• Funeral service

Main collections

• Book of Common Prayer

Music

• Christian music
• Hymn
• Canticle
• Chorale

Sing

• Byzantine singing
• Gregorian chant
• Russian singing
• Coptic singing
• Anglican chant

Classic and Baroque

• Johann Sebastian Bach
• George Frederick Handel
• Mass (music)

Modern

• Spiritual (music)
• Gospel music
• Olivier Messiaen

Modern

• Contemporary Christian music
• Contemporary Worship Music

But I don’t understand at all what joy there can be in praising God...

This is the tragedy of our sin - the source of the greatest and eternal joy for which we were created, buried deep within us, littered with stones and debris, and it takes effort to get to it. First we praise God because it is our moral duty - it is fair and proper to give praise to our Creator and Savior. We get up every Sunday and go to Church, every day we stand in prayer - restoring this source.

The English writer C.S. Lewis compares the work of prayer to digging canals through which water will one day flow. Sometimes we experience glimpses of heavenly joy - for example, on Easter Night - but often we, as the apostle writes, “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7), perform prayer work because we have decided to make our way to heavenly joy . And if we don’t give up this work, we will definitely make it through.

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Reformation liturgies

Further information: Reformed Worship, Lutheranism § Liturgy, Divine Office (Lutheran), Lutheran Hymn, and Lutheran Chorale

Worship as singing underwent great changes for some Christians during the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther, a music lover, composed hymns that are still sung today and expected his congregation to be active participants in the service and sing along.[ citation needed

]

John Calvin, in Geneva, argued that although instrumental music had its time with Leviticus from the Old Testament, it was no longer the correct expression for the church.[ citation needed

] This was expanded by John Knox (see Presbyterian Worship); Only the Psalms were sung, and they were sung a cappella. Moreover, in the Genevan and Scottish Reformed traditions, man-made hymns are not sung because they are inferior to the inspired psalms of the Bible. Calvinist The regulative principle of worship distinguishes traditional Presbyterian and Reformed churches from Lutheran or other Protestant churches.

Early Church Fathers

The theme of worship is raised by many church fathers, including Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170-c. 236). The Holy Eucharist was the central act of worship in early Christianity. The liturgy of the synagogues and the ritual of the Jewish temple in which early Christians took part helped shape the form of early Christian liturgy, which was a dual liturgy of the word and the Eucharist; this early liturgical structure still exists in the Catholic Mass and Eastern Divine Liturgy. The early Christian use of incense in worship appears to have originated first in Christian funeral rites and then used during regular worship services. Incense was also used in the Bible to worship God and symbolize prayer in both the Old Testament and New Testament; one of the three wise men offered incense to Christ, and in the Book of Revelation, angels and saints appear in Heaven offering incense to God, thus setting a precedent for the Christian use of incense in worship.