How Should Christians Worship?
Stefan Van der Merwe
Today we are going to look the topic of Worship. There is so much we can say about worship but in this sermon, I am going to focus on three things. The definition of worship, the direction of worship and lastly the deed (Implementation) of worship. Let us start with the definition.
1. Definition (of Worship)
Trying to define what worship is, is a lot like trying to define love or hope. Every attempt leads to more and more branches, and it can go on almost forever. Yesterday I asked a colleague at work to define worship for me and at the end of our conversation I was amazed at the depth and breadth of the topic.
Simply put, worship is declaring the greatness of something or someone. It is the act of giving up your own glory to make sure everyone knows that the thing being worshiped is pretty awesome.
If we look at the world then people are often confused about what worship is. Mostly because our understanding of the subject is partly (sometimes mostly) defined by how people in this world think.
- A popular Contemporary Christian radio station I like to listen to often has this remark: “Worship now”” But what does it mean?
- Singing songs in Church if often equated as worship. (And then they often divide the “Praise” from the “Worship”)
- We also speak of “Family worship” when we speak of spending time together as a family in reading the word and praying together.
- Then we have bible studies, prayer groups, small groups, but we will look at the practice of our worship a bit later.
What does the bible say about worship? Let us have a look at the biblical definition of worship.
OLD TESTAMENT
- First use — Gen 18:2 — God appeared to Abraham as three persons and the bible says: “When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground”
- A few chapters later we read about Abraham telling his servants that he is was taking his son to go and worship on the mountain.
- Another aspect of worship is found even earlier in Genesis 4:3–4 where Cain and Abel brought their offering to God in an act of worship.
- An OT use of worship could therefore bring us to the understanding of “Bowing down in homage” or in a wider sense also “giving up something you care about to honor God”
NEW TESTAMENT
- The New Testament understanding is not far different than the Old Testament.
- The most common NT word for worship is “Proskuneo” and according to the Strong’s Lexicon means “To worship, do obeisance (bow oneself, do reverence, worship), show respect, fall or prostrate before.
- Here is a view instances in the NT where we find the word:
- Luke 4:8 — When satan offers Jesus the world if Jesus worships him
- (“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”)
- Matt 14:33 — When the disciples worship Jesus after he and Peter water-walk on the Sea of Galilee. (33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”)
- Matthew 8:2 — When lepers and grieving family members ask Jesus to heal incurable diseases and raise the dead. (2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”)
- Mar 15:19 — As the soldiers beat Jesus, they bow down, mockingly. “Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.”
- We see here therefore that to bow down to worship is a thread pulled through the fabric of both the Old and New Testament.
Let’s thus end with the definition we started with and add to it –
We can thus say worship is declaring the greatness of something or someone or bowing down to lift up.
2. Direction (of Worship)
When we look at the direction of our worship we find three directions: Inside, Horizontal and Vertical. Let’s starts with the inside.
Inside: People worship themselves (you worship yourself)
- First know use of the term Self-worship (Merriam Webster's Dictionary) was in 1583 and defines it as “extravagant admiration for or devotion to oneself” — a century before the enlightenment period started in Europe.
- Wikipedia even has a term for it called “Selfism” and is the worship that Anton LaVey in the satanic bible hold above all else.
- Thus, a relatively modern worship direction but one that is taking hold of our generation much more than ever before. In the Merriam Websters dictionary (online version) I found the following two quotes under the word “Self-Worship”:
Thanks to social media, young people take constant photos of themselves in a kind of self-worship.
Ed Leap
Similarly, to watch the endless stream of award shows for Hollywood titans is to subject yourself to a narcissistic spectacle of collective self-worship.
Jonah Gould
Today, as people more and more deny the existence of God, they seek for new avenues of worship and self-worship or selfism is an escape for many. The effect of this self-worship is seen everywhere. From abortion (I can do with my body what I want to) to the modern gender issue and even the LGBTQ+ movement and euthanasia. We say, it’s my life, my body, my discussion — and in doing that we elevate ourselves above anyone else.
One of the biggest religions in the world, Buddhism openly admits that Buddha is not considered a god, and Buddhists do not worship any god in the traditional sense. Instead, the foundation of Buddhism is following the teachings of Buddha. Prayer in Buddhism is therefore not to petition a being” out there, but rather “to awaken the spiritual strength that is within each of us. Do you see the amount of self-worship here?
Horizontal: Other people or things
Our horizontal worship is often divided into two parts — People and things.
People –
Our worship of each other almost has no limits. We see how people idolize musicians, actors, sportsman, tv presenters, politicians and even reality show participants.
On the website https://www.successconsciousness.com I found a blog page with the follow article: “Why Do We Idolize and Admire Celebrities”. I quote from there the following:
“Once upon a time, people worshipped and idolized gods. They built temples and statues for the gods, and worshipped them. They were their idols, to whom they prayed. A long time has passed since then, but the need to worship and idolize has not passed, only the idols and the gods have changed. Now, people call them celebrities.”
As a former tennis player and a great sports fan I have often look for the newest tennis results online and the best site I have found online for tennis results is awkwardly enough named “Tennistemple”.
I remember when I was young, and South Africa was still very much a church going nation, there was hardly ever any sports being played on a Sunday. Nowadays most sports are played on Saturday and Sunday and on days that the “Springboks” (South African Rugby team) or the “Proteas” (South African Cricket team) play on Sundays the church is ominously empty.
I have also found an article on the web called “Has sports become a Religion in America?” In a Boston newspaper “The Atlantic” the article “Just how much is sports fandom like Religion” we read the following remark
“The notion that sports remain our civic religion is truer than we often let on: In fandom, as in religious worship, our social connections are brought to life, in the stands as in the pews.”
What about Cricket in India or soccer in Brazil or the UK…the list can go on.
According to the newest statistics, the most sports crazy countries in the world is now the USA as number one and more surprisingly Russia and China and Germany — some of the biggest countries in the world. Not surprisingly that sports have almost become like a religion for many.
- Things.
This is nothing new. Both in Exodus 32 and 1 Kings 12 we read about the Nation of Israel exchanging their worship of God for the worship of a golden calf. We are all inclined to do just this.
This list can almost go on and on. Did you know that there is actually a new religion called Pikpuk. God, according to the Pikpuk belief, is a computer program designed by space aliens and the purpose of life for Pikpukists, is for mankind to develop its technology to the point that we can transfer our consciousness onto computer chips. They say: “Once on computers, we will be immortal and will have intellect exceeding our imaginations. We will be, in effect, gods.”
Recently I have come across a Christian website called “Rethink” and according to this website their mission is “to help followers of Jesus understand what the Bible says and align their life with God’s word.” Pretty cool isn’t it? In an article on this website placed on the 6th of April 2020 we find what they call the “6 surprising Idols worshiped today” and I think they are very accurate. They are:
- Our Identity
- Money/Consumerism
- Entertainment
- Sex
- Comfort
- Our Phones
Vertical:
- Worshiping a deity/Deities
In ancient times nations all had their own Gods they worshipped. In our time the picture is a lot different. Looking at the main religions today we do have:
Hindus — with their 33 different types and 330 Million of gods in total is the common understanding)
Muslims — One God called Allah
YHWH (God of Jews and Christians) — The Triune God (Father Son and Spirit) that we too faithfully serve today.
Just looking at this short list we have today of the main Gods people worship we can see that it has become much less popular to worship someone “out there” — and it is much easier for people to worship either themselves or things and people in this world.
In a tongue in the cheek article online Alla Gonopolsky added a few new God’s that people worship today — for fun I name a few of them for you:
- AFRODITE. Goddess of cultural appropriation
- TINDEROS. God of dating — er, hanging out
- SELFINA. Goddess of self-directed facial photography
- FOMO. God of Well (Accessible knowledge)
- ROSELOPE. Goddess of rose wine
- POLITICUS CORRECTUS. God of labels
- HOTUS & COLDUS. Twin gods of climate change
3. Deed (Practice)
So, we’ve looked at the definition and the direction of our worship but let us look at the deed or the action of our worship today too.
But before we go on, I want to tell you a story I read from another sermon in preparing this message today to quickly remind you WHY we worship God!
A man named Bill Mallory traveled to India to discover the purpose of life.But he didn’t find the answer there.
So after returning, he noticed a sign at Chevron gas station that simply said, “As you travel, ask us.” So every time he pulled into a Chevron station, he would look to the sign and say, “I’m a traveler. I’d like to ask you a question. What is the purpose life?”
These were the real answers he got. I’m not making this up.
- The first guy said, “Sorry. I’m new here.”
- The second guy said, “I don’t remember anything in the manual about that.”
- Another guy said, “I’m not much for church myself, sir.”
- One guy gave him a leering look and a wink, whatever that meant.
However, most people just gave him a blank stare, cleaned his windshield; but he kept asking at all the Chevron stations.
One day Mallory got a phone call from Chevron Customer Relations. He said, “We understand you’ve been asking our dealer questions and getting unsatisfactory answers.”The man suggested that he write out his question and send it to Chevron Corporate with a self-addressed stamped envelope.So Bill Mallory wrote, “What is the purpose of life?” and sent it to Chevron Gas Company.
A couple of weeks later, the envelope was returned. The only thing in it was an application for a credit card!
If you want to know the purpose of life, you’re not going to find it in a gas station.
You will NOT find it:
- At a gas station
- Self help book
- Seminar
- Talk show etc.
If you want to know the purpose of life, you have to either talk to the creator who made you, or look in the owner’s manual.
We were made by God and for God!
We see this clearly in the Revelations 4:11 (KJV)
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created”
In the Heidelberg Catechism, a protestant confessional document created in 1563 is a collection of question and answer and the very first question and answer is as follow:
What is Thy only comfort in life and death?
That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.
Our whole lives are worship to God
- It’s my response to Gods love
- It is giving back to God
Here is how we do it — three points!
Worship is Focusing My Attention on God — (not myself and not on other things and other people)
“Focusing on yourself is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, and ends up thinking more about self than God.” Romans 8:7 (Msg)
“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God.” Romans 12:2a (Msg)
“Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace.” Matthew 6:6 (Msg)
Worship is Expressing My Affection to God.
“We love, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19
And in the New Living Translation we read the following verses
“He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you.” Exodus 34:14b (NLT)
“Give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life.” Romans 6:13 (NLT)
- Worship is Using My Abilities for God.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
“Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering.” Romans 12:1a (Msg)
“So we make it our goal to please Him…” 2 Corinthians 5:9 (NIV)
God created you and me and loves us, so we could love Him back and worship Him, with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind!
Amen
