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# 1: Where Worship Fits

# 1: Where Worship Fits. I. Getting a Grip on Worship. Our word “worship” comes from the Old-English word “worth-ship” and has reference to ascribing honour and praise to one who is worthy of it. In the Old Testament, the term embraces the ideas of homage, service and reverence.

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# 1: Where Worship Fits

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  1. # 1: Where Worship Fits

  2. I. Getting a Grip on Worship • Our word “worship” comes from the Old-English word “worth-ship” and has reference to ascribing honour and praise to one who is worthy of it. • In the Old Testament, the term embraces the ideas of homage, service and reverence.

  3. A Defining Question Is worship a whole-of-life matter, or something we only do on Sundays?

  4. An Old Testimony “The light of nature shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and does good to all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might…” WCF XXI:I

  5. Two Ways of Looking at Worship • General – whole of life consecration to God • Specific – special acts of direct engagement with God

  6. II. Worship in the Big Story of the Bible “Always keep your theology (thinking about God) grounded in the big story of the Bible” Michael Williams, Theologian

  7. Life in the Garden “The Bible begins with the account that God created man after his own image and likeness, in order that he should know God his Creator aright, should love him with all his heart, and should live with him in eternal blessedness.” Herman Bavinck, Our Reasonable Faith: A Survey of Christian Doctrine, 24

  8. Early Acts of Devotion • “In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions” (Genesis 4:3, 4). • “To Seth a son was born… At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.” (Genesis 4:26)

  9. “Walking with God” • “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24) • “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God…” (Genesis 6:9)

  10. After the Flood • “Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma…” (Genesis 8:20, 21)

  11. Abraham • “So Abram went as the Lord told him…And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.” (Genesis 12:4, 8) • “So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built and altar to the Lord.” (Genesis 13:18)

  12. Israel – God’s Treasured Possession • “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples… and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5, 6)

  13. A Sanctuary for God • “Speak to the people of Israel… and let them make for me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in your midst.” (Exodus 25:1, 8) • “I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.” (Exodus 29:45, 46)

  14. Israel’s Covenant Responsibility • “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…” (Deuteronomy 10:12)

  15. A Holy People "No area of life is exempt from the demand to be holy, for Israel is separated to be a holy people to Yahweh… All areas of life, close to the sanctuary or away from it, are under the scrutiny of his holy eye.” W. vanGemeren, The Progress of Redemption, pp. 156-7.

  16. A Worshipping People • “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his court. Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him all the earth!” (Psalm 96:8, 9) • “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4)

  17. Jesus and Worship • “And the Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, and we have seen his glory...” (John 1:14) • “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) • “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)

  18. God’s New Temple “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” (Ephesians 2:19-21)

  19. True Worship and Worshipers “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father… 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.” John 4:22, 23

  20. Our Spiritual Worship “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

  21. Spiritual Sacrifices • “Through him [Jesus] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” (Hebrews 13:15) • “I am well supplied, having received from Epahproditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” (Philippians 4”18)

  22. Drawing Near to God “Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus… and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

  23. III. Timeless Principles for Worship • Acts of worship can never be separated from the rest of life • There are things that stay the same and things that change in the course of Bible history • The primary requirement for acceptable worship is a heart aflame with God

  24. The Everlasting Activity “Worship is the supreme and only indispensable activity of the Christian church. It alone will endure, like the love of God which it expresses, into heaven, when all other activities of the church will have passed away.” W. Nichols, quoted in D. Petersen, Engaging With God, A Biblical Theology of Worship, 15

  25. The Central Issue • “Love for, and delight in God… as the pervasive orientation of the whole self.” Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, 353 • “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37)

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