How to Worship
Coming off the heels of my post about “The Great Commisssion”, and off of an article I just read about worship by the first Vineyard worship leader, I have been reflecting on comments I recieve when about worship (specifically, the singing/music aspect of it).
Most notably, people mentioning (complaining?) to me about how they do/do not express worship.
So, is there an appropriate, proper way to express worship in music/singing? To get a grasp on what is worship/praise, let’s take a look at the original languages, which are rich with words for the act…
Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words for “worship”:
Shachah (Shaw-khaw) Hebrew: -To bow down, do homage, be down, to prostrate. (-Genesis 18:2, Exodus 4:31, Leviticus 26:1)
Segid (Seg-eed) Aramaic: -Pay homage to, bend down, bow, stoop low -(Daniel 3:5-15, 3:28)
Proskuneo (Pros-koo-neh-O) Greek: -Most prevalent New testament word for worship: -to turn toward and kiss or come close to and kiss; to reverence, worship, to prostrate oneself, adore on one’s knees. -(Matthew 2:2, Luke 4:8, John 4:20-24, Revelation 4:10, 19:10, 22:9)
Hebrew and Greek words for “praise”:
Halal (Haw-lal) Hebrew: -To be boastful or make a noise; to brag about, to magnify; to be clamorously foolish; to praise. -The root word of hallelujah; 200 scriptures use a form of this word. -(Psalm 104:35, 150; 2 Chronicles 20:19, 23:13; Psalm 22:23, 69:34, 74:21).
Yadah (Yaw-dah) Hebrew: -To throw (raise) your hand; worship with an extended hand. -Originally associated with gestures that accompany praise. Name Judah is derived from yadah ( -Genesis 29:35). -Also to confess; give praise -(2 Chronicles 7:3; Psalm 42:5, 67:3-5, 89:5, 99:3).
Todah (To-daw) (from yadah) Hebrew: -Thanksgiving, praise, thank offering, hymns of thanksgiving, sacrifices of thanksgiving, throwing out your hands to God with an attitude of thanksgiving for God’s promise of victory -(Leviticus 7:12-13; Nehemiah 12:27; Psalm 42:4, 50:14, 50:23, 69:30, 95:2, 100:4).
Zamar (Zaw-mar) Hebrew: -To make music (in praise to God); to touch the strings; to strike chords; to make harmony; praise, praise in song, sing praises, to chant -(Psalm 7:17, 21:13, 30:12; Psalm 47, 108:1, 144:9, 147:1, 149:3).
Aineo (Ahee-neh-o) Greek: -To praise -(Luke 19:37; Romans 15:11; Revelation 19:5; Acts 3:8-9).
Eucharisteo (Yoo-khar-is-tee-ah) Greek: -Giving of thanks, thankfulness, gratitude -(Matthew 15:36, 26:/27; Acts 27:35; Ephesians 5:4; Colossians 4:2; Revelation 7:12).
It seems that scripture is pretty specific when it comes to the HOW TO of worship.
Note, there are several other hebrew words for praise, but their meaning is essentially the same.
In Summary:
Worship = to bow down in homage.
Praise = to raise your hands and make a lot of noise with an attitude of greatfulness.
Thoughts?
How do these thoughts relate to your thoughts about the purpose of music being to entertian?
Man, don’t confuse me in my inconsistency!!
Actually though, I didn’t say the SOLE purpose of our music is to entertain. I said one of the primary functions is to entertain. Why do I say that? Because HOPEFULLY we have people coming through our door who aren’t going to connect with the whole worship thing.
Why else do we have electric guitars, sound systems and lights? Is it necessary to have that sort of stuff for a Christian to worship God through music? No. I think we have it because it helps to draw a crowd. And show a more compelling (yet still authentic) side to worship.
But for Christians on the other hand, hopefully our music is condusive to them worshipping God (as defined above by scripture, eh?)
Can you explain to me something I’ve never understood–How is music used in outreach?
And a somewhat related question, do you know of anyone that has accepted Christ because of music?
I went back and reread your last comment, Matt, and would like to rephrase one of my last questions - How is music used in communicating the gospel?
How is music used in communicating the gospel? Well.. I see several ways here. Most are anecdotal and from personal experience.
As the “blue light” at the center of a bug zapper. A means of drawing a crowd. It is then up to the people to be the “electricity” that acts and takes the opportunity created by the music to meet people, forge relationships, and thus pave a road to start communicating the gospel. Basically: to aid in introducing Christians to people they might not otherwise meet. This can be done at a weekly Rock (we hope music is one of our draws?), or at a bar.
The content of the music can help tell the story. In my experience, unless done very well, this usually is mutually exclusive from point 1 :)
Just a story: Creed’s “Higher” and U2’s “Beautiful Day” caught me at a point in my life and pointed me to something bigger than myself. Music is a powerful medium.
To your second question, I have never heard of anyone excepting Christ outside of them realizing that they are a broken sinner, and only Christ can solve that problem for them. Does music aid in that realization? Perhaps in some miniscule way…
In a different direction…
I think worship is a part of an attempt to live a God-centered and God-ward life. I think the particular style of singing songs and expressing myself during that time is pointless if not followed with a day to day “worship” that manifests itself in every thought and action, which unfortunately doesn’t happen as often as it should in my life
Isaiah 29:13
The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.
One purpose of many of the old hymns was to communicate doctrine to a largely illiterate society. That’s one way of using music in addition to the emotional connection it creates.
You have to account for differences in taste, as well. Not everybody rocks.
Dan -
I guess that’s my point (question?): Is it a matter of taste? Is it a matter of personal preference, a matter of style preference? Or is there a prescription in scripture? (say that several times fast).
David’s exhortations to Israel to praise God were fairly emphatic, physical, loud ones…
We have a multigenerational church and this issue comes up a lot. We have a blended style of “worship” with a huge honking organ and a worship band with guitars, bass, electronic drums and other instruments. Sometimes we’ve swung completely one way or the other based on the number of complaints. We’ve even had discussions — not always friendly — on what’s more “biblical.”
Those who like organ music say the drums are too loud and those who don’t like the organ say the organ is too loud. Some say CCM is repetitive and shallow, others say traditional hymns are too longwinded.
I happen to like modern arrangements of traditional hymns, btw. Have you heard Redemptions Songs by Jars of Clay?
Bottomline, I think a lot of it is personal preference because you’re trying to help people make a connection with God and it’s difficult for some people to get past the externals of worship. We spend a lot of time talking about that during our service — encouraging people to look into our hearts, fix our eyes on Jesus — and not get hung up with the other stuff.
In our 1st Century Small Group the other night, in which I cited you on the Great Commission, we actually talked about how we tend to look down on people for such shallow things as their taste in worship music. Check my blog for the discussion summary.
The Rock is aimed more at a particular demographic so it’s somewhat different for you.
I have a couple of quick questions for thought.
Can only Christians worship God? Why or why not?
Can only Christians participate in a worship experience? Why or why not?
Do only Christians have a desire to worhip? Why or why not?
In answer to another person’s comment, “do you know of anyone that has accepted Christ because of music?” I have… sort of. I’m at CSU and was checking out this church’s webpage because some of my friends are helping out the ISU church. Anyway, I was invited to The Rock (Ft. Collins Rock) by some friends and was drawn by the music because I’ve never been to a church that had massively cool music before. The music and the genuine atmosphee of people worshiping something that was real made me want to come back.
My actual salvation came through those same friends sharing the gospel with me in their dorm room (On their orange plaid couch…)
So, I didn’t come to Christ through the music, but the music helped draw me closer to knowing Him.
PS: Thanks for the explanation of where the raising of one’s hands as a form of praise stemms from. I’ve always wondered that.