Core Value Worship
“In all we say or do, we believe gathering in worship honors God while creating fellowship and spiritual growth.”
“Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you and your people will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You and your people worship what you don't know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. But the time is coming— and is here! —when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father looks for those who worship him this way. God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth." John 4:21-24 CEB
“Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You must have no other gods before me. Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the LORD your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents' sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:1-6 CEB
“So, brothers and sisters, because of God's mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. Don't be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God's will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.” Romans 12:1-2 CEB
If I had a dime for every time, I was in worship.
Growing up, we just did worship. My first memories are from the time of living in New Jersey. My father attended Drew Theological Seminary as a student of pastoral ministry and served the Teabo-Mt. Hope parish. I do not remember much of the Mt. Hope church. It was the Teabo church, I remember. Standing on the porch of the parsonage, to the right, was an open lot, the fellowship house (a single room long building for dinners and gatherings), and then the sanctuary of the church. In front of the buildings was a drive that connected them all. Past the drive lay railroad tracks used several times a day. On either end of the property stood woods. Behind, was open ground up the mountain through an old coal mining area to the outer fence of the Piccadilly Arsenal. We moved into the house before I can remember and moved out of the house when I was five.
My two memories of worship both included consuming. First, I remember eating Cheerios in the pew next to my mother and sister, hearing my father's voice from the front of the sanctuary. Second, I remember swallowing a dime while waiting on the offering plate to be passed. The second memory stands out as I was taken outside during worship, hung upside down by an usher, and pounded on my back. The dime went into my stomach; despite the best efforts of my grandmother, she never recovered the money after having been processed for nutrients.
Worship started to become more real as I discovered girls. I don't know how many times I was "saved" by going to the altar at evangelistic meetings my dad held. Whenever a certain cute girl would go to the railing to pray, I walked down the aisle and knelt next to her. It was always hard to think romantic thoughts with someone whispering the salvation prayer in your ear.
Attending camp brought worship alive for higher purposes. At junior high camp, then at senior high camp, I experienced music and teachings that help me to connect with God. For me, the music lifted my spirit, and the instructions challenged my mind. I often thought, "Why can't church worship at home be like worship at camp?" We did our best. We formed a drama and music team in our youth group and began leading occasional worship services in our home church and at other local churches. Once, we went on the road to Tennessee and conducted a weekend of services for teens in a small town. It was in worship that I accepted Christ – for real. It was in worship that I received my call to ministry.
How do you kill faith?
I believe gathering in worship honors God while creating fellowship and spiritual growth. Yet today, few people come to Jesus in worship. Worship tends to be the last place people will attend. Think with me about the barriers a non-attender or nominal believer progresses through to participate in a worship service. Most church buildings look like something out of a "Harry Potter" movie, if they are traditional buildings, or look like a Wal-Mart if they are new construction. The buildings are big and off-putting. Next, there is the choice of a door to enter. Most churches have too many entrances or the most prominent entrances someone barricaded.
Once inside the building, the regular attendees will look at the newcomer like how school kids look at the new kids when they walk into the lunchroom. The looks may not be hostile; but, they hardly say, "here sit next to me." Finding a seat without being asked to move by a long-time attendee has high improbability. The closer to the back of the sanctuary the person attempts to sit, the higher the probability.
Now the worship, bulletins, songs, scriptures, clothing, decorations, all seem surreal. Returning to their familiar car never felt so comforting. It does not surprise me that today, people will find anything else to do, then come to worship. Yet, worshiping God is central to the practice of faith.
Commandments one and two of the ten, teach us who to worship and who not to worship. The central story of the First Testament tells how God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt to worship on the mountain for three days. First responders to Jesus' birth worshipped him. The Holy Spirit came to the disciples during worship, giving birth to the church. When God calls all creation to heaven at the end of the age, all will gather to worship.
When a person begins to fall away from the faith, they begin a journey of a thousand steps. The first step is not to attend worship. Healthy vital faith only happens to the degree that the person of faith worships. If you do not worship the Lord, you are a brand separated from the fire. Like the cooling ember, your faith will die out. I give you this sad truth.
Often, I will consent to baptize a baby of a marginally connected church family. I go to their home. I get to know their story. We talk through the meaning of baptism. They attend worship, and I baptize the baby. After the service, the parents' faces glow with the glory of God they have experienced. They promise to return and make worship a part of their lives. They say, "Oh, I need this." They leave the church building never to return to worship and the fire of their faith dies. The fire of faith dies due to the lack of fuel. To say to me, "I can worship on the golf course." "I can worship when I go fishing." "I can worship at the shopping mall." "I can worship online." May all be true. The truth is, people, don't. When you do not attend worship, you dishonor God, you fall out of fellowship with other believers, and your spirit begins to die.
Worship in Spirit and Truth
The Bible does not say, "study the Lord your God," it says, "worship the Lord your God." Jesus told the woman of Samaria that "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him" (John 4:23). Sally Morgenthaler finds that many contemporary definitions of worship gravitate toward either "spirit" or "truth," and there is much to learn from each.[1]
Morgenthaler draws upon Gerrit Gustafson, who defines worshiping in "spirit" as "the act and attitude of wholeheartedly giving ourselves to God, spirit, soul and body. Worship is simply the expression of our love for God."[2] Worship expresses our love for God. How do you show love? Here are just a few ways, I am sure you will think of more. You name the one you love. You name attributes that you experience in the one you love. You remember a time of closeness with your love. You express gratitude for the one you love. These are all things we do in worship.
Worshiping in "truth" is described by Robert Webber when he says, "Worship celebrates God's saving deed in Jesus Christ."[3] Truth is Jesus Christ. In worship, we celebrate the victory won by God over sin, suffering, injustice, and death, and for the new life given to us and offered to all through Jesus Christ.
Worship is more than recalling to mind "a past event or person that is no longer present." In biblical remembrance, the past "event or person becomes present to us – it is something like experiencing that event or person anew, as a present reality."[4] "Here is the central point: it is as we remember rightly through our participation in worship that the Spirit of God gives us the right hearts. And it is as we come to worship with hearts seeking God that we remember rightly. Through this dynamic of right heart and right remembrance, spirit, and truth, we grow in the knowledge and love of God and in love for our neighbor.”[5]
Therefore, we can proclaim with the words of worship in the Psalms:
· Psalm 95:6 CEB, “Come, let's worship and bow down! Let's kneel before the LORD, our maker!”
· Psalm 117:1 CEB, “Praise the LORD, all you nations! Worship him, all you peoples!”
· Psalm 147:12 CEB, “Worship the LORD, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion!”
· To Jesus, we say, “Amen!” Luke 4:8 CEB, when he commands, "It's written, you will worship the Lord your God and serve only him."
We people of faith declare:
Worship positions the heart.
Worship positions the mind.
Worship positions the life.
Worship is about gratitude.
Worship is about praise.
Worship is about saying “I love you.”
Worship Dance Steps
Worship is like dancing to the heart of God. We move toward God. With that in mind, here are some basic worship steps.
Right foot forward: Worship begins with an invitation to "Come and See" because Monday is coming. The invitation is personal and eternal. We mimic God's invitation to worship as we invite others to attend with us. We name who God is. We name who we are. We name who we are in a relationship with God.
Left foot forward: having been invited by God into worship, like a good guest, we thank God. We say, "Thank you, Jesus!" We give gratitude to God for blessings of and in life. "I once was..." "Now, I am..." "Thank you, God, for my transformation today." "I desire to complete my transformation in love."
Both feet jump back: We say, "I'm sorry." We confess the parts of my/our life that need transforming. "Here is what I do that I do not want to do..." "Here is how I failed the pledges I have made..." "Here is how I let Jesus down..."
Both feet jump forward: All things hinge on the word of God. What does God say about my/our situation? "Here is how the word of God speaks to my untransformed life." "Here is what Jesus has done about my untransformed life." "Here is what I can do about my untransformed life."
Both arms raised: "God Help, Me!" Praying to God to act in our lives. "God, take me and transform me." "God, take our church and transform us." "God, take our world and transform us."
Raise the roof: "I will be different, for I am different." I commit to act differently because I/we am/are different.
End it: Reiterate the challenge of transformed living.
The World Worship Dance
Think of worship as dancing to the heart of God, meaning we dance to the music that is God. “Up to Faith is a Christian ministry run mainly by musicians, filmmakers, dancers, choreographers and the like. Their mission? To promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they do it 21st Century style. In 2011, they arranged a Global dance event to celebrate the Risen King, Jesus Christ. After watching the video, who could possibly say that Christianity is dead? It is alive and well and flourishing throughout the world. This is just one example of celebrations around the world, as we take a look at global trends, events and celebrations this Easter Holiday.”[6]
Photo 1UptoFaith Global Dance 2011 – Resurrection Sunday Dance https://youtu.be/IRaUnR1XtgQ
Worship, dance to the heart of God. In all we say or do, we believe gathering in worship honors God while creating fellowship and spiritual growth.
[6] (Roberts n.d.)
Other Years of the Global Dance:
- Budapest, Hungary - UptoFaith Global Dance 2011 [OFFICIAL] Resurrection Sunday
Dance 2011 https://youtu.be/NVv0jH33nL4
- Bern, Switzerland - uptofaith Global Dance 2016 - [OFFICIAL] Tanz Bundesplatz Bern
https://youtu.be/vK8928SfPXw
- Bern, Switzerland - Up to Faith Global Dance 2012 - [OFFICIAL] Tanz Bundesplatz Bern
https://youtu.be/R8aDxzjssEU
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