Lesson 12: Growing in Christ: Worship

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Lesson Overview

Daily Reading Schedule:

• Thursday: Leviticus 10:1-11
• Friday: 1 Samuel 15:1-25
• Saturday: Malachi 1:6-14
• Sunday: Hebrews 10:19-27
• Monday: Colossians 3:12-17
• Tuesday: Mark 7:1-13

Lead Scripture:
John 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and

now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” A natural result of a transformed life is the desi re to worship God. God, Himself, desires our worship. In the passage quoted above, God is seeking true worshipers to worship Him. When we worship God we are the greatest beneficiary b ecause we are reminded that there is a being greater than us who loves us and to whom we are accountable. What is Worship? Worship is the means of showing reverence, aw e, and adoration to G od. W.E. Vine notes, “[It] is not confined to prai se; broadly it may be rega rded as the direct ackn owledgement to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whethe r by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgement.” We assemble to offer praise to God in the way that He commanded. He not only comma nded us to worship Him but told us how to worship Him. Our worship must focus on God. In many places today, worship is focused on the worshiper. We must not violate God’s commands for worship and add things that are pl easing to us but for which we have no authority. One argument made fo r introducing instrumental music in worship was that it was pleasing to the ear. Yet we do not assemble to please ourselves, but to please God. In such situations, the worship become s a “show” meant to bring in the masses and entertain them. The focus is on individual pl easure and not worshippi ng to God. Though God may be the theme of the music, pl ays, and other entertainment form s, He is not the focus of the worship. Our worship must be authorized by th e word of God. We should never introduce any practice just because it pleases us.

Proper Worship

We worship God because He commands it. However, we must also worship because we want to show our adoration of Him. God ha s never been pleased with just the actions of worship; He has always desired our hearts and minds, Deuterono my 6:4-5. Some think they can go through the rituals of worship and be pleasing to God. In Malachi 1, God desired that someone would have the decency to shut and lock the doors of the te mple so that the people would not enter. They were going through the forms of worship, but thei r hearts were far from God. Jesus applied the condemnation of Isaiah to the Pharisees of His day who “draw near to me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,” Matthew 15:8-9. Proper worship is God-centered. It allows the believer to show his love and devotion to His Creator. There are so many things that God does for us, many things that we take for granted, for which we should praise God. The greatest reason fo r praise is that He is God. There is no being like our God. That reason alone should warrant our adoration. The Psalms ar e filled with praise to God, not for what He has done, but for who He is. His wisdom, knowledge, power, and being is above all comprehension. He is exalted far above all things and “His name alone is high.” We must worship God for He is God. Some wrongly introduce ot her religious beings into worship. There is great emphasis on angels in our culture. Many people believe they see or experience angels in their daily life. Although angels are ministers of God serving us, their wo rk has not been revealed to us, and they are spiritual so we cannot see them work. God only knows what work they perform for us, so it is foolish for us to speculate or give them gl ory. We must not worship angels. When John fell before an angel, he was rebuked and told, “Worship God,” Revelation 19:10. We are not to worship the apostles or any religious person whether alive or dead. When Cornelius fell before Peter, Peter rebuked him and said, “Stand up, for I am also a man,” Acts 10:25-26. Some will receive the ador ation of men and will even e xpect men to bow to them in the name of God, who do not deserve this worshi p. If the most prominent of the apostles could not accept worship, certainly no other man must . Nowhere does God command or permit us to pray through these men or Jesus’ mother. We pr ay to the Father through Jesus with the Holy Spirit also making intercession. Worship God! When we worship, we show submission to God’s will. He has commanded us to worship Him. When we willfully neglect His worship, we are showing disdain for Him and His people, Hebrews 10:25-26. We show His preeminence in our lives when we plan our life around worship to Him. Our public worship services and privat e worship must be the concrete items on our calendars around which we plan other activities. Some people put an emphasis on their extra work and recreational plans—they will worship “if at all possible.” If someone misses a worship service because of __________________, he may say, “Well, it’s just one night/day. Besides, what is one service going to hurt?” This is an acknowledgement that the worship service has become common to them, that it is not sanctified in their heart. We must willingly sacrifice to worship, 2 Samuel 24:24. Although our worship is God-centered, proper worshi p will edify the worshipers. When we sing, we exhort and admonish one another with the wo rds, Colossians 3:16. By our attendance, we set an example to one another. We hear a sermon from God’s word, and we are encouraged to strive harder to live more like Jesus. We pray together about our mutual needs and congregational hopes. Through contributions, we share financially in the work of the gos pel in our community. The Lord’s Supper is a communion with God and with one another as we contemplate the great sacrifice made for us. When we gather for worshi p, we must consider one another so that we can stir one another in love and good works, Hebr ews 10:24-25. We must also encourage and edify one another by not being disrup tive or discouraging. We must not be talking or passing notes, which would disturb other worshipers and take our minds from proper worship. We must not sleep or act uninterested, which will discourage those who see us. We must work to worship properly. What is Commanded We look to the New Testament fo r authorization of worship pr actices. The Old Testament was for the Jews and has been removed, Colossians 2:14. We are not to add worship practices according to the commandments of men, Matthew 15:8-9. All that we do must be according to the authority of Jesus, Colossians 3:17. When we study the New Testament church, we find the following things practiced:

Questions for Discussion & Study

1. Prayer: 1 Corinthians 14:15, 1 Timothy 2:8.

2. Vocal Singing: Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16

3. Lord’s Supper: Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 11:23-27.

4. Financial contribution: 1 Corinthians 16:2.

5. Preaching the gospel: Acts 20:7. We do not have the authority to remove any of these things or add other things. Changes in Worship There has been a tendency in recent years to ch ange the activities and methods of worship to please men. The practices that ar e prevalent in the denominations are creeping into the church. We must be on guard against false practices and abide only in the doctrine of Christ, 2 John 9. In his book Piloting the Strait, Dave Miller addresses this tendency towards change in worship: Some churches of Christ are operating on the basis of inappropriate, unbiblical objectives and goals in worship. Some churches have “worship committees” or “praise teams” who apparently have no clue as to what their real responsibility is: to plan and structure worship so that the focus is on God—not the worshipper. In keeping with the tone and tenor of our enter tainment crazed culture, some in the church feel that worship ought to be entertaining—though they may not come out and describe their sentiments in this way. They go to great lengths to stimulate the tastes and desires of the audience—whic h is a tacit admission that the focus is on the people. Can you im agine the first century Christians going to such lengths to stimulate the crowd? Can y ou imagine them manipulating the lighting in the catacomb? Or perhaps placing a choir group behind a rock so that their singing could echo through the death chamber in an eery (sic), chilling fashion? Folks, can’t we see that entertaini ng ourselves, satisfying our own needs, reviving our interest to escape our own boredom, and attempting to attract others with these manmade lures—are all simply unbiblical, cheap, inferior, substitutes for simple, unpretentious, meani ngful, spiritual worship? …Instead of attempting to renovate worship for our own benefit, what we need to do is cultivate our appetites for pure, New Testament worship. If worship has become boring and unmeaningf ul to a member, so much that he feels the need to change churches or liven up the worship assembly with theatrics, he has a spiritual , internal problem—a he art problem. His restless discontent is more of a reflection of his own spiritual condition than the status of the worship assembly. …If we really want our needs met, if we really want to achieve personal contentment and satisfaction, the only bonafide, surefire way to do so is to conform to God’s will.

   • 1. How would you define worship in your own words?
   • 2. Why do you think worship sometimes does not get the priority it should have in the lives of Christians?
   • 3. How can we keep our minds focused on worship in the assembly?
   • 4. What messages does talking, playing with other people’s children, sleeping, etc. tell the visitors and the children about our worship?
   • 5. Do you think the answer to question 4 has anything to do with the trend towards making worship services more entertaining? Explain.