Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Meaning of Worship

I ran across this video today from Worship House Media...I think it asks a lot of thought provoking questions and offers a great definition of worship. Here is the video:














What do you think? Does this match up with your thoughts on worship? Why or why not?

4 comments:

Kelly said...

While this is a good link, it is not the link I was looking for.http://books.google.com/books?id=2s0KCwwLE6AC&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=worship+tony+evans&source=bl&ots=lxhK5af-dn&sig=wTB1CeiPQGUCRRmLmBkQoDrzWn0&hl=en&ei=IWxgSsnfL5CNtge0haHaDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4

Several years ago I heard one of the Tony Evans snippets on what worship was about. It is about giving back to God. It is not about you feeling good. If you do happen to feel good at the end of time, that is just a benefit. When you read of the people of old tearing their clothes, putting on sack cloths and sitting in ashes they too are most likely worshiping, because they are in touch where God is. Just like when Jesus wept for Jerusalem.

Russell said...

Great comments (and a great excerpt from the book on the link you shared). Hope you will join us again in the future for other thoughts and conversations!

Nate Custer said...

So I think this only makes sense if you foreground a common understanding of a bunch of "christianese" words, God, Jesus, The Cross.

I really have stopped using the word Worship, last I checked it comes from a germanic root (Worth-Ship), that was fealty a underling gives to the chief, namely kissing the sandals. Worship it seems leads into hierarchical theologies really quickly.

Instead I talk about ritual acts that can awaken people to awe.

Awe is different then familiar or comfortable, but I do like to see some kind of address. If all you are doing in talking about how great some thing out there is, that you have no actual way to describe in any sense and no concreate link to your life, then I think we are talking about imagining as much as anything else.

Maybe a way forward is to ask if you can describe what: "Taking your pain to the cross," is in secular language. What exactly are you pointing to when you think about words like that?

Scott said...

Fundamentally I would say that this is true, none of those things SHOULD matter. The reality is that they DO. Music and other elements of a worship service have been included almost since the beginning of the church itself.

We are taught to nurture a one-on-one relationship with God, when we are moved by music, drama, liturgy, The Sacraments, or any other aspect of a worship service, no matter the format or style if you will, I personally feel that this is God's assurance that He is listening and is at work in my life.

The truth of the matter is, when we engage in conversation with anyone, as part of the human condition, we want feedback and when we feel as if we are being ignored we eventually stop talking... even to God.