Our God is an AWESOME God

The NT equivalent to 'yare' is 'sebomai'.

'Sebomai' occurs 10 times in the NT.

It means 'to revere', 'to be devout', 'to worship'.

[Matt 15:9 / Mark 7:7 / Acts 16:14]

This is another tie between OT & NT, creating continuity.

Worship as reverence of God.

Reverence involves awe.

Our God is an AWESOME God!

Love you X

Reverence & Fear

Our 3rd biblical view on worship is 'fear' or 'reverence' of God.

The Hebrew word is 'yare' and is found over 300 times in the OT. In most cases this word is translated to 'afraid' or 'fear'.

In 80% the object of fear is God.

This 'fear' isn't terror or dread, but awe and respect.

This 'fear of the LORD' is consistant with a way of life that is connected to an inner attitude of reverence towards God.

This way of life is an expression of worship.

Love you X

EVERYTHING is spiritual

Now, in the new testament there are 2 Greek words that convey the same message as 'abad'.

They are 'latreuo' and 'leitourgeo'.

'Latreuo' is found 21 times in the NT and means 'to serve' and 'to worship'. All of the uses of the word 'latreuo' are where service is offered not to other humans, but to God. [Luke 2:37 / Acts 26:7 / Phil. 3:3 / Hebrews 12:28]

The 2nd Greek word 'leitourgeo' is found only 3 times in the NT [Acts 13:2 / Romans 15:27 / Hebrews 10:11] (serving / ministering).

Worship, then, is the expression of service of God not only in religous gatherings, but in every area of life.

This is why if you one of the early christians about how spiritual they were, they wouldn't understand what you were talking about. It's not about what they did on the sabbath, but ALL THE TIME. There is no difference between church-life and life-life.

Everything is spiritual.

In Hebrew, the word for spirit and the word for breath is the same ['ruwah'].

Everything is spiritual.

This meaning of worship can be linked to how we call meetings 'services'.

But we gotta make sure our 'services' really are 'service' of God.

Love you X

Abad

So after looking at the first biblical word and the comparisons between 'hawah' and 'proskuneo', we can start to appreciate 1 part of the essence of worship:

WORSHIP involves humble submission to God.

The next biblical word group shows another side of worship.

Worship involves work or service.

The Hebrew term is 'abad', this word is found 289 times in the OT. Its meaning can be translated 'to work', 'to do', 'to perform', 'to serve' and 'to worship'.

It is most frequently translated as 'to serve' (125 times). The phrase 'to serve the LORD[Yahweh]' is used 56 times.

It is through this phrase we gain another aspect of worship (Exodus 3:12 / Deut. 10:12 / Isaiah 19:21).

The term 'abad' is frequently used during God's instructions for His people on sacrificial rituals and apperatus to enable them to serve (worship) in an appropriate manner.

Love you X

Inward & Outward

Next we look at a New Testament Greek word _ 'Proskuneo'. It is a verb to describe the action of prostrating, or to fall down in adoration.

As well as this outward physical display, it also has an inward attitude of reverence and humility.

'Proskuneo' is the most common word for worship in the new testament [John 4:20-24 / Revelation 5:14], just like 'hawah' is in the old testament.

This adds to the continuity between the OT and NT.

Both these words are about INWARD attitude reflected in an OUTWARD gesture.

Love you X

Bow down

The most commonly used Hebrew word is 'hawah', from the phrase 'hishtahawah' which means 'to bow [down]', 'to do obedience', 'to pay homage' and 'to worship'.

Of the 170 old testament uses of the word 'hawah', about 75 are translated as 'worship'. Around the same number translates 'bow down', 6 times as 'pay honour' and once as 'pay homage'.

BOWING DOWN was a physical response, an action. It was a mark of respect, you bowed to kings.

It was also an act of submission.

So as a word for worship, 'hawah' gives us the idea of honouring God and expressing sumbission to Him.

Love you X

3 words

If we wanna seriously understand worship, we need to look at what the bible says about it.

To know where we are going, we have to know where we have been.

The first step is to look at the original meanings behind the word 'worship'.

Originally the bible wasn't written in english (what?! but Jesus was a christian from oxford!), the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek.

In the old testament we see SO MUCH history soaked in worship (in all forms). A lot of this helps us to understand what worship is and how we should offer it.

There are 3 main Hebrew words used in the old testament for worship. Unfortunately the lack of expression in the english language means that they all translate to 'worship'.

In basic terms the 3 words break down to Submission, Service and Reverence.

These 3 words link in very well to the Greek words used in the new testament. This is another way (along with theology and prophecy) that the OT and the NT tie together and are consitant.

Each of these key words highlights a different dimension (or focus) that together make up worship as a whole.

Love you X

#3

God ENABLES our worship_

It's through God that we are able to worship.

God accepts this worship because of Jesus' sacrifice, He even delights in it [Romans 12:1 / Philipians 4:18].

Worship, first and foremost, is for God's pleasure and not ours.

The brilliant (and yet ironic) thing is that when we get this right, when we worship God for the right reasons and on His terms, we can truly enjoy Him and the whole worship experience.

Love you X

#2

God REQUIRES our worship_

The relationship between God and His people (under old & new covenants) is established by God and on His terms.

In the old testament the law is given at mount Sinai to Moses to worship God in His 10 commandments [Exodus 20:1] and mentioned elsewhere [Exodus 23:25 / Deut. 6:13].

In the new testament there is just as much focus on worship as a requirement [John 4:22-24 / Romans 12:1 / Hebrews 12:28].

So worship is not only required, it's our duty (regardless of how we feel).

It's about Him, for Him.

Love you X

#1

God DESERVES our worship_

Worship is the right response to who God is and what He has done.
This reason is expressed in the Psalms (98, 100, 104 & 111).

We worship God in His greatness, superiority and goodness.

We worship God for His acts as a creator and redeemer (Rev. 4 & 5).

Love you X