Worshipping Together; Jordan Hurst

Summary

Jordan Hurst, Littleton Christian's new worship pastor, gives his first sermon at LCC on worshipping together and what worship means in the Bible and in our lives. 

Sermon Notes

• There are 5 words in scripture that are most commonly translated into the word worship in English.

  • Hebrew words – used in the OT

    • Shachah which means to prostrate oneself, bow down, fall down, or stoop.  To be in a physical

    • Abad- to be enslaved to, mastered by or to serve.

    • Avodah- to work, serve, or labor

  • Greek Words—used in the New Testament

    • Proskuneo- to kiss, to prostrate oneself, to adore

    • Latreuo- to revere, or adore

• Harold Best, in his book Music Through the Eyes of Faith defines worship as “acknowledging that someone or something else is greater – worth more – and by consequence, to be obeyed, feared, and adored…Worship is the sign that in giving myself completely to someone or something, I want to be mastered by it. (pg. 143)

• Naturally, we are mastered by the objects of our worship. We worship whatever rules our time, energy, thoughts, longings, and choices.

  • For example: We often worship our possessions, money, people, sports teams, etc.  

• But in fact, God commands us not to worship any one or anything but him. Exodus 20:3-5

  • 3 you shall have no other gods before me.4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…”

In scripture we see tons of different expressions of worship and we have the opportunity and freedom to express these things fully in our love for God, together. You can expect to see all of these expressions of worship as a part of our lives at LCC

• Commitment (Romans 12:1-2)
• Praying (Psalm 95:6)
• Reading and hearing the Word (John 17:17)
• Giving (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
• Silence    (Habakkuk 2:20)
• Confession (James 5:16)
• Baptism (Romans 6:3-4)
• Meditating (Psalm 1:1-2)
• Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
• Praise (Psalm 61:8)
• Singing

• Shouting (Psalm 100:1)

• Dancing (2 Samuel 6:16, 21)

• Playing instruments (Psalm 150)

• Clapping (Psalm 47:1)

In worshipping God, we respond by giving Him honor and praise, so that He consumes our attention and directs the way we live. Worship of God involves intentionality and action on our part; its something we choose to do. Yet, it’s not something that requires us to be in a specific place or perform a specific action. We can worship in a corporate setting such as a church service, in a small group setting, in times of private devotion, and in the ordinary tasks of our day.

• When we look at our definition of worship, its much more encompassing than what happens for 20-30 minutes as a part of the Sunday service or even the entire service. The reason why these practices are a part of our weekly liturgy is because we want to be a community of believers that holds each other accountable to worshipping God, and NOT anything else.