What is worship?

[Joshua-777]

I have three questions about worship that I’m curious to see the similarities and differences across denominations. 

What Is worship?

What is the relationship between worship and emotions?

and Do you encounter God through worship?

 

for me, worship is being present with God in awe and adoration, where we set our hearts on Him and His works in praise and thankfulness.  Worship is also engaging the presence of God. Music is an amazing catalyst for worship but just singing Christian songs is not worship.

I believe when we are to love God with all our hearts that includes all our emotions. I  love long worship songs, I don’t mind repetitiveness especially if it’s focused on an aspect of Gods character such as His Holiness or love I also allow myself to engage worship with a lot of emotion. I am also aware that scripture is an authority above our emotions but isn't it amazing when our emotions and scripture meet.

With encountering God through worship, I gave my life to Jesus because of an encounter during worship and have had some of my most life changing experiences with God through worship. Often I experience His peace and love, get clarity on decisions and direction, and even wisdom on scripture Ive been meditating on. I have also had visions or insight on where Gods taking me. 

Edited August 16, 2018 by Joshua-777

[ᑕᕼᖇIᔕ]

Worship is obedience

That's the shortest and most concise answer I can offer 

[Fidei Defensor]

Worship is intimacy, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24). 

We are able to worship through the Spirit we have received (2 Corinthians 6:19-20) and through the Truth who is Jesus, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, None May come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). 

We worship in, through and before the Holy Trinity. For He lives in us, “Anyone who confesses Jesus is Son of God, God lives in them and they live in God.” (1 John 4:15, cross ref Colossians 1:27, 1 Corinthians 3:16). 

And did not Jesus say His desires us to be one as He and Father is one and that we would be in them? (John 17:20-23. Worship is intimacy. 

Edited August 16, 2018 by Fidei Defensor

[GandalfTheWise]

At its core, worship is acknowledging God for Who He is.   I think that it takes many forms and encompasses many emotions.

Some seems to be a spontaneous reaction to something God has done; some seems to be a more measured consideration of Him; some seems individual; some seems corporate.

It seems to encompass prayer, fasting, singing, music, service, our attitudes, and probably pretty much aspect of our lives to some degree.

I'm hesitant to nail it down to one particular thing since there seem to be many scriptures in the OT and NT that associate it with many different things.

[Sower]

Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.

 

  Psalm 96:9 "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth"

Heb 12:28-29  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

1Ch 16:29  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Psa 99:5  Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.

Revelation 4:10-11 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Psa 29:2  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

 

Psa 100:1  A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Psa 100:2  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Psa 100:3  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Psa 100:4  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Psa 100:5  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

 

 

[John_Leung]

Acknowledge Him, pray and talk to Him, praise and give thanks to Him, sing to Him, basically, it's our love gesture and response to Him.

Draw close to Him (James 4:8), behold His beauty and seek Him in His temple (Ps. 27:4)

 

[NOONE7]

A worship is a surrender of submission to Him with an understanding that He alone is Holy and Worthy and that none deserve this type of worship but Him.

[Fidei Defensor]

Worship: taking your worries to Jesus’ ship.  

[Dennis1209]

Those are thought provoking questions indeed. And with your three questions a fourth needs to be asked. Why different denominations.

1 Corinthians 8:6 (KJV) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

On 8/16/2018 at 1:21 PM, Joshua-777 said:

What Is worship?

My opinion and wording. It's not going through the mundane reluctant motions of being present at a service looking at your watch and thinking the preacher needs to hurry up, because you have a golf tee time in one hour. I didn't look up the Webster definitions, but I believe 'love' and 'gratitude' are emotions and expressions. I think there are two types of worship, true worship, love and gratitude from the heart for a supreme being. And a feigned forced one such as worshiping Caesar or the love and worship of money. My definition of worship is; bowing down and submitting to my creator and the creator of all things; in love, gratitude, respect, fear and honor. 

On 8/16/2018 at 1:21 PM, Joshua-777 said:

What is the relationship between worship and emotions?

I would be hard pressed to separate the two. We are thinking beings and have both reasoning and emotions that drive us. When we say, "something from the heart", is that reasoning we are using or emotion? When a person 'loves', is that reasoned out, or is it something that is hard to put into words? I can't help but to get emotional for what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me. I often get teary eyed with some of the hymns we sing in praise to the Lord in church.

On 8/16/2018 at 1:21 PM, Joshua-777 said:

Do you encounter God through worship?

I encounter God with Him speaking to my conscience and inner ear. He speaks to me reading His word and in prayer and I learn more of Him. He speaks to me with the sermons in church.