Is it Worship or is it Worship?

WORSHIP... What do we mean when we say that word anyway?

Do we use it to describe what takes place on Sundays at church or when someone breaks out their guitar or sits behind the keys of the piano?

Perhaps the place to start on a spiritual question is the Bible.

I have a confession to make: My background as a worship leader has had a greater influence on my interpretation of what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter the Christians at Rome. "Therefore I urge you my brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing which is your spiritual act of worship..."

I assumed that the act of worship had more to do with what takes place on a typical Sunday Morning Corporate gathering than the way we live the rest of the week. Now hear what i am saying, I know that it still influences what takes place on Sunday mornings as it were, but I am convinced that Paul is talking about the everyday part of life and not just the special occasions.

You see I sort of half way breezed past the living sacrifice part and moved right to the act of worship phrase.

Have you ever noticed how our eyes tend to see whatever is more prevalent in our own lives at the time? Let me give you an example: when Shari was first pregnant with Jessica, we saw pregnant people (ladies) everywhere. When we bought the Chevy Venture van we suddenly noticed hundreds of those same types of vans everywhere on the road. Were they not there before we got the van?

I am guilty of the same thing with scripture: the word worship is more important to me than the word sacrifice. We don't spend a lot of time preaching about sacrificing on altars in our New Testament Churches.

The Apostle Paul realized that he had to find a way to communicate this important issue with the Roman believers. So he described the concept of sacrifice (which they knew well) in terms of an act of worship.

Paul, in his speaking about living this worship, uses a couple of other words to make his point more clear; He talks about being transformed by renewing our minds. Hmmmm? Sounds 'churchy' to me.

Thats where most of us get turned off and say alright preacher, this is the 21st century and you have to be more relavant.

That's just it, Paul is so relevant to the Church today when he speaks like this. You see it all comes down to one thing: who we give permission to run our lives. That's right, who gets to be the boss of us.

The only way anyone can have any influence in our lives, is if we give them permission to do so. God gets that permission from us when we transform by renewing our minds. We give him permission by intentionally living our lives as a sacrifice.

Still sound 'churchy'? Let me put it another way. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were generally animals that the believers MADE to God on their behalf in worship. In the New Testament we have Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice, but when we worship God still expects a sacrifice, so we are to BE that sacrifice by the way we live our lives.

RECAP:

Old Testament Believers were to "Make" a Sacrifice.

New Testament Believers are to "Be" that sacrifice.

So if sacrificing our lives to Him is the Act of Worship, then that act takes the form of obedient service to Him at the office, in the classroom, at the bus barn, in the shop, behind the steering wheel, in front our computer screens, in front of the TV, in our own homes and in front of everyone we meet everyday. How more relavent can he get?

So next time we gather on a Sunday morning to "worship" lets lift our praise to Him in songs and through prayer and corporate thanksgiving, and lets do it with all our hearts because we had a week full of worship as living sacrifices, but lets also be sure not to confuse "Worship" with Worship". Sunday is just part of the picture, and God desires everyday not just Sunday.

Blessings,

-John