The Tools of Worship by Jesse Jorgensen

Imagine going to the dentist for a routine teeth cleaing. You go into the back room, sit down in that funny armchair and look up into the bright light. The dentist walks in and asks you nice questions as he prepares for the cleaning. Then he sits down next to you and calls for his assistant to bring out his tools. Soon, the assistant appears carrying a tray of instruments, as she approaches you catch a glimpse of them. There are 3 screwdrivers, a calculator and a can of WD-40. "Wait a second," you say to yourself, "that can't be right." Hopefully, this dentist would be just as worried as you are! Aside from what the patient would feel, a dentist without the tools he is trained to use would find himself or herself awkward and frustrated.

Sometimes, we feel like that dentist when we worship. We all have different worship tools that we have been trained to use, find comfortable or prefer more than others. These tools could be a number of different things ranging from a certain song choice or musical style to specific postures in worship, or even the order of a worship service. We get to be very comfortable and very good at using certain tools and if we are given a different set of tools we can feel frustrated just like that dentist would. However, if the tools we are given really are biblical and really are effective responses of worship (unlike the screw drivers, a calculator and WD-40 would be for a teeth cleaning) then we can learn to use these tools and benefit from them.

There are a handful of Hebrew and Greek words that have to do with worship. One such Greek word is proskuneo, which means to prostrate ones's self, or kiss towards, in order to pay homage and reverance. Proskuneo is the word translated as "worship" in Revelation 4:10, which says, "the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne..." Therefore, an example of this might be when we sing songs full of adoration. In this instance we could say that we are worshipping with an attitude of proskuneo and during these times it would be fitting to bow down in reverence.

A Hebrew word, yadah, is translated as the English word "praise" in Psalm 67:3 says, "Let the peoples praise You O God; Let all the peoples praise You." This same word is translated as "give thanks' in such places as Psalm 9:1 which says, "I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders." The definition of yadah has to do with throwing or casting, thanksfiving, laud and praise. Worshipping in an attitude of yadah might be conducive to praising God with loud instruments or boisterous singing.

One last Hebrew word we will look at is abad. It is translated into the English word "worship" in such places as Exodus 3:12 where God says to Moses, "when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain." the definition of abad has to do with working and laboring as servants. Our whole live are to be in service to God and we are to honor Him with our work. This means that even church workdays are an act of worship. In fact some people seem to be wired in such a way that they experience worshipful moments more often during a church workday than they might during a candlelight service!

Biblical worship has room for many different expressions. Each generation and culture seems to find its own unique expressions or proskuneo, yadah and abad. No matter what style of expression, let's understand that biblical worship is deeper than music and broader than style. It is an everyday lifestyle! Though awkward at first, we can learn to appreciate each other's preferences and worship together in love and unity. The body of Christ is so diverse, and that is a beautiful thing.

Let's make room in our toolboxes for more tools! Director of Music and Worship Jesse Jorgensen

What's Your Excuse?

Have you ever thought “what would it be like if God had given up on His children after they failed Him just one time?”
• Abraham would have never fathered Isaac (Gn. 16)
• Moses would never have become Israel’s deliverer (Ex. 3 & 4)
• Jonah would have never made his way to Nineveh (Jonah 1:3)
• Mark (John) would have never written the Gospel of Mark (Acts 13:13)
That list could go for a considerable length---and doesn’t it represent our personal lives at times? We may be keenly aware of our past failures but God is equally aware of our future potential. When God has a great job to do, He begins with a person who knows he serves a great God.
Sometimes it takes longer to prepare the worker of God than it does to do the work of God. Moses was a son of Pharaoh’s daughter in Egypt for 40 years and then became a desert shepherd in Midian for 40 years. Finally, at age 80, the Lord called him to return to Egypt, deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and bring them back to the Promised Land.
Moses presented a series of four excuses why he was not the man for the job:
1) “Who am I to do such a job as this?” Ex. 3:11
2) “Suppose I go…what would I say to them?” Ex. 3:13
3) “What if they don’t believe me?” Ex. 4:1
4) “I have never been eloquent; I am slow of speech” Ex. 4:10
As someone has said, “there seldom has been a man who was both good at making excuses and good at anything else.”
But the Lord countered each excuse and Moses did become the great deliverer of Israel. Fast forward to February 2011. Is there anything the Lord had laid on your heart for 2011 and you started well in January? Have those God ordained goals been scratched by saying, “yeah, but;” “well it is different now, my thinking has changed;” “I need a second opinion;” “I just cannot do it anymore!”
Failure is not final; when God is in this, it can be the back door to success. When you read about “famous failures” in the Bible, what does that encourage you to do…today? God will bless you as you go and do it in the strength He gives to those who seek Him and His ways.