I say this without a shred of hyperbole: nearly all the problems of contemporary Christendom can be traced back to a defective view of worship.

Even most of the best churches, that otherwise seriously believe the Bible, don't pay attention to what it says about worship.

What the contemporary church believes worship is for:

Evangelism
Outreach
Marketing
Entertainment
TEDtalks w/Bible verses
Theology lectures
Impressive rock concerts
What the Bible says worship is for:

God's people gathering before His presence
God renewing His covenant relationship with His people
God's people receiving grace from Him
God's people responding with praise
God's people returning a portion of the grace He has given
If you want a simple, one-sentence definition of what the Bible says worship is it is this:

GOD'S PEOPLE DRAWING NEAR TO HIM.

Read that again, and again, and again. THAT is what worship according to the Bible is.
God gave His people a pattern of how He is to be approached.

He CALLS us into his presence (Lev. 9:3-5).

He speaks, and we respond by gathering before His face.

Historically, this is where the "call to worship" is derived.
Next, as we draw near to a holy God, we do so as sinners in need of grace so he CLEANSES us (Lev. 9:8-11).

Historically, this is why a confession of sin was ubiquitous in worship.
Having confessed sins, God CONSECRATES his people (Leviticus 9:12-16).

They ascend into His presence by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew ascension offering was a shadowy picture of this.

We are cut up by the two-edged sword of the Word and ascend up to God.
That is the proper place for the sermon. We are being consecrated with God's Holy Word.

It is not the time for neither a lecture nor an infotainment self-help talk.

It is the time for God's people to be shaped by His Word.
Having ascended into God's presence in the heavenly places, we sit down and COMMUNE with Him, enjoying a meal (Lev. 9:18-21).

When we read the whole Bible, worship without food is UNTHINKABLE.

We shouldn't get the peace offering less often than those in an inferior covenant.
Finally, God sends us out of His presence and COMMISSIONS us to go out and conquer His world (Lev. 9:22-24).
That is the pattern that God has given us to draw near.

Historically, the church followed it closely.

But since the disaster that is the Second Great Awakening, worship became what it is now: a spectacle that may or may not be well-meaning.
The single greatest need in the church is a reformation of worship.

Everything else (restoring sound doctrine, refusing to adopt cultural mores over and against God's Word, etc.) will flow from worshiping God as He has commanded, and not by our own design.
I preached about this a few months ago, and cover these things here:

https://t.co/r04t6IloVy

More from Religion

Rig Ved 1.36.7

To do a Namaskaar or bow before someone means that you are humble or without pride and ego. This means that we politely bow before you since you are better than me. Pranipaat(प्राणीपात) also means the same that we respect you without any vanity.

1/9


Surrendering False pride is Namaskaar. Even in devotion or bhakti we say the same thing. We want to convey to Ishwar that we have nothing to offer but we leave all our pride and offer you ourselves without any pride in our body. You destroy all our evil karma.

2/9

We bow before you so that you assimilate us and make us that capable. Destruction of our evils and surrender is Namaskaar. Therefore we pray same thing before and after any big rituals.

3/9

तं घे॑मि॒त्था न॑म॒स्विन॒ उप॑ स्व॒राज॑मासते ।
होत्रा॑भिर॒ग्निं मनु॑षः॒ समिं॑धते तिति॒र्वांसो॒ अति॒ स्रिधः॑॥

Translation :

नमस्विनः - To bow.

स्वराजम् - Self illuminating.

तम् - His.

घ ईम् - Yours.

इत्था - This way.

उप - Upaasana.

आसते - To do.

स्त्रिधः - For enemies.

4/9

अति तितिर्वांसः - To defeat fast.

मनुषः - Yajman.

होत्राभिः - In seven numbers.

अग्निम् - Agnidev.

समिन्धते - Illuminated on all sides.

Explanation : Yajmans bow(do Namaskaar) before self illuminating Agnidev by making the offerings of Havi.

5/9
"Hinduism was one of the world's most easy-going faith traditions, famed for it's non-persecutory history."

I can assure you, it is NOT.

It is neither easy-going, nor non-persecutory. In fact it is the very opposite.

Thread.


Modern Hinduism is a British colonial concept, created in concert with Brahmins, who are at the "apex" of the caste system. The word "Hindoo" in fact, is of Persian origin, meaning a person who lives in the Indus valley.

Colonialists who attempted to study Indian religion in the 18th century (NOT, at the time, Hinduism) were baffled by it. Strata of people living distinctly (the caste system) with overlapping gods didn't fit into their Judeo-Christian understanding of religion.

Which has an ecclesiastical authority, a holy book etc., which Indian religions lacked. In studying "The Hindoo", colonialists prioritized textual sources of knowledge, which is where Brahmins, the priestly caste with a monopoly over education/text come in.

Brahminism was a distinct "religion" (although i don't really want to use the term in this way) that was frankly terrorized of other castes. In fact, the very basis of Brahminism is oppression. Brahmins had scholars who recorded *Brahminical* canon textually.

You May Also Like