Beside Still Waters Ministries

I also wrote some Sunday School lessons for my church’s worship team several years ago, so I’ll be sharing those here as well as the newsletter articles.

This word – worship – came from an Anglo-Saxon word, “woerthscripe” which means “to ascribe worth, to pay homage, to reverence or venerate.” The Hebrew word which is most often translated “worship” is shachah (OT:7812) which means “to prostrate (oneself), bow down, fall down flat, do reverence”. Usually it is used in conjunction with different words that mean “bow down”, “fall down” and “serve”. In the New Testament the Greek word that is most often translated “worship” is proskuneo (NT:4352) which means “to kiss the hand, to prostrate oneself.” Both OT and NT words are speaking about a sense of paying homage to and honoring a ruler, since prostrating oneself before and kissing the hand of another have both been signs of submission and fealty in various cultures throughout history. This image conveys four things about worship: worship has an object, worship involves an expression, worship expresses a hierarchy or dependence, worship has a context.

We don’t have as good a sense of prostrating ourselves in front of someone or kissing another’s hand in America, except for in proposing marriage, because we don’t have a “King” and there isn’t anybody for which we would do such a thing. The Catholic church, however, does still teach these outward signs of respect – if you’ve ever watched on TV a Mass or other public appearances of the Pope, you see the Bishops and Priests kissing his hand. And Catholics always drop to one knee and cross themselves when they come into the sanctuary of the church they attend. I would say, though, that I’ve never personally been taught to do either of those things towards another human being. The best understanding I have of prostrating myself is in the service of footwashing – getting down on my knees in order to wash the feet of a Brother or Sister in Christ.

What does “worship” mean to you?

Louie Giglio, a pastor involved with the modern worship movement for young adults, defines worship as being “our response to what we value most” (The Air I Breathe, pg. 10). He goes on to talk about how what we spend our activities, money, time, energy, and affection shows what we truly worship. So, based on that definition, what do you honestly truly worship? What do you put everything in your life into, if you really sat and looked at everything? Things? Job? Pleasure? You?

1 Corinthians 8:5-6, Colossians 1:15-16, John 1:1-3

So, what do you think we were created to do and why? How might you worship God in your everyday life? Think about this throughout this week, and pray for God to show you opportunities to focus on and worship Him.