Various Ways to Christian Worship - Assignment Example

Worship in Christianity Christianity developed from Judaism the Christian literary means follower of Christ. Christianity stemmed from Jesus Christ, His life, His teachings, His death and resurrection. It has three main branches, the Roman Catholics, Protestants and Eastern Orthodox. In my quest to understand Christianity better, I interviewed a pastor from my church. He is viewed as a spiritual authority and he is well suited to help me understand the concept of worship in Christianity. The church is the Body of Christ that consists of Baptized whereas the local church is the place where a group of believers assemble each week for, worship, praise, fellowship and Christian Education. In general, by choosing to worship something or someone, it means that one has given himself completely and wants to be mastered by the said person or thing. Some people tend to think that one worships only in songs and prayers, but the truth is; worship is meant to be a lifestyle. As the pastor mentioned; worship is practiced both publicly and privately (Gordon). Public worship occurs each week, on Sunday’s and private worship occurs daily in our homes or other designated places. Everything that a Christian does should be a form of worship to his Creator, worship is at the very core of Christianity and all are called to worship God in spirit and in truth (“The Purpose of our Worship of God”). The Bible, which is the Christians holy book, instructs people to worship God. In psalms 100, it states “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the Lord is good; His loving kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations (Daniel). This verse in the Bible explains how one ought to praise God which is a fundamental part of worship; it shows submission and thanks giving to God. Through worship, a Christian acknowledges that God is the master and the Supreme Being and that he is willing to follow his commands and teachings. Christian worship came about as a result of Jewish worship, Jesus was a Jew and when He went to the synagogue together with His followers, they would sing and praise during the Jewish festivals. As a Christian, I believe that worship is important, the Bible has emphasized on this and therefore all Christians are obligated to be worshippers (White 2). The main message in Christianity is love; Christians are asked to love their neighbours as they love themselves. God is love and love is the greatest thing that you can offer another person, when a Christian worship’s God; he is professing his love to Him. Christians are taught that one cannot claim to love God yet he does not love the people around him. My interviewee pointed out that he believes God the Father, sent Jesus into the world to pay our sin-debt by dying on the cross and that man is saved because he believes and accepts him as his personal Saviour (Segler and Bradley 49. When one embraces the lifestyle of worship, it means that love is solidly embedded in all that he does, even to his enemies. The bible states that one has to be a worshipper, true worshipper to be precise. This means people who embrace worship in everything they do not just when it is convenient or on Sundays. Failure to worship means that one does not acknowledge God in all he does and that he is not following the teachings of the holy book. Therefore one cannot claim to be a true Christian if he does not worship God and as a result he misses out on the blessings that are supposed to come his way and the gift of eternal life; which is life after death. A life free of pain, suffering and hardship as characterized by life in the world as we know it. But a person who worships as is required of him receives blessings from God. God acknowledges him as his true follower and eternal life the ultimate gift as Christians believe is guaranteed to him. There are various ways to worship; Christian worship is a combination of actions and the practice of just one cannot be described as worship per se. Singing praises to God as can be seen in the old testament of the Bible is one of the ways that a Christian worships. Music that is cantered on God shows that one is willing to please him and that in itself is a form of praise. One can worship by being grateful and exulting God for who He is. When one gives the respect that is due to God, and reveres him, that is also considered as worship. A Christian should ensure that his heart is in the right place always, meaning that he is not distracted by worldly things but he always puts God first in all that he does. This is also another way that a person can worship God. Worship is practiced in different ways because life has more than one dimension and so there are many ways to worship God. In every scenario of life there is a way that one can show gratitude, reverence or obedience to God. Be it in his relationships with his family, at work, at school and in his community in general, he can choose to worship God by the way he relates with everyone. His actions, thoughts and words around this people matter and should be used for the exaltation of God. Having a variety of ways for worshipping God is a positive thing in that it ensures that a person’s Christian life does not fall into a routine. If there was to be just one way to worship, then that would mean that the person involved would do it just because it is required of him. The variety gives Christians many avenues to show their commitment to God and his teachings. It also fosters goodwill and better relationships among people. Worship is a lifestyle that is not easy; it requires sacrifice and a deeper knowledge of oneself and God. Some people might choose not to practice it because it requires a high level of commitment. It is difficult to leave the worldly pleasures and live the life that God has called mankind to. So many people choose to forfeit this and lead a lifestyle that is convenient to them because they view the whole aspect of worship and the Christian faith as rigid. People may choose not to practice and believe in Christianity because of they refuse to believe Jesus is the Son of God. They deny the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, another reason is their refusal to believe in eternal life and lastly their refusal to believe that there is a heaven and a hell. I believe that worship is the whole essence of Christianity. Human kind was put on earth to glorify God and that is what worship is all about. One cannot claim to be a Christian if he does not worship God in all he does. Works Cited White, Susan. J. “Foundations of Christian Worship”. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. Print. Segler, Franklin. M and Bradley C. Randall. C. “Christian Worship: Its Theology And Practice” Edition 3, illustrated. B&H Publishing Group, 2006. Print. “The Purpose of Our Worship of God”. n.d. Web. 25 April 2013 Gordon, Jana. Bishop T.D. Jakes: “The Importance of Worship”. Beliefnet. n.d. Web. 25 April 2013 Daniel, Waqar. “Praise Verses for Personal Prayer use”. Christian Talk. 2011. Web. 25 April 2013. http://christian-talk.forumotion.com/t5250-praise-verses-for-personal-prayer-use Read More