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Confusing Celebration and Worship …

May 17, 2004 by Todd Littleton 1 Comment

Corportate worship, or worship together, often connotes what happens in a given “event” meeting at a local church on Sundays. Interestingly the two Hebrew words and the two Greek words describe posture and action – bowing down and serving. Could we have confused the “event” and missed the “incarnation” of worship?

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I feel we as church goers are concerned with what we “get” out of church. In other words we focus on us while at church, instead of on God, or more exactly, on the worship of God.

Worship should be for God, not for us. By the definition you listed, Serving God would be Serving others. For as Christ said “doing unto the least of these is like doing unto Him”.

Sometimes we are like the Pharasee who made sure he prayed where others could hear him. Is that why some of us come, so others will hear us pray? Do we think of that as service? Must be, because what else do we do that would qualify for service? Tithing? Is that service? Or are we commanded to tithe? Giving can be worship and can be service, but God looks at the heart.

Dallas Willard contended that Jesus was the smartest human being to ever live. Some quickly respond, “Duh, he was God.”

Separated from brothers and sisters. Not quite the way you would expect someone to describe looking in the face of hate-filled neo-Nazis. But, that is what a day of reflection does to you.