Christian: What is Worship? (evolve, mission, churches, experience, pray)

[keevelish]

it is broad- but true because we worship God (give glory and honor to him) when we follow his guidelines and uphold every thing he has said. When we disobey him (sin) that is not worship. We are to worship in spirit and truth- the truth would be the word of God. That means taking the whole word of God, not picking and choosing what we like and throwing out what we don't like but following it totally. Of course we can't possibly because we are sinful people, but we can try our best and ask the holy spirit to help us. Worship is not just singing hymns (although it is glorifying) but doing everything that God says to give him honor.

[may]

when young King Josiah started to search for the true God, he cleaned the graven images out of Judah, breaking them to pieces. (2 Chron. 34:3, 4) What a fine example for us if we wish to please God!

[Joannicius]

Originally Posted by may

when Mary was notified by an angel that she would bear a son, she was told: "Holy spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason also what is born will be called holy, God’s Son." (Luke 1:35) So Jesus was God’s Son, not God himself in human form. Hence, Mary was the mother of God’s son Jesus, not the mother of God in human form. That is why neither Jesus nor his disciples ever called Mary the "mother of God."

The way Jesus viewed his mother indicates her relative position. At a marriage feast in Cana, the Bible account tells us: "When the wine ran short the mother of Jesus said to him: ‘They have no wine.’ But Jesus said to her. ‘What have I to do with you, woman?’" Here the Roman Catholic Douay Version of the Bible reads: "Woman, what is that to me and to thee?" (John 2:3, 4) On another occasion, someone said to him: "Happy is the womb that carried you and the breasts that you sucked!" That was a fine opportunity for Jesus to give special honor to his mother and to show that others should do the same. Instead, Jesus said: "No, rather, Happy are those hearing the word of God and keeping it!"—Luke 11:27, 28.

Such references show that Jesus took care not to give devotion or undue honor to Mary or to address her by any special title. He did not allow their relationship to influence him. And the apostles and disciples followed his example, for nowhere in their inspired writings is Mary given any undue honor, title, or influence. While they respected her as the mother of Jesus, they did not go beyond that. Certainly they never referred to her as the "mother of God." They knew that Jesus was not Almighty God in human form and, hence, that Mary could not possibly be God’s mother, a position far beyond what God’s Word allows for Mary.

If you study the scripture and focus in on the words that Jesus used of Himself you will see that many times He spoke of Himself as The Creator, and I single out one that is to me the most impacting, the time when Peter cut off the ear of the soldier and Jesus said "I AM" and they fell to the ground (obviously, not of their own will) because when Jesus said that; it was the same statement He made to Moses on Mount Sinai when He said "I AM" after Moses asked how he should address his visitation to the nation of Israel.

We know that Mary is not the mother of Divinity in the sense of her being beyond human, but she did bare the one That is Both 100% Human and 100% Divine. God is not limited to our understanding or math.

We speak of Mary as the "Theotokos", which literally interpreted means the "Bearer of God" - She bore the Godman Christ Jesus The Lord of ALL !

[Joannicius]

Oh, and by the way, if you don't think Mary has any influence on Jesus. Explain to me what happened at the marriage feast???

[ayani]

Originally Posted by Joannicius

Is worship something we understand or experience every day?

How do we know when we are worshiping the God that created all things, or are we?

Is worship the same as veneration?

hey Joannicius-

i think that the Christin ideal is indeed to worship everyday, and within the everyday- to be mindful of God's presence no matter what we are doing or where we are.

when i worship, i tend to do so silently, whether or not i'm with my congregation. i feel that God is a creative power, not limited to the beginning of the world- He creates opporunities for love, inspiriation, and revelation within and around us all the time.

maybe. when Quakers worship, at least in unprogrammed meetings, we tend to sit in silence. what an individual Quaker does with that silence (prayer, contemplation, waiting for clarity) depends. i think this could be thought of as veneration in the sense that one is humbling one's spirit before something greater and more good than one's self, and being respectful through that humility and listening.

[may]

Originally Posted by precept

"They that worship Him Must worship Him in spirit and in truth".....John 4:24.

This statement of Jesus makes the point that God desires worship, solely on His terms.

The ancient Jews decided to worship God on theirterms. Jesus' response? Read Mark 7:7 " But in vain they do worship me; teaching for doctrines the commandmenmts of men"

They that worship Him, says Jesus, MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH...Fot the Father seeketh such to worship Him". John 4:23


precept

true just what i was thinking

[Joannicius]

Originally Posted by gracie

hey Joannicius-

i think that the Christin ideal is indeed to worship everyday, and within the everyday- to be mindful of God's presence no matter what we are doing or where we are.

when i worship, i tend to do so silently, whether or not i'm with my congregation. i feel that God is a creative power, not limited to the beginning of the world- He creates opporunities for love, inspiriation, and revelation within and around us all the time.

maybe. when Quakers worship, at least in unprogrammed meetings, we tend to sit in silence. what an individual Quaker does with that silence (prayer, contemplation, waiting for clarity) depends. i think this could be thought of as veneration in the sense that one is humbling one's spirit before something greater and more good than one's self, and being respectful through that humility and listening.

WOW, that is beautiful Gracie....... I have always had a place in my heart for the Quaker ecxspresion of love and commitment to our God. I was raised in Okla. where we ran across a few, once in a while. I admire your "remembering God" for the Church Fathers say, that is what we in the "Eighth Mellinia" have mostly lost and are loosing. With the remembrance of God we can come to know ourself and recognize that without the breath of God in our nostrils, we are but a clump of clay.

May God grant you his Peace and Grace

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by NetDoc

For me, worship is serving others. Whether it is helping feed the poor, or teaching Scouts values while they are having fun, worship is sacrificing my life a few minutes at a time.

Wonderful post! (No wonder you're the Frubal Fairy.)

Although I am LDS, I seldom quote from the Book of Mormon in my posts. I hope everyone will forgive me if I do, just this once. Your statement reminded me so much of a statement in the Book of Mormon, which says, "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." I too believe that we worship God by serving Him and that we serve Him by serving others.

I also think it's important for people to remember that we all have different strengths and different weaknesses. I may be very good at serving in one capacity and yet find it very difficult to serve in another. We each just need to do what we can.