LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY

THINGS TO REMEMBER 5

A PAPER IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CLASS BIBICAL FOUNDATIONS OF WORSHIP WRSP 510

BY NATHANIEL JONES LANGSTON, OK NOVEMBER 10, 2013

In the Gospels we find Jesus is the fulfillment of worship. He is the reason that we are able to worship freely as we do now. What type of example does Jesus set for us to live out worship? How did He live that would clue us in on how we should worship? For starters Jesus talked an awful lot about love. He talked about loving your neighbor, your enemy, all people, and most importantly God. In Matthew 22:35-40 Jesus has a conversation with a young man who asks the question: What is the greatest commandment of all the law and the prophets. When the young man asks Jesus this question he is asking Him, out of all the Levitical Law, out of all these rules and regulations for how we live out worship in our day and age what is the most important thing. Jesus responds with love. He says to love God with all of your heart soul mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Above all else this is what the Son of God is telling us is the most important thing. To love God and love people should be our greatest form of worship to God. Now does this mean that singing or dancing or live art can it be part of this in a corporate tangible or even private way? Not at all, all through the Psalms, well talk more about this later; we see examples of these things used to worship God. However in the context of New Testament worship Jesus seems to say that loving people and serving one another is the way that we can best worship God. The Bible makes it clear that if we cant love those made in Gods image then we dont love Him either. But if we do love God, then we will love others and will demonstrate that the same way Jesus did. How, by serving, Jesus served by ministering to the sick, feeding the hungry, raising the dead, and ultimately, by giving His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45 NKJV).

How did Jesus worship? All of Jesus life was an expression of his worship to God his Father as he served him in thought, word, and deed, and ultimately as he set the captives free from Satans power through his sacrificial death. Love and worship of His Father must have been the driving motivation for all that He did because Jesus worshipped foremost and immediately through obedience of His Father. Jesus never lost sight of the fact he was sent from the Father. The entire ministry of Jesus is a reflection of a deep inner desire to please His Father. This is especially evident in the fact that Jesus freely volunteered to be the Redeemer. Jesus example to us of how to worship was done by the way he lived his life and how he gave his life. His sacrificial death on the cross should be the example we all follow for how to live our lives in a way that brings glory to God. Does this mean we all go and freely give our lives for the sins of the world? However, if God were to call you or I to die for our belief in Him my prayer is that we would do it. One method of worship Jesus did command while here on Earth is that of the Eucharist, or Lords Supper. During his last few hours with his disciples Jesus washes their feet as an example of humility. He tells them to do this to others in his name. To live out examples of humility to all they meet. Then Jesus breaks bread and says to his disciples that the bread represents his body broken for them. The wine that they drank was symbolic of his bloodshed for them. What did this mean? Jesus know that His body was about to be broken, His blood poured out. But He also knew that His offering would become an official document establishing the peace between man and God. So He used red wine to symbolize the shedding of His blood that was necessary to restore mans communion, communication, and companionship with God. His blood would pay for the sins of all humanity. Never again would it be necessary to slaughter lambs, goats, turtledoves, and bulls for atonement.

One sacrifice would atone for all sins, for all time, and usher in a new covenant. This symbol Jesus set up for us is still practiced today. In fact it is the ordinance of communion, or the Lords Supper, is the basis for multi-sensory worship. Communion employs touch is employed to break the bread; sight as the bread is broken and the cup passed around the room; sound is heard as the pastor or leader reads from scripture or quotes the words of Jesus to Do this in remembrance of me, the smell is used as the bread, wine, or grape juice, is lifted to the lips and the aroma of the drink hits the nostrils; and taste occurs as the bread and juice are consumed. The beautiful thing about multi-sensory worship is that it not only employs the use of the human physical senses, but also arouses the Spirit of God that is alive within all who call themselves Christians. The Spirit is pleased as it leads and prompts the believer through the worship of the Father by the remembrance of the Son. The same principles occur within multi-sensory worship gatherings. Jesus gives us the ultimate examples of worship.

REFERENCE:

Whaley, V.M. Called to Worship: The Biblical Foundations of our Response to Gods Call. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2013. 223