Theology of Worship
Sara Norris, A153 Intro 2 Worship Prof K Sanders 21 February 2012 Theology of Worship: Old, New & Now Worship is homage; it is an attitude and activity designed to recognize and describe the worth of a person (969 Ryken).” The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery could not have said it better; worship is something that comes from within a person and is active and alive, a lifestyle. The need to worship is inbred, intuition and something we cannot escape… we were made for it. Worship is the result of an encounter, an experience, a motive or a desire. It brings life to the idea of there being a higher power that has control over everything. According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words worship comes from the Greek proskuneo, meaning “to make obeisance, do reverence to” many things, but for our main purpose it the reverence shown to God. Worship as a noun can mean reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to anything that is regarded as sacred; as a verb it is used when feeling an adoring reverence or regard for any person or thing. As Christians the one and only recipient of our worship is God because he is worthy of it. For many years the Tabernacle was the pinnacle of the worship experience for any Jew; and perhaps even more so for the countries around it, since it was so rich and beautiful. But before having the building, the Tabernacle was a caravan displaying the Glory of God to everyone. According to Yehezkel Kaufman, “The tent [Tabernacle] then is a priestly-prophetic
vehicle with the prophetic, the oracular predominating. The lustrations performed in the tent are designed to make it fit for divine revelation, for law-giving, for judgment, for guiding the people through the desert (184).” The Tabernacle then came to symbolize the center of the Jewish worship culture, important to the point of governing their moral and judicial codes of conduct. In the desert wanderings the Israelites had proof of the Lord being with them
vehicle with the prophetic, the oracular predominating. The lustrations performed in the tent are designed to make it fit for divine revelation, for law-giving, for judgment, for guiding the people through the desert (184).” The Tabernacle then came to symbolize the center of the Jewish worship culture, important to the point of governing their moral and judicial codes of conduct. In the desert wanderings the Israelites had proof of the Lord being with them
Cited: Peterson, David. Engaging with God a Biblical Theology of Worship. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity, 2004. Print. The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print. Romerowski, Sylvain. "Old Testament Sacrifices and Reconciliation." European Journal of Theology 16.1 (2007): 13-24. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. Ryken, Leland, Jim Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney, and Daniel G. Reid. "Worship." Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1998. 969-73. Print. Segler, Franklin M., C. Randall Bradley, and Franklin M. Segler. Christian Worship: Its Theology and Practice. 3rd ed. Nashville, TN: B & H Pub. Group, 2006. 19-49. Print. Vine, W. E. "Worship (Verb and Noun), Worshiping", Vine 's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Blue Letter Bible. 1940. 24 June, 1996 19 Feb 2012.