Worship Means Church Music – or Does It?

Worship.

When you say or think of that word, what do you think of immediately? How would you describe the word and what it means to you? A common belief is that the word worship means church music or that designated time during the service when the congregation sings songs to the Lord. So, worship must therefore mean church music – or does it?

The word worship is actually a shortening of the word worthship, implying that one should give worth and adoration to the object being worshipped. Worship is derived from the Greek word Proskuneo which means to put yourself into a humbled position of adoration or reverence to something. The New Testament was originally written in Greek and the word Proskuneo was the word most commonly used for worship Understanding this true definition of worship helps us to better understand what worship should look like in our own lives!I believe we all will naturally adore and revere something or someone in our lives, whether it is God or not!So, let’s make sure that we seek God first and worship Him with all we have, humbling ourselves and truly giving our reverence to Him.

Music goes hand in hand with my calling. Musical ability and craft are giftings God has given me as a Worship Pastor, and I believe music has an incredible power and biblical foundation for instructing and encouraging God’s people to worship Him. However, music and songs are not the object of our worship – Jesus is! Music is simply one of the great creative and artistic tools that God gives to us to praise Him! There are many other practical and creative ways we can glorify the Lord, and I’m sure there are many characteristics and giftings you have or can think of that people can use to praise God with their lives. One way we help the people in our church discover what their spiritual gifts and talents are by taking a Spiritual Gifts test and through our Next Step classes. I like to think of these as a person’s specific worshiping tools. It could be artistic such as playing music, painting, or writing, but it could also be in the form of teaching, constructing, encouraging, cooking, and many other awesome ways!

As powerful as worship music and praise songs can be, we must show our churches and help them to realize the many different spiritual gifts given by God to worship Him and minister to his people. We must not just lead our churches in worship music or songs, but we must also teach them how to worship in many other creative ways to show what true, humbled, honest worship really looks like! When we encourage our congregations to worship the Lord in everything they do, every day of their lives and in everything they do instead of just a few moments in a service, we will begin to see the people of God do great things in his name and for His glory!

John 4:23-24 says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

1 Corinthians 12:4-5 says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.”