The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum What is the difference

Eleanor,<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]I do not want to downplay the importance of the assembly of the saints, nor do I want to become method-bound with regard to frequency of the Supper.<br><br>What I am trying to understand (and am not framing very well) is what is going on in many churches across this country on Sunday morning. Is it worship, technically speaking?</font><hr></blockquote><p>What then is worship?<br><br>John MacArthur Jr. give us this definition: Worship is “honor paid to a superior being.” It means “to give homage, honor, reverence, respect, adoration, praise, or glory to a superior being.” In Scripture, the word is used indiscriminately to refer to the homage given to idols, material things, or to the true God. So the word in itself is not a holy word, it only describes honor given to a superior being.<br><br>The common New Testament word for worship is proskuneo, which means “to kiss toward, to kiss the hand, to bow down, to prostrate oneself.” The idea of worship is that one prostrates himself before a superior being with a sense of respect, awe, reverence, honor, and homage. In a Christian context, we simply apply this to God and prostrate ourselves before Him in respect and honor, paying Him the glory due His superior character.<br><br>Essentially, then, worship is giving - giving honor and respect to God. That is why we, as Christians, gather together on Sunday. We don’t gather to give respect to the preacher or those in the choir, we gather to give honor to God. The sermon and the music are just to be the stimuli that create the desire in our hearts to honor Him. <br><br>John Piper emphasizes the importance of preaching. He writes, "The reason that preaching is so prominent in worship is that worship is not just understanding but also feeling. It is not just seeing God, but also savoring God. It is not just the response of the mind, but also of the heart. Therefore God has ordained that the form his Word should take in corporate worship is not just explanation to the mind and not just stimulation to the heart. Rather the Word of God is to come teaching the mind and reaching the heart; showing the truth of Christ and savoring the glory of Christ; expositing the Word of God and exulting in the God of the Word. <br><br>That is what preaching is. And that is why it is so prominent in worship. It is not a mere work of man. It is a gift and work of the Holy Spirit. And therefore it happens most and best where a people are praying and spiritually prepared for it."<br><br>Eleanor, can we say that all the variety of forms of worship that go on across our country on a Sunday morning reflect what has been discribed above and should it rightly be called true worship?<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]One person I know tells me that he thinks that it might just be that the traditional preaching of the Word may have usurped the centrality of the Supper to the point where this is ignored shamefully in most churches. He thinks that the Supper and the Word should be co-equal in centrality...almost a binary system, if you will.</font><hr></blockquote><p>The Roman Catholic church made the Lord's Supper central but it should never be considered central nor co-equal with the preaching of the Word. The elements are meaningless without the preaching of the Word. It's the preaching of the Word that proclaims to us the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teaches us the significance of Christ's broken body and shed blood which provides a complete remission of all our sin.<br><br>Psalm 95:6 "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!"<br><br>Psalm 103:1 "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!<br><br><br><br>Wes