TEACHING NOTES Introduction Today we end this series with worship. If we were to survey American Christianity, what would be the most common description of worship? The most likely answer would probably be a description of singing at church. This is an extremely shallow and limited view of worship. Singing is certainly one form of worship, but the Bible describes worship as much bigger and deeper than music. ‌ Defining Worship ‌OT = עָבַד (abad) - serve, work, cultivate ‌NT = λατρεύω (latreuō) - serve, minister *Note: ‌There are two other words in the Bible for worship. Heb. havah and Grk. proskyneo mean to bow down in worship to show complete dependence and submission. Worship in the Beginning Whenever we want to understand God’s desired plan for humanity, we need to go back to the beginning of the story. In the beginning, God created a garden in the region of Eden. This walled garden was a heaven-on-earth space where God’s presence dwells with Adam and Eve. In this way, the garden is like a temple where God’s people can be with Him. ‌ Genesis 2:15–17 ESV 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” ‌ Work it and keep it = The Hebrew verbs here are עָבַד (ʿā·ḇǎḏ - serve, work, cultivate) and שָׁמַר (šā·mǎr - keep, guard, protect). Later in the Old Testament, these two verbs are used together in the job description of the priests serving in the tabernacle (which is a mobile garden of Eden). This means that we are understand worship in the tabernacle as working and keeping God’s house. ‌ Adam and Eve are tasked with cultivating and guarding the garden of Eden. The intention here is to grow and spread the garden as well as protect the garden. Why would they need to protect the garden? In short, there is an enemy who wants to ruin and destroy what God is doing. ‌ God commanded = In addition to working and guarding the garden, Adam is told they he must also obey God’s command. God tells Adam that obedience leads to life and disobedience leads to death. Trust and obey is literally the only way to live the life God had called to them to live. ‌ Worship in the Beginning ‌1. Cultivate what God gives. ‌2. Protect what God gives. ‌3. Obey what God commands. ‌ Worship is not a weekly event, but a daily way of life. Worship is the way of life that leads to life. ‌ Jesus: Worship is Faithful Love ‌ Mark 12:28 ESV 28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ‌ Scribe = Jewish scribes were an elite class who were highly educated. They were responsible for copying, maintaining, and protecting the written scriptures as well as other important documents. Because they spent so much time with the scriptures, they had large sections memorized. They were the Bible experts in the Jewish community. ‌ Which commandment is most important = Since there were at least four sects in Judaism at that time (Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Essenes), there were debates about how best to worship God. This scribe wants to know Jesus’ view of what commandments are most important. Essentially, he is asking Jesus about the best way to worship God. ‌ Mark 12:29–31 ESV 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ‌ The most important = Jesus is clearly stating that two commands are more important than the other 611 commands in the Old Testament. Jesus is telling us exactly how to worship God faithfully. ‌ Hear, O Israel = Jesus is quoting the Shema from Deut. 6:4-5, which was the daily prayer of Israel. “Hear” or “Listen” is Shema in Hebrew, which means to listen with the intent to obey. We don’t listen to merely believe, but we listen to obey. ‌ Love the Lord your God = Loving God is the foundation of worship. Notice that Jesus describes what is most important as a loving relationship. Without a loving relationship with God, anything else we do for God will be in vain. ‌ With all your heart = Because the heart is deceitful and sick (Jer. 17:9), we must learn to have undivided love for God with all of our heart. God told Jeremiah that the only solution to the condition of the heart is to allow God to “search the heart and test the mind” (Jer. 17:10). ‌ With all your soul = The Greek word for “soul” is psyche, which refers to the inner self. Today we may call this our conscious or consciousness. The psyche is the part of humans that separates us from all the other creatures. Soul and spirit is often used interchangeably in the Bible. ‌ With all your mind = The Greek word for “mind” here is dianoia, which refers to our reasoning, understanding, and thinking. Loving God with all your mind is about submitting your way of thinking to God and His Word. It also means that we are to be students (disciples) of Jesus who are constantly learning. ‌ With all your strength = The Greek word for “strength” is ischyos, which refers to capability to function, power, energy, or all that you are able to do. Jesus is saying that we must love God in all that we do. Just as Adam was called to “work and keep” the garden, we are called to work for and serve the Lord. ‌ Love your neighbor = Jesus is quoting from Lev. 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” Jesus connects loving your neighbor with loving God. These two commands cannot be separated. To love God is to love your neighbor. See 1 John 4:7-8 “7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” ‌ There is no commandment greater than these = Matthew records Jesus as saying, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40). The point here is that all of the 613 commandments fall into two categories: (1) Love God, (2) Love your neighbor. ‌ Mark 12:32–33 ESV 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ‌ Much more than all whole burnt offerings/sacrifices = The scribe says that Jesus is correct. Loving God and neighbor daily is much more important than what is done in the temple service. ‌ Here’s the Point: Loving and serving God and others daily is more important than singing songs on Sunday. ‌ Mark 12:34 ESV 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. ‌ Jesus saw he answered wisely = Jesus took note that this scribe is thinking differently than the other Jewish leaders. The scribe answered correctly. ‌ You’re not far from the kingdom = Jesus declares that this scribe is close to understanding, believing, and joining the kingdom of God. The kingdom is focused on loving relationship, not religious requirements. ‌ Paul: Worship is Daily Service ‌ Romans 12:1 ESV 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ‌ Living sacrifice = Israel offered sacrifices to show their faithfulness to God. In the same way, we are called to offer ourselves as a continual gift to God. An alternate translation would be, “present your bodies as a life of sacrifice.” ‌ Holy = Grk. hagios - unique, pure. Acceptable = Grk. euareston - pleasing, well thought of. ‌ To God = We do not offer to God what is considered holy and acceptable to the world. We worship God on His terms by offering God what is holy and acceptable to Him. ‌ Spiritual worship = This is not the best translation. The Greek word translated “spiritual” here is logikos—which means true, authentic, or rational. The Greek word for “worship” here is latreia—which means to serve. ‌ Romans 12:2 ESV 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ‌ Do not be conformed to this world = Literally, “Do not be molded into the schemes of this age.” The Greek word for “conformed” here is syschematizo—which refers to being molded by schemes, systems, patterns. The Greek word for “world” here is aion—which means the age or period of time. ‌ Worshipers of God must refuse to conform to this worldly age. We cannot conform to the world and worship God. ‌ Be transformed = Grk. metamorphoo - to change the essential nature of something. This is not about merely tweaking small parts, but a total transformation of our identity and way of life. ‌ How can we be transformed? ‌ By the renewal of your mind = Renewal is from the Greek word anakainosis—which refers to a kind of rebirth. In regards to the mind, a renewal is about changing the way we think and understand. This comes through prayer and the Word of God. Prayer is meant to align us with God’s Spirit and reading Scripture teaches us how to have the mind of Christ. ‌ By testing = Grk. dokimazo - critical examination, come to the right conclusion. We must be willing to test our thoughts, beliefs, and feelings against God’s Word. Renewing your mind will undoubtedly challenge your desires and deeply held assumptions. Challenging our assumptions and beliefs are a necessary step in learning the truth. ‌ Worship is the daily practice of devoting ourselves to God and being transformed from the inside out. ‌ Conclusion Today we should respond with repentance and recommitment to love God and others daily as our true worship. We should take a moment to pray and commit our lives to God. Then we can join in singing and take Communion as a sign of our repentance and faithfulness to Christ.