Lesson: Worship In Education

This one is a full-packed lesson reminder for me. Sharing then is just necessary.

Question of worship

Worship is part of humanity, part of human nature, even fallen human nature.

Today, of course, although the innate need to worship still exists in us, it, like everything else in this world, has been twisted and distorted by sin, which means that among other things we, as worshiping beings, can end up worshiping the wrong things, or even end up not worshiping the Lord in the way that He is supposed to be worshiped (see, for instance, Mark 7:1–13, Jer. 7:4).

Christian education must deal with the question of worship.

Whom do we worship?

There’s something in us—something, no doubt, that was originally woven in us by God but, as with everything else, became warped by sin—that longs to worship.

Today, most people are too sophisticated to bow down before a statue of a frog (but, apparently, not a statue of Mary); yet, this hardly means that humans, even secular humans, don’t worship something: money, power, sex, themselves, rock stars, actors, politicians. Whatever we love the most, whatever we focus most of our attention on, whatever we live for, that is what we worship.

Worship, proper worship, is so important that, in fact, it becomes central to the issues in the last days, before the second coming of Christ. Thus, Christian education needs to include the whole question of worship: What is it, how do we do it, why is it important, and whom do we worship?

To teach the children

The Psalms in the Old Testament eventually came to play a role in the religious life of ancient Israel. They were recited, sung, often with musical instruments, during times of worship, especially public worship, which in the Old Testament was key to how the people worshiped in general.

The Psalms are basically poems, the lyrics to songs. The Hebrew word for the Psalms, Tehillîm, means “songs of praise.” And when we sing praises to God, whatever else we are doing, we are worshiping the Lord.

There is a certain determination about the message of Psalm 78. In verse 2, Asaph mentions how we will share the “dark sayings of old.” The word “dark” does not mean ominous but, rather, dim or fading, as history can become when its crucial events go further and further back in time. In other translations, “dark” is referred to as “secret” (NLV) or “sweet old truths” (The Message).

Psalm 78:6–17. What were the specific lessons that they were to teach their children? What was the ultimate goal of this education?

Among the goals of education as seen in the texts is that the children would learn to trust in God and keep His commandments. How might a text such as Revelation 14:12 reflect that same idea for us today?

In Spirit and Truth

John 4:7–26. Though she tried to change the subject by talking about worship, Jesus used her tactic to give us some profound truths about worship and what worship involves. Perhaps most important for our immediate purposes is what He said in John 4:24: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (NKJV).

True worship of the Lord must be “in spirit,” that is, it must stem from love of God, from the experience of knowing Him personally. “The religion that comes from God is the only religion that will lead to God.

At the same time, worship must be “in truth.” We must have some correct knowledge of God, of who He is and what He requires of us. In other words, doctrine is involved, as well.

Thus, we see here two elements in worship: the experience that comes from knowing and obeying God, and the objective truths revealed to us about God. Spirit without truth can lead to a shallow sentimentalism that’s built more on fickle emotion than on anything else. In contrast, truth without spirit can lead to a lifeless formalism. Hence, we need both.

Worship practices

1 Chronicles 16:1–36. The place of worship was the tabernacle, where God had dwelt with ancient Israel and where the plan of salvation had been revealed to them.

It’s hard for us now to imagine just how evil, terrible, and degrading the worship practices of the nations around Israel were, practices that included, of all things, child sacrifices.

In contrast, ancient Israel was to be a holy nation, separated from the evil customs around them.

Modern idolatry

Ancient Israel had been surrounded by very religious people, people so dedicated to worshiping and placating their gods that they would sacrifice even their own children to them. That’s dedication, is it not?

Hence, worship, true worship of the true God, was an important part of protecting the Hebrews from getting caught up in the idolatry and false worship surrounding them.

What about us today? Why would worship of the true God, recounting all that He has done for us, be so important, as well—especially in the face of the dangers of modern idolatry?

Our hearts need to be right

Yes, our hearts need to be right in order to truly worship God, but what does that mean? Do you have to wait until you are totally connected to the Lord, with your life in perfect order, before you can worship? On the other hand, how can worship, true worship, help get your heart in the right place with God?

It is possible

It is possible to worship the wrong thing—or worship the right thing in the wrong way. Worshiping objects other than God is a problem, but not as subtle of a problem as directing worship to God in a manner that He rejects (Mark 7:1–13, Jer. 7:4).

All Christians believe God should be worshiped; and there the consensus ends. How to worship, when to worship, where to worship, how often we worship, and so forth are some of the issues up for reflection and study. One of the two extremes to avoid would be to conclude that there is a single uniform way to worship God that encompasses every minute detail. Culture; circumstances; availability (for example, does every believer have access to a church building?)

The other extreme, of course, is to think worship is simply a matter of personal preference and that God will exhaustively accept all forms of worship. The question we must ask is: What does the Bible tell us about acceptable forms of worship? How do we even know that God has preferences in regard to worship? Simple: He told us.

(John 4:18) As an aside, Jesus shows gentle wisdom and tact by not proceeding along those original lines, but instead allows the woman to redirect. Jesus is interested in convicting, not shaming.

Three phases

Presented with options, Jesus’ classic answer of neither (John 4:21, John 9:3) both disappoints and enlightens at the same time. He follows up with a very relevant warning: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23, 24; emphasis added). Three phrases from these verses tell us that God has preferences in terms of worship:

1. The qualifying expression “true worshippers”
2. The fact that the “Father seeketh” a specific class of worshipers “to worship him”
3. The emphatic phrase that those who would worship “must worship” in a particular manner

Having sincere intentions is a necessary condition for “true” worship, but it should not be considered the only condition.

On the flip side of things, there is at least one example in which a man worshiped before God spontaneously in a moment of free expression.

Pleasing to the Lord

It is written that David “danced before the Lord with all his might” as the ark was being brought into Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:14, ESV). This moment was filled with sacrifices and “with shouting and with the sound of the horn” (2 Sam. 6:13–15, ESV). His only defense to his offended wife, Michal, was that his actions were “ ‘before the Lord’ ” (2 Sam. 6:21). That’s it.

(2 Sam. 6:22, NET). This balances out a potentially skewed picture of God that some might derive from the innumerable sanctuary-related regulations and reminds us that there is a spontaneous and subjective side to worship that also is pleasing to the Lord.

"Graven" image

Emile Durkeim, proposes that, first, societies develop a set of traits and values that they believe will ensure their survival. Second, they symbolize their traits and values with an animal. That animal is referred to as a totem, and the totem is the representation of the traits and values of a tribe. We all use totemic language to some degree. In the West, we say things like “strong as an ox,” “wise as an owl,” or “sly as a fox.” Stage three occurs when, little by little, the tribe begins to worship the animal that is a symbolic representation of its own traits and values. Now the point becomes clear. If societies end up worshiping a deity that is simply a collective manifestation of its own traits and values, then religion is nothing more than a tribe of people worshiping itself.

Educating Adventists, young and old, to avoid the tendency to impute to God characteristics that are not His should be a priority. The prohibition of making any “graven image” (Exod. 20:4, 5) should include false mental images that can be “graven” on the hearts and minds of young people and then worshiped. God has wisely reminded us that His ways are not like our ways (Isa. 55:8, 9) and that He is “God, and not man” (Hos. 11:9, ESV).

Sabbath School Lesson | Christian Education | Lesson 7 | November 7-13, 2020 | Worship In Education