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9 Questions and Answers About Our Worship Service
1. Why do we stand during the praise and worship part of service?
Simplifying a very broad issue, praise and worship is a period of actively
engaging in a love-based interaction with God in which your heart,
attention, and desire are surrendered to God. The vital point
is that this period involves an active intercourse
in which your love for and gratitude toward God is conveyed to
Him with passion and sincerity. Traditionally, our worship
has been extremely passive, passing the moment in silent thought
and meditation. But, Scripture gives a clear indication that
this is not the complete picture:
"Then the Levites… stood up to praise the
Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high."
2 Chronicles 20:19
"Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand
in the house of the Lord."
Psalm 134:1
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2. Why do we sing so many different types of Christian songs?
Music is a very unique gift of God. In praise and worship, it serves as a conduit through
which God magnifies the glory of His presence and the magnitude
of our worship experience. Scripture shows that there are various types of songs that we
are to sing.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching
and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
Colossians 3:16
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3. Why do we use musical instruments during our worship service?
Vocal and instrumental music play a vital role in the worship service.
When anointed, it carries healing and deliverance virtue, as
well as an inherent ability to alter the state of mind of those
engaged in worship. Besides that, God desires for and commands us
to use instrumental music in worship.
"And so it was, whenever the spirit... was upon Saul, that David
would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul
would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him."
1 Samuel 16:23
"Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the
lute and harp! Praise Him with the [tambourine] and dance; Praise Him with stringed
instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!"
Psalm 150:3-6
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4. Why do we dance in worship service?
There are many forms of praise, and dancing was definitely one of the ways that the children
of Israel praised God. Not only did they dance, but they even
had skilled dancers
who danced before the Lord valiantly, as a mighty army. Unfortunately,
many believe that a rehearsed dance is not a "true" praise
unto God; but, we rehearse our vocal and instrumental praise, so
why not our dance as well?
"Let them praise His name with the dance..."
Psalm 149:3a
"Then David danced before the Lord with all his might."
2 Samuel 6:14
"So Miriam… took the [tambourines] in her hand; and all the women
went out after her with [tambourines] and with dances."
Exodus 15:20
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5. Why do we anoint with oil when we pray for the sick?
In the Old Testament, oil was used to symbolize a person being elevated and empowered by
God (such as a king being anointed with oil during his coronation).
David declared in Psalm 23:5 that God anointed his head with
oil after he went through the valley of the shadow of death,
an obvious elevation from the valley experience he'd just been
through. In the New Testament, the anointing oil moved much beyond
being symbolic and God made promises relating to the anointing
oil.
"Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the
church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up..."
James 5:14-15a
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6. Why do we sing in tongues and in English?
Speaking in tongues is not only a method of God speaking through
us to the congregation. There are tongues that go forth that
do not require interpretation. One of those tongues is the "sang"
tongue, a musical vocalization in an unknown language, not meant
for interpretation but for worship.
"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding
is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray
with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the
spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding."
1 Corinthians 14:14-15
"...speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs..."
Ephesians 5:19a
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7. Why is our praise so noisy?
Many don't understand why our praise and worship is such an audible, audacious experience.
But, God commands that His praises be heard. Consider how "noisy"
we get when we are very excited about something or someone. We
should have this same excitement (and an even greater still)
about the goodness of the Lord. For the Lord is great and greatly to
be praised! (1 Chronicles 16:25; Psalms 48:1, 96:4, 145:3)
"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually
be in my mouth [emphasis mine]."
Psalm 34:1
"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the
Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with
thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms."
Psalm 95:1-2
"Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise
to be heard."
Psalm 66:8
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8. Why do we lift our hands when we worship?
The lifting of the hands is an act of adoration and love. Much like you would wrap your arms
around someone to embrace them, lifting the hands shows forth adoration. It also symbolizes
our surrender to God, our humility in worship as we acknowledge Him in His greatness.
"Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name."
Psalm 63:4
"Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord."
Psalm 134:2
"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and
doubting."
1 Timothy 2:8
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9. Why do we appear to lose ourselves in worship?
During the worship experience, it sometimes appears that the bulk of the congregation has
forgotten where they are, forgotten rules of etiquette, and has submersed themselves in
the experience. This is the true appearance of worship because in real worship,
no consideration is given to ourselves. The whole of our attention is given to God in love-interaction,
adoration, and praise.
"For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have
no confidence in the flesh."
Philippians 3:3
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