I used to think of worship as the sing-along session before the pastor preaches. Over the years, I grew to enjoy worship in church as I often have my 1-to-1 “conversation” time with God when we sing. They are precious encounters that I treasure. On Saturday, we had our very first “Worship Night”. Leading up to it, I had much anticipation to encounter the divine.
Pastor Ben started the evening by sharing with us the greatest commandment.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30
He went on to share with us the 7 Hebrew words for the English word, 'worship'. Here is a quick recap:
Barak (בָּרַךְ): is to kneel and bless God. A posture of honouring and exalting the Lord, in humility and submission to His sovereignty.
Yadah (יָדָה): means to stretch out our hands in adoration, giving praise and thanksgiving to God for his goodness, mercy and love.
Towdah (תּוֹדָה): is to present a sacrificial offering of praise to the Lord, to honour Him for our salvation and His continued goodness.
Shabach (שָׁחָה): has 2 meanings. It means to be still, but it also means to shout or command in a loud tone. We can Shabach from the stillness within our hearts, and shout praises to glorify the King.
Zamar (זָמַר): Zamar means to make music or sing praises with instruments. Is that why both our pastors play the guitar so well?
Tehillah (תְּהִלָּה): refers to a spontaneous song of praise from the heart, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is creative and the personal, an intimate connection with God.
Halal (הָלַל): comes from the word "Hallelujah" which means to shine or boast in the Lord. An exuberant expression of joy and celebration of God's goodness and greatness.
This teaching gave us an elevated perspective to our posture to worship. We were encouraged to kneel, to lift our hands, to do what the Holy Spirit impressed upon our heart during worship. As I was struggling with a few issues that evening, I went into worship with a downcast spirit. But God is always good. When our heart cries out to Him, He always shows up.
In Bill Johnson’s book "The Way of Life", we read that worship is not limited to an act or an activity in church; it is a way of living, a continuous engagement with God that shapes every aspect of our everyday life. Everything we do becomes a service to God, an offering to Him. Which brings us to Part 2 of the greatest commandment.
Love your neighbour as yourself. Mark 12:31
The day after our Worship Night, we had our monthly Sunday Breakfast Meeting – 早晨点心 (aka ZCDX) with our friends from Blk 210A. God’s love overflows in our hearts; it is from our overflowing cup that we love our neighbours. Our leaders love them by spending time and efforts in preparing learning materials for them and teaching them. The rest of us love them by serving them through our hospitality and praying with them. Collectively as a church, we love them by remembering them in our prayers. As we do all these things, we fix our eyes on Jesus, who enables us to live out His great commandment.
Worship as a way of life allows God’s presence to permeate every living moment. It helps us respond well to what God has placed in our lives to steward. It also helps us respond wisely in decision making. The constant awareness of God's presence in our lives is a worship unto the Lord that aligns us to his divine purpose and in turn, transforms our lives.
God, may You continue to empower us to carry out Your greatest commandment. Help us to love You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as worship onto You. Amen!
God bless!
Lena (on behalf of 521)
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