Worship and Music Theology

Worship Training Seminar
Definition, Philosophy, Principles
Killorglin Baptist Church
by Pastor Shaun Abrahams

How does the bible define worship?
 proskuneō
 pros-koo-neh'-o
 From G4314 and probably a derivative of
G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his
master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is,
(literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in
homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.
3

 Reverence.
Isaiah 6:1-3, Revelation 4-5
 Sacrifice-Service.
Matt4: 10; 1Cor14: 25, Rom12:1-2
 Thankfulness.
Rom12: 1-2.
 Spiritual and Truthful
John 4:24
4

 Only to be given to God
Exodus 20:3, Deut. 5:7; 6:13, Matt. 4:10; Acts
10:26; 14:15; Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10; 22:8,
Rev. 5:9–14
 Must be on God’s terms
Gen. 4:4; 8:21, 1 Chronicles 16:29, Col. 2:18
 By those who are His.
Matt. 10:37,
5

 John MacArthur –
The Ultimate Priority – Worship is ascribing
to God His worth, or stating and affirming His
supreme value.
 Frame – The work of acknowledging
the greatness of our covenant Lord.
 Peterson – An engagement with God on the
terms that He proposes and in a way that He
alone makes possible.
6

 Wiersbe – The believer’s response of all that
they are – mind, emotions, will, and body – to
what God is and says and does.
 MacArthur – Honour and adoration directed
to God. Our innermost being responding with
praise for all that God is, through our
attitudes, actions, thoughts, and words,
based on the truth of God as He has revealed
Himself.
7

 John MacArthur – The objective of
redemption is making worshippers. The
primary reason we are redeemed is not so
that we may escape hell—that is a blessed
benefit, but not the major purpose. The
central objective for which we are redeemed
is not even so that we might enjoy the
manifold eternal blessings of God.
8

John MacArthur cont …
In fact, the supreme motive in our redemption is
not for us to receive anything. Rather, we have
been redeemed so that God may receive
worship—so that our lives might glorify Him.
Any personal blessing for us is a divine
response to the fulfilment of that supreme
purpose.
9

John Piper
“Missions exist because worship does not”
“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church.
Worship is. Missions exists because worship
doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions,
because God is ultimate, not man. When this
age is over, and the countless millions of the
redeemed fall on their faces before the throne
of God, missions will be no more. It is a
temporary necessity. But worship abides
forever.
10

Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the
goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to
bring the nations into the white hot enjoyment of God’s
glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples
in the greatness of God. “The Lord reigns; let the earth
rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” (Ps 97:1). “Let
the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise
thee! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!” (Ps 67:3-4).
But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in
worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t
commend what you don’t cherish. Missionaries will never
call out, “Let the nations be glad!” who cannot say from the
heart, “I rejoice in the Lord…I will be glad and exult in thee,
I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High” (Ps 104:34,
9:2). Missions begins and ends in worship.”
–John Piper,
Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993/2003), 17.
11

 Worship should not be confined to our
worship services; but ultimately to the
giving of our earthly lives to the glory of
our God. – 1Corinthians 6: 19-20;
1 Corinthians 10:31.
 Stopped here
12

 Worship includes these areas:
1.1 Worship is submission to one another
(Eph. 5:19,21) “out of reverence for Christ”
thus worship and (acts of) thankfulness (v.
20) are premised in one’s personal
relationship with the Lord, Himself. This all
results from a life that is controlled by the
Spirit of God, Eph. 5:18.
13

 1.2 Prayers made for all, based on specific
acts, lifestyles (i.e. “clean” or “holy hands”). 1
Timothy 2:1-15; and 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10
(Note:Amplified Bible).
 1.3 Teaching the Word. Titus 1:9; 2:1-15 +
1 Timothy 2:12
14

 1.4 Leadership. Biblical leadership is a
matter of Bible-based authority, i.e. that the
leader’s authority is founded not in title, or
even in position or office but in the truth of
God’s Word by which and through which
moral power and excellence of soul – i.e.
authority is derived.
1 Corinthians 4: 17-21. 2 Corinthians 10:1-18;
11:28; Hebrews 13:7,17; 1 Peter 5:1-11.
15

 1.5 Praise. Praise is a ministry or sacrifice
to God. Hebrews 13:9-10, 15; 10:15. Praise
is life-based, heart-felt and, of course, voiced
music. Ephesians 5:19, 18-21. Colossians
3:16; 1 Peter 2:15.
 1.6 Doing Good. Hebrews 13:16; Acts
10:38; 14:17, James 1:16-27; 2:1-16.
16

 1.7 Sensitive to Christ and His Word. Not
“seeker sensitive” but Christ sensitive. Word
sensitive worship is taught in numerous
places in Scripture. A sampling includes such
passages as: Psalms 119:104; Mark 16:15;
John 8:32, 15:14; 17:17; 2 Timothy 4:2.
17

 1.8 Worship is established in outward action,
not inner emotional experience. Worship is
focused in a clear and practical call to the lost to
come to Christ, and not in the ever-growing
emotional emphasis of the Spiritualists and
Charismatic worship that is focused on a realised
eschatology: a heavenly-styled or so-called
“Kingdom” worship experiences.
For now: The Spirit and the Bride say “come.”
Revelation 22:17 For now. The building-up (edifying)
process is for ministry – action. Eph. 4.
18

 1.9 Worship is giving. Our Finances are a part of
our worship and are thus included in Sunday
Worship observeances. Acts 2:45; 5:1-16; 1
Corinthians 16:1; 2 Corinthians 8:1-24; 9:1-15.
 1.10 Worship includes tribulation or trials – and
with persecution or even martydom. Stephen Acts
5:41; 7:all; 14:22; 2 Corinthians 4:6-9; Philippians
1:27-30; 3:10.
( These ten points are taken from “The Historic and Early Church Form of
Worship and Its Impact on our Modern Philosophy of Worship By Marc S.
Blackwell Sr.”
19

What do we mean by worship?
 Task for Class. Write a definition of worship.
20

 Extra thoughts/recap in different way.
 Through reading God’s Word
Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27; 1 Tim. 4:13; Rev.
1:32.
 Through studying God’s Word
Acts 6:2; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:153.
 Through teaching God’s Word
Acts 2:42; 6:7; 12:24; 18:28; 19:20; 1 Tim.
4:6; 2 Tim. 1:13; 2:24.
 Through preaching God’s Word
2 Tim. 4:25.
21

 Through the keeping of the ordinances
1 Cor. 11:26.
 Through the singing of psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs
Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; James 5:137.
 Through the lifting up of prayers,
intercessions, supplications, and
thanksgiving Acts 2:42, 46; 3:1; 4:31; Eph.
6:18; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Tim.
2:1-2, 88.
22

 Through the receiving of his Son
John 1:11-129.
 Through the sacrifice of our bodies
Rom. 12:110.
 Through the sacrifice of our praise
Heb. 13:1511.
 Through the sacrifice of our good works
Heb. 13:1612.
 Through the sacrifice of our substance
Phil 4:8
Willmington, H. (1987). Willmington's book of Bible
lists (362). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.
23

What do we mean by worship?
 A general definition of worship might then
be:
Worship is the believer giving to God, a
response of praise, adoration, submission
and service based upon the revelation of
God through His Word.
 SH
24

Session 2
God and your Music Philosophy
If as a believer you must worship God
with all and in all that you do, are you
prepared to grow and change in your
understanding of music and its
influences in your life?
25

God is the Object of Our Worship.
 We are created for God’s pleasure. We
belong to him and by our actions we can
demonstrate how much worth we ascribe to
him. Gen 1:27, Deut 6:5.
 God is a jealous God and desires that his
creation worship only Him. – Exodus 20:1-8
 True worship is a spiritual act, because God
is a Spirit Being. John3: 3-5; 4:23-24.
26

Our Music Must Worship God.
1Corinthians 10:31 sets out a principle that
Christians do all things to bring glory to, or
worship God. One of the ways we can
worship God is through our music.
At this stage it is beneficial to see what
God says about music?
27

 Are you willing to grow as a Christian?
 What do you believe about music? Is it
biblical?
 Are you growing in your appreciation for
music?
 Can you discern what is good or evil music?
 What does God says about music?
28

Our Music Must Worship God.i.
Music comes from God.
 The bible is filed with references to music
From Genesis to Revelation the bible sings
with over 600 references to music, singing,
praising, worship, songs, choirs, orchestras,
musicians and instruments. Isaiah 12:2;
Exodus15: 2; Psalm118: 14: The Lord is my
strength and my song he has become my
salvation. Strength, trust, grace and music
(song), is a part of God’s character.
29

Music comes from God.
 God created music and creativity
Psalm90: 16-17, Ecclesiates3: 14, tells us
that God establishes the foundation for our
creativity. Genesis 4:21 Jubal was the father
of all those who play the harp and flute.
Zephaniah3:17 says that God himself sings.
He is the creator. In heaven He is surrounded
by music Rev 4:8, Rev 5.
Music is from God. The Christian is
created to worship God through music.
30

Music Must Express God’s Character.
 Isaiah saw the Lord in Isaiah 6: 1-8. He saw God
transcendent, high and lifted up. The same God is
the Shepherd of Psalm 23, caring, gentle,
longsuffering and close by in our times of trouble. He
will never leave nor forsake us. He is imminent.
Furthermore God is a God of order and design. -
Creation is our witness. –Rom1: 20 Paul admonishes
the Corinthians to do things orderly in 1Cor14: 40.
Psalm 113 says that God’s work is honourable and
glorious. Psalm 139 “marvellous are Thy works and
that my soul knoweth right well.”
31

What do you think of this
statement?
“Worship has nothing to do with the style
or volume or speed of a song. God loves
all kinds of music because He invented it
all – fast and slow, loud and soft, old and
new. You probably don ’t like it all, but
God does.”
32

Knowing what the bible says is vital.
As we ask ourselves why all this controversy, it may
very well be that a lack of biblical understanding is a
major contributor to this adversarial experience (Eph.
4:13). It seems that many have not really thought
through the biblical theology and principles pertaining
to this matter of music. Many have used a proof texting
approach of incorporating the Scriptures, without the
benefit of addressing God’s Word exegetically and
allowing the text to dictate belief and practice.
33

Our Music Must Worship God.iii.
Music is not Amoral
 1Samuel10: 5 the prophets are making music of praise with only
instruments.
 In 1Chron16: 42 we find that Heman and Jeduthun were
responsible for the instruments when David brought the Ark
back.
 2 Chronicles 7:6 we see the Levites were ministering with
instruments. Notice there is no mention of singing. The end of
the verse says “ and all the Israelites were standing”.
Thanksgiving, sadness or joy with music instruments only.
 Moses and Joshua were on the mountain, taking too long for
Israel in Exodus 32, they designed a calf and were worshipping
it. In verse17 Joshua hears the “sound of war” from the camp.
Moses described it as not the sound of triumph nor of defeat, but
singing.
34

Our Music Must Worship God.iv.
Music is a tool For Worshipping God
and ministering to the Saints.
 Israel is worshipping God in Exodus15: 1-21.
David called Israel to sing to the Lord,
Psalm30: 4. Paul commands the
congregation at Ephesus to sing to one
another with psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs and sing and make melody to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:19. Col3: 16, Paul says that as
the word dwells in us richly we will sing songs
of thankfulness to God and we will admonish
and teach the saints through the music.
35

 Biblically then, worship music should
- Worship God - make melody to the Lord.
- Minister to the saints – teaching and
admonishing each other.
36

 Our music must reflect the whole Christian
experience Music can be a tool to teach
about salvation, assurance of salvation,
baptism, the cross, the Lord’s supper, grace,
patience, peace from God, reconciliation,
regeneration, sanctification, service,
missions, evangelism. There is no need to
sing the repetitive music that has no
association with this dispensation.
37

 The music that we sing in church or is
“ministered” in church is a new song.
David writes about his salvation in psalm40:
1-3. Verse 2 “ He lifted me out of the slimy
pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my foot
on a rock and gave me firm place to stand,
he put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of
praise to our God.
38

 Psalm98: 1. We are to “Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvellous things: 2 Corinthians
5:17 “ If any man is in Christ he is new creation; the
old has gone and the new has come.”
 There are songs that appeal to the old nature. The
words, the style and the overall message appeal to
the old nature. Consider these verses Psalm33:
3,96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1;Isaiah42: 9-10;Rev:
5:9.Rev14: 3.
 Rom 6-8. Music is the perfect tool to assist in this
area of sanctification. . Even though we are new
creatures in Christ and have overcome the world
1John5: 4, we are still being sanctified.
39

 If our pastor preached messages that satisfied
the old nature, had no spiritual value to the
hearers, was not biblically accurate, and was of
pure moral content we would not stand for it. Yet
we are prepared to use poor music in our
services that has no, or little biblical backing.
 We must remember that when we sing or play music
we are ministering a message that either edifies the
new man, or edifies the flesh.
40

 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 – When Solomon
dedicated the temple the singers and
trumpeters were as one as they praised God.
God blessed their praise by his presence. – “
For the glory of the Lord had filled the
house of God”
41

The Goal of the Worship Service.
 Who is the audience of our music?
 Who should it be targeted to?
 What is it’s purpose? Is it evangelism?
42

The Goal of the Worship Service.
 This is the goal of our daily worship, and
in particular our worship services:
- for God’s name to be lifted up and for
God’s people to be edified through the
singing, music and preaching in the
anticipation that God will bless.
43

Words we sing
 My view of Christian singing is that we
bless the Name of God and edify each other
by singing what is biblically true, with words
that reveal the whole message of the bible
with special emphasis on God’s plan of
salvation through His Son Jesus Christ and
with music and words that edify our brothers
and sisters in Christ. Our songs or hymns
must be set in suitable music with tunes that
convey the message without distraction.
44

Words we sing
 The chief instrument in the worship of
God is the human voice. No violin or
trumpet is moved or indwelt by the Holy
Spirit, but the body of the believer is,
1 Corinthians 6:19. Our lips and throats are
holy and are to be instruments of
righteousness, Romans 6:13.
“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice,”
Psalm 5:3.
45

What music is Biblically Correct?
 Our music and the words we sing should not be a
matter of right and wrong”, but a matter of what is
based on biblical principles.
 Our own Preferences of style and our cultural
influences should not impact our choice of what is
biblically acceptable to God, but sadly they do.
 The inspired truth was set in the words. Then it
became the job of the musicians to come up with
the music to use to make those words “singable”
and memorable, that is biblically correct.
46

What music is Biblically Correct
 Today so much of our CHRISTIAN music
(a.) does not reflect biblical truth about this
dispensation in particular, and
(b). it is vague in it’s content.
If you look at the psalms they were not vague
nor lacking in truth, and they all did not carry
the same theme.
As all of today’s “kingdom related” songs do.
47

Specific biblical principles about
Worship and Music.
1. Worship should be our ultimate priority. John
4:23 - ...for such people the Father seeks to be
His worshipers.
If worship is that important to our heavenly Father, it is
something He seeks, then it should be important to us
as well.
2. Worship is an action verb. John 4:23 - But an
hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father...we should not
view this as something we passively observe, or
something for which we have no responsibility
48

Worship and Music.
3. Worship involves reverence and serving.
the two original words in the Bible translated
with our English word “worship” literally mean
bowing down in reverence, or serving someone
out of love and honor. that’s why we’ve used
the definition “worship – ascribing to God
His worth, or stating and affirming His
supreme value.” we got that by studying these
specific Biblical passages.
49

Worship and Music.
4. Worship is a continual activity from the
heart. John 4:21 - ...an hour is coming
when neither in this mountain nor in
Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
why?...because...John 4:24 - God is spirit...
so it’s not about the place or the time or the
external circumstances...as a NT believer in
Christ, you have all you need to worship God
at all times...
50

Worship and Music.
5. Worship must be centered on revealed truth.
John 4:24 - those who worship Him must worship
in ...truth. we also saw that in the worship passage
in the OT, Isaiah 6, where the focus was on the
holiness of God. When worship went bad in the
Bible it is because humans ignored God’s truth like
Nadab and Abihu or Uzzah, or when people tried to
add their own truth to the equation like the religious
leaders of Jesus’ day.
51

Worship and Music.
6. Worship must involve the whole man. John 4:24
- ...those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth. God detests half-hearted worship,
and indifferent worship, and many of the worship
passages in the Bible speak to that issue... our
worship should be passionate, and gripping the
entire inner man...our hearts, our emotions, our
wills, and our desires...and of course that is always
to be balanced... - 1 Corinthians 14:15 - I will pray
with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I
will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the
mind also.
52

Worship and Music.
7. Worship should be centered on the glory of
God and the sufficiency of our Savior. even OT
worship pointed to the cross...and the great joy of
forgiveness and yes there is a place in our worship
for the fear of God, and for conviction of sin, and for
confession and repentance, but the emphasis
should be on the joy that comes because of the
finished work of Christ on the cross, and the
forgiveness available through Him, and the change
that results.
53

Worship and Music.
8. Worship should be understandable to people in
today’s culture.1 Corinthians 14:9 - So also you,
unless you utter by the tongue speech that is
clear, how will it be known what is spoken?
we should value intelligibility – in fact, that is one of the
major themes of that entire chapter.
John Frame - It is a good idea, then, for all of us to
learn to appreciate music that doesn’t
immediately appeal to us. In that way we serve
one another, and we also grow by learning to
praise God in new ways.
54

Worship and Music.
 9. Worship should include a variety of
music. Ephesians 5:19 - speaking to one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody with your
heart to the Lord; God gives us all kinds of
music with which to praise Him, new songs,
and as we’ll see today, with a variety of
instruments.
55

worship and music.
 10. Worship should appeal to the body and the emotions,
but always under the control/direction of a biblically
informed mind and heart.
- that is why we read so much in these passages about clapping,
and raising ones hands, and shouting, and dancing.
- and I’m not saying that is the standard of spirituality, but anyone
who believes that music that appeals to the physical body in
some way is sinful, is out of balance.
- now, that’s not exhaustive, but those are some of the most
important direct passages in God’s Word about worship and
music, and principles that flow out of them.
56

Instruments?
 David told the leaders of the Levites to
appoint their brothers as singers to sing
joyful songs, accompanied by musical
instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.
1 Chron. 15:16
57

Instruments?
 2 Chronicles 5:13
indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters
and singers were as one, to make one sound
to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord,
and when they lifted up their voice with the
trumpets and cymbals and instruments of
music, and praised the Lord, saying: 1 “For
He is good, For His mercy endures forever,”
that the house, the house of the Lord, was
filled with a cloud, (NKJV)
58

Instruments?
 Music is a powerful and vital element in the worship
life of God’s people. But precisely because it is so
significant, we need to give careful thought to it. We
must be sure that we are pleasing God and not
entertaining ourselves. The temptation to turn
worship into entertainment is great because as
sinners we are much more inclined to be self-
centered than God-centered. We are much more
inclined to amuse ourselves than to serve God.
59

Excellence
 1Chron9: 33, 15:16-29, 2Samuel 6:5,
Nehemiah 12:27-47. As you read these verse
you are astounded at the time, preparation,
skill and practice that must have preceded
these worship services. The directors,
musicians and vocalists were committed to
producing services that worshipped God
through excellence. -1Corinthians12: 31
60

 John Frame – Worship in Spirit and Truth –
In the context of worship, these terms refer
primarily to the service of God carried out by
the priests in the tabernacle and the temple…
we can see that worship is far different than
entertainment. In worship, we are not to be
passive, but to participate.
61

Excellence
 Class Task. Write a job description for a
worship team.
62

Excellence
 A worship team must be dedicated to
assist the congregation to conform to the
image of Christ through the worship
service by choosing music in which text;
the music itself, the performers and
practices are committed to the goal of
ministering to the saints.
63

The Worship Leader/Team
 Saved and committed to the Lord and to the
church
 Growing in understanding what the bible
teaches on music and worship
 Have a desire to serve God with their gifts of
music
 Understand worship ministry is about serving,
edifying, ministering and not performing.
64

 Be committed to prepare, practice and play
music to bring honour to God.
This preparation is in four areas:
1. Preparation of heart
2. Development of skills
3. Developing and training the team
4. Planning for the service at hand
 Be thankful for the privilege of serving Gods
people in this capacity.
65

 The Worship Leader should be a worshipper
first and a musician second.
 Musical talent and skill, singing ability and a
good voice are important to the Worship
Leader.
66

 Must be seen as a ministry to the Lord first and
ministry to the people second.
 Must not be looked at as "the preliminaries" to the
service, but must be seen as a key element of the
gathering of God's people.
 Is not entertainment or performance, but ministry.
 There must be unity and agreement between the
Worship Leader and the Pastor and other leaders
on just what Praise and Worship is and how it is to
be developed and practiced in the church.
67

 Praise and Worship is as important as the
Fellowship we experience when we meet
together and the Word that is preached.
68

Worship and Music Theology

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