What is worship?

Denotative Meaning:

 Worship is the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. 1

 The primary Hebrew word for worship is Shachah meaning "to depress, i.e. prostrate (in homage
to royalty or God): bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make)
obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship." 2
 In Greek it is expressed in 3 words ;3

a. Proskuneo - "meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand), to fawn or crouch to,
homage (do reverence to, adore): worship." It occurs 59 times in the New Testament. It
originally carried with it the idea of subjects falling down to kiss the ground before a king or kiss
their feet.

b. Sebomai - "to reverence, hold in awe." Used 10 times in the New Testament.

c. Latreuo - "to render religious service of homage." Used 21 times in the New Testament.

 Worship is the acts or rites that make up a formal expression of reverence for a deity; a religious
ceremony or ceremonies.4

Connotative meaning:

 Worship is to expression of our love and adoration to God.

 Worship takes place when we focus our hearts and minds completely on God.
 Worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is, and what He has
done; expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live.
 Worship is the believer’s response to all they are – mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is
and says and does.
 Worship is the submission of all our nature to God.
 Worship is when man, through his spirit, attains to friendship and intimacy with God.

Why there is a need for worship?

Denotative Meaning:

The need for worship is derived from the Old English weorþscipe, meaning to venerate
"worship, honour shown to an object, which has been etymologized as "worthiness or worth-ship"—to
give, at its simplest, worth to something. For Most Buddhists worship is the of use ritual in pursuit of
their spiritual aspirations. For Christianity, worship is being done to teach about the Word of God" (the
Holy Bible) and encouraged in their faith. 5

1
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/worship
2
http://www.christianlibrary.org/authors/Grady_Scott/meaningofworship.htm
3
http://www.christianlibrary.org/authors/Grady_Scott/meaningofworship.htm
4
https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/other-religious-beliefs-and-general-terms/religion-general/worship
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worship
Connotative meaning:

 There is a need of worship because God deserves it, and He will reward it. For God bestows His
provision, grace, sovereignty, and power on those who worship Him in spirit and in truth.
 There is a need of worship because it is a powerful spiritual exercise in any believer’s life.
 There is a need of worship because Worshipping God is a natural extension of everything we do.
 There is a need of worship because we need to thank him and glorify him in everything he do for
us.

Where is the place for worship?

Denotative Meaning:

A place of worship is a specially designed structure or consecrated space where individuals or a

group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study.
A building constructed or used for this purpose is sometimes called a house of worship. Temples,
churches, synagogues and mosques are examples of structures created for worship. A monastery,
particularly for Buddhists, may serve both to house those belonging to religious orders and as a place of
worship for visitors. Natural or topographical features may also serve as places of worship, and are
considered holy or sacrosanct in some religions; the rituals associated with the Ganges river are an
example in Hinduism.6

A place, usually a building such as a church, mosque, synagogue or temple where believers can
practice their faith.7

Connotative meaning:

 Worship is taking place in our hearts. A deep experience of the divine.

 Worship is not confined to any place of worship, it also incorporates personal reflection, art
forms and group

To whom is worship?
Denotative Meaning:

"For God, of course," comes the answer. "Worship is our response to God's grace. In worship, we give
God the praise and honor he deserves. True, we may receive something in worship, we may be edified,
but that is a very minor and secondary part of worship. Worship is theocentric." 8

Most Hindus worship one Being of ultimate oneness (Brahman) through infinite representations of gods
and goddesses. Buddhists do not worship any gods or God. People outside of Buddhism often think that
Buddhists worship the Buddha. However, the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) never claimed to be divine,
but rather he is viewed by Buddhists as having attained what they are also striving to attain, which is
spiritual enlightenment and, with it, freedom from the continuous cycle of life and death. Muslims

6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_of_worship
7
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/place_of_worship
8
http://www.opc.org/new_horizons/NH02/04b.html
believe there is the one almighty God, named Allah, who is infinitely superior to and transcendent from
humankind. Christians believe in one eternal God who is creator of all that is. 9

Connotative meaning:

 Worship is an attitude of the heart. In other words, what we love, we worship.

 We worship the reason of everything-the sovereign God.

9
https://www.everystudent.com/features/connecting.html