GLORYLAND BAPTIST CHURCH LUGBE FHA.

ABUJA

CHURCH WORKERS’ RETREAT 2023

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP

A TEACHING PREPARED BY ‘BOLAJI OLANIYI

The word ‘worship’ has become so popular that we Christians if care is not taken would only
connect Christian worship to songs. That is why we will need to remind ourselves of what Christian
worship really is and its implications to us as a church and individual Christians. I will give two definitions
of Christian worship-One by Revd Dr Paul O. Davison and mine own definition of worship based on my
understanding of true worship.

According to Paul O. Davidson, “Corporate Christian Worship is a dramatic dynamic, dialogical

encounter between the triune God of the Bible and His people in which God speaks and/or acts to
reveal Himself and His will and God’s people respond to him in appropriate bibilical ways.” Worship is
therefore all that a Christian does to appreciate God’s divine revelation to him from time to time. –
(Ajibade 2005).

I also define Christian worship as “God’s Voluntary, loving, and deliberate revelation of His true
self to humans which triggers appropriate or corresponding response- be it joyful, godly sorrow leading
to repentance / changed life, silence, shout, dance, or rededication to service which is prompted
through Christ alone with the help of the Holy Spirit.” The implications of this definition are as follows:

- God willingly without any manipulation or influence of man reveals Himself.

- God is the number one Actor on the scene and stage of worship.

- Such revelation will certainly trigger responses (as stated in the definition above) based on the
revelation and nothing else. This means that the response will correspond to the revelation.

- Man’s response too will be prompted by Christ through the help of the Holy

Spirit. This means that even a natural man cannot give the right responses to

God’s revelation without the help of the triune God. For instance, if the triune

God does not enable the response, man the second actor in worship may be

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 dancing when he supposed to be crying for sin.

This definition of God revealing Himself and man responding is guided by several examples in
the scriptures. It is a common rhythm in the Bible. God reveals Himself in the temple to Isaiah and
Isaiah too “saw the Lord” (Isaiah 6:1) He did not just see the Lord but rather, he saw the true holiness of
God that prompted his own response too. His response was that of an unclean human confessing before
the Lord. That response led God into another revelation of himself as cleanser or purifier of sinners who
responded well to divine revelation. Then, Isaiah too received divine assurance of been cleansed. God
continued the continued by revealing Himself as the caller into service and Isaiah responded positively
by answering the call to serve. (Isaiah 6:1-8) Isaiah could remain unclean if God does not reveal Himself,
so it all starts and ends with God.

Now let see the definition again. , “Corporate Christian Worship is a dramatic, dynamic,
dialogical encounter between the triune God of the Bible and His people in which God speaks and/or
acts to reveal Himself and His will and God’s people respond to him in appropriate bibilical ways.” This
definition is also based on Isaiah 6:1-13 where we see who God is and who man is. Isaiah saw God
(Holy),saw himself (unholy), and made appropriate / humble response without any fake packaging. That
was when God could proceed further with him. In other words, when you give a wrong response to
God’s revelation, you will lose the chances of his further revelations.

Implications of Worship Being Dramatic, Dynamic And Dialogical

1. Worship Being Dramatic and Dialogical : It means there is setting, there is a cast of characters,
( the Lord, the seraphim, and Isaiah);there is a succession of interrelated events called a plot;
and there is a conclusion. The only difference in this drama is that the actors are real unlike our
human drama where the actors are role-playing. ( not real). There is a progressive flow (order)
from one statement to another and there is a serious (not casual) conversation (dialogue)
between God and his people (not one-sided).
 God reveals His holiness and power (vv 1-4)
 Isaiah confesses his sinfulness and that of all people (v. 5)
 God gracious provision of forgiveness (v. 6)
 Isaiah’s cleansing from sin (v. 7a)
 God’s assurance of pardon to Isaiah (v. 7b)

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  God’s announcement of vacancy for the post of servant (8a)
 Isaiah’s Offering himself to fill the vacancy (8b)
 God’s explanation of the difficult task. (9-10)
 Isaiah’s question about his assignment (11a)
 God’s explanation to answer Isaiah (11b-13)
 Isaiah from Chapter 7 carried the message on.

The whole scenario shows that worship involves both God and His people. It involves action
or revelation and corresponding responses. This implies that in our worship God must be seen in
His true revelation (not whom you think God but whom he really is) and man must respond
correctly. Cry when you are supposed to respond with a cry, laugh when you are supposed to
laugh, dance when you are supposed to dance etc. Anything contrary could block God’s further
revelation. I will say it here with the Holy Spirit convincing me that God is not moving as
expected and read in His word because humans are not responding correctly to His initial
revelation. If we respond appropriately, further moves will be automatic without anyone faking
it.

2. Worship Being Dynamic: It means motion, moving, power, and changing (not static). It implies
that in worship, there must be God’s diverse moves, there must be that experience of God’s
power and there must be a change of lives if truly we have encountered God. In other words,
worship the triune God is designed to change us for better anytime we gather like this. Isaiah
went there unclean but he left there cleaned. He went there as an unqualified person and he
left as a qualified person to be sent out to carry God’s message. If you have come to meet God
in worship, your life must be changing – from sinner to saved, lying to truthful, bad to good,
transformed and growing to christian maturity thereby becoming a disciple of Christ in all
dispositions.
Conclusion
In our worship or meeting with God, let us come just as we are without deceiving
ourselves. Then, God will reveal Himself to us and when He does, we too must respond
appropriately in order to enjoy further revelation of His glory. Let us be open to changes at
anytime we come to His presence. Worship is scripturally dramatic because there is always a
setting, sequence or order, and characters playing their individual role (God will not play your
role for you). Worship is dialogical because it is a time of conversation between God and His

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people. When God is speaking, keep quiet. When He finishes speaking then respond to what he
says: thanking Him, praying, confession, shout of joy, repentance, giving of our substances –
money or any other resources as appropriate to the revelation. Worship finally is dynamic
because there is God moving in His power in order to change and bless His people. Anyone can
miss this dynamic part of worship because of static attitude or over familiarity with God or
Church and then you will have no one to blame but yourself. May we all not miss God’s
revelation that is intended to transform our lives in Jesus name.