Worship or not?

What makes something worship?

I think that there are several things that don't define worship.

• Place -- worship doesn't require a sanctuary
• Order -- While I very much appreciate and am led to worship through a well-planned order of worship, it is not a requirement for worship.
• Type of music -- The type of music or even the presence of music doesn't define worship. Classical "sacred" music is no more worshipful than contemporary music. Organ music isn't more worshipful than guitar music.
• Sermon -- Worship doesn't have to have a sermon (although I really like sermons)
• Liturgy -- Worship can be worship with liturgy or without liturgy (even though I like it).

We had a wonderful musical worship service on Sunday -- A Lessons and Carols service. It was worship; however, if a person who doesn't believe in God had walked in, everything he had seen would have told him that it was a performance. There were musicians, vocalists, an audience, a choir director, microphones, and visual media. Everything that a concert would have had was present on Sunday.

So what made it worship?

I think it was worship because it was offered as worship. Other than intention, there was nothing about it which made it worship. I'm not saying it WASN'T worship; it certainly was. I do think, though, that the only defining element of the worship was its intention to be worship. It was offered to God as worship.