What is worship?
Worship is our entire service to God, not just music (Rom. 12:1 — “I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”)
Worship is not just a “worship service” we attend with the expectation that we’ll “get something out of” (1 Samuel 15:22–“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”)
Worship is ascribing worth to God - Give glory and thanks to our most high God. (Ps. 96:8—“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due unto His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts!”)
Worship is not a “sing along” – The flippant singing of nice songs; singing just to sing without heartfelt surrender to God. (Psalm 96:9–“Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!”)
Worship is for God and God alone (Rev. 19:10–“Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.’”)
Worship is not whatever I want it to be or what I like (Jeremiah 10:23–“I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.”)
Worship is with all of our being - Praise Him with everything that is in you. (Ps. 111:1;138:1) “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart in the company of the upright, in the congregation.”)
Worship is not limited to a time or place (John 4:23, 24–“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”)
Worship is focused solely on the Lord - Choose to give Him all your attention. (Ps. 57:7-9—“My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.”)
Worship is not a trivial event — worship and service to God is a serious business and not to be taken lightly (Heb. 12:28, 29–“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”)
Worship is revealed in our generosity in giving (2 Cor. 9:6,7–“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”)
Worship is not stingy with God (Matt. 6:19-21–“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”)
Worship is a sacrifice of praise – Give yourself as a praise offering unto the Lord. (Jer. 33:11—“the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord: ‘Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!’”)
Worship is not something God can’t function without (Acts 17:25–“nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”)
Worship is the highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him (Acts 17:23–“For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”)
Worship is not a mindless exercise – we are to have “the mind of Christ,” not some emotional event (1 Cor. 2:16–“‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”)
Worship is expressable musically (Col. 3:16–“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”)
Worship is not to be done ignorantly (1 Corinthians 14:15–“What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.”)
Worship is expressed out loud (Hebrews 13:15–“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”)
Worship is not aimed at us (Heb. 13:15)
Worship is all-consuming — We owe God our entire being (1 Corinthians 6:20–“ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body [and your spirit, which are God’s].”)
Worship is not a performance – The worship teams are not there to entertain, but to lead and encourage people to freely worship. (Amos 5:21-24—“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Worship is an act of faith (Heb. 11:4–“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”)
Worship is not acceptable to God, if not born of faith (Rom. 14:23b—“For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”)
Worship is what Jesus has commanded (John 14:21–“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”)
Worship is not authentic if it’s done by and for some other person’s method or style (Mark 7:7—“in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men;” Isa. 29:13–“Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,”)
Worship is done in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24–“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”)
Worship is not authentic if it's done in truth but not in spirit (Matt. 15:8–“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;”)
Worship is rewarded for faithfulness (Gal. 6:9–“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”)
Worship is not optional for participation (Heb. 10:25–“not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”)
