Worship: What It Is, What It Isn't

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.”)