Worship

The word, “worship” means to pay homage or to show reverence for something. God desires for believers to worship Him. “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24). Notice that God desires to be worshiped in spirit and truth. What this means is that we should worship Him with the correct attitude (in spirit) and in the correct manner (in truth).

Many don’t realize that God really cares about how we worship Him and it is possible to worship God vainly. This happens when we worship according to the teachings of men. "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." (Matthew 15:8-9). We must worship God in the way that He desires to be worshiped. And we must remember that worship is for the purpose of glorifying God and not for entertaining the worshippers. Man has made many innovations in the worship services solely for the purpose of entertainment value. This is wrong.

How then are we to worship God? Let us follow the New Testament pattern ...

  • Pray - “Pray without ceasing,” (1 Thess 5:17)
  • Sing - “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,” (Eph 5:19)
  • Give - “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” (1 Cor 16:1-2)
  • Take communion - “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” (Acts 20:7)
  • Study the Bible - “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” (Acts 20:7)