Worship

What is worship?

• To worship God means to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise, to approach and address God as He is worthy.” - Don Whitney
• “Worship is focusing on and responding to God.” - Don Whitney
• “We worship God authentically when we know him truly and treasure him duly.” - John Piper

Revelation 4:8-11:    8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 12b-13:    12b “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Why is worship important?

• Worship is centered around God, not us.
• The more we focus on God, the more we appreciate His infinite worth.
• Luke 7:37-38: the most beautiful form of worship and yet not a single note of music was played.

Luke 7:37-38:    37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

• “We are not worshipping if we are not thinking about God.” - Don Whitney
• When we love and honor someone, we naturally want to show it in our words and actions.

How do we worship?

• All worship, public or private, should be based on the Bible.
• We worship in spirit and truth.

John 4:23-24:    23 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. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

• We are able to worship in spirit and truth because we have the Spirit of truth.

John 14:16-17:    16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

• We worship in spirit and truth with both heart and head, emotion and thought.

Verses about worship

• Psalm 95:6
• Psalm 100
• Matthew 12:34
• Matthew 15:8-9

When can we worship?

• Worship is not limited to a once-a-week service.
• Worship is both public and private.
  
  • Not neglecting to meet together: Hebrews 10:25.
  • Jesus withdrew to desolate places to pray: Luke 5:16.
• “How can we worship God publicly once each week when we do not care to worship Him privately throughout the week?” - Don Whitney

Questions for us to consider

• What is one thing you can do to improve your public worship?
• What is one thing you can do to improve your private worship?
• What can you do to focus more fully on God?