“The chief end of man is to worship God and to enjoy Him forever.” (Westminster Catechism).
Eph 1: 11 Because of what Christ has done, we have become gifts to God that he delights in, for as part of God's sovereign plan we were chosen from the beginning to be his, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. 12 God's purpose in this was that we should praise God and give glory to him for doing these mighty things for us, who were the first to trust in Christ. TLB
1 Cor 6:19 Haven't you yet learned that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit God gave you and that he lives within you? Your own body does not belong to you. 20 For God has bought you at a great price. So use every part of your body to give glory back to God because he owns it. TLB
"Our entire being is fashioned as an instrument of praise. Just as a master violin maker designs an instrument to produce maximum aesthetic results, so God tailor-made our bodies, souls and spirits to work together in consonance to produce pleasing expressions of praise and worship. When we use body language to express praise, that which is internal becomes visible." Don McMinn
1/ Ex 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
2/ 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol …5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them;
3/ 7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God,
4/ 8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
John 4:19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." NIV
JN 4:22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know;
JN 4:22… we [JEWS] worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
“Rev 2:2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
John 5: 39 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
JN 4:23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Mt 12:34 "...For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."
1 Cor 2:11 No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. 12 And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.
Isa 29:13 The Lord said, "These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. GNT
Lamar Boschman – SAID "When I worship, I would rather my heart be without words than my words be without heart."
Eph 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
William Temple said Worship is
- the submission of all our nature to God.
- the quickening of conscience by his holiness,
- the nourishment of the mind with his truth,
- the purifying of the imagination by his beauty,
- the opening of the heart to his love,
- the surrender of the will to his purpose.
Ps 43:4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God. NIV
Ps 27:4 The one thing I ask of the LORD— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.
Is 61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
1 John 1:5 … God is light [TRUTH]; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light [TRUTH] , as he is in the light [TRUTH], we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
If our worship does not change us, leading us to holiness and leading us to a deeper love of God and hatred of sin, and a repentant heart, it is not true worship.
Worship is the response of a heart that is captivated by the love and greatness of our God
– it is a lifestyle of making Jesus Lord and passionately pursuing his kingdom and a loving relationship with him.
A prayer
LORD COME AND TRANSFORM MY NATURE, I CHOOSE TO SUBMIT TO YOU,
- CAPTIVATE MY HEART AND OPEN IT TO THE WONDERS OF YOUR LOVE AND GRACE
- I CHOOSE TO SEEK YOU AND OFFER YOU MY BODY AS A LIVING SACRIFICE
- TEACH ME TO WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
- GIVE ME A SENSITIVE CONSCIENCE TO TURN FROM ALL THAT GRIEVES YOU
- TRANSFORM MY MIND AS I FILL IT WITH YOUR TRUTH
- PURIFY MY THOUGHTS, MY IMAGINATION, BY YOUR HOLINESS
- GRANT ME THE GRACE TO WALK IN SURRENDER TO YOUR LORDSHIP,
- I LONG TO KNOW YOU BETTER, FILL ME WITH DELIGHT IN YOUR PRESENCE AS I READ YOUR WORD AND COMMUNICATE WITH YOU IN PRAYER AND WORSHIP.
- IN JESUS NAME I ASK THIS, AMEN
