Celebrate Worship

Worship is, at its core, the act of placing someone or something above everything else. The natural order of things is for the created thing to worship the Creator (Rom. 1:25), and likewise the nature of worship is that the Object of worship defines how He is to be worshiped. Jesus told Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:24 that “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Spirit here refers to the attitude or state of mind one is to have in worship. As stated above, the proper attitude for worship should place the Object of worship above all else. To worship in truth means to carry out such acts of worship as God has commanded.

Jesus commanded the observance of what we now call the Lord's Supper on the night He was betrayed (1 Cor. 11:23). The reasons He gave for this observance were to remember Him (11:24-25), and to proclaim His death until He comes (11:26). Paul also tells us in the previous chapter that the cup and the bread are a “communion of the blood...” and “body of Christ (10:16), signifying that we are “one body” (10:17) We are also given the example of the early church meeting on the first day of the week in order to “break bread” (Acts 20:7), which we take to mean the first day of every week, and no other day of the week.

We are also commanded to give on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16: 1-2). The attitude and amount to give are summed up in 2 Corinthians 9:7 - “Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

God requires singing in our worship as well. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 both give the command to sing and do so in very similar terms: speaking to ourselves (one another) in songs, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. In both cases, the command is to sing, with no mention made of any instrumental accompaniment. Similarly, the singing is in the manner of speaking, which would demand words only and not include any extra noise produced by means other than instruments. Finally, we gather from this command that all worshipers are to participate.

In Acts 2:42, we see that the newly formed church, in addition to its other acts of worship, “continued stedfastly (sic) in... the prayers.” Prayer is to be a part of every Christian's life. Paul gives the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing.” He tells us elsewhere, “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). Here we see that prayer is for thanksgiving to God, for making requests of Him, for relieving our anxieties by handing them over to God, and for appealing to Him to guard our hearts and thoughts.

Finally we see that the study and teaching of God's word is to take place as part of our worship. In Acts 2:42, the church “continued stedfastly (sic) in the apostles' teaching...” We see throughout the book of Acts that this took place daily, not just on the first day of the week, though preaching is shown to be part of the Lord's Day assemblies (Acts 20:7).

Too many people in the religious world today miss the point of worship entirely. Rather than being something offered to God, they approach worship with the attitude of “what can I get out of it?” This leads to religious groups making changes to worship based on what feels or sounds “better” based on their own standards. Such departures from the truth of God's plan for worship really begin in the spirit, and since God is no longer in the highest place, He is not the One being worshiped. In that sense there is no such thing as “false worship.” Either God is being worshiped, or He is not.

Worship is a rare and precious opportunity for God's children. It is our chance to demonstrate our devotion to Him, to offer Him the praise due Him, to bring our needs before Him, and to commune with each other as fellow members of His body. As we celebrate in 2008 and beyond, let us always remember that worship is to be our celebration of God and His blessings.