We all remember the story of the conversation that Jesus had with the woman at a well in Samaria. If you don’t know the whole story you can read it in John chapter 4. In the conversation, Jesus revealed that He knew all about this woman. He told her that she had been married 5 times, and that the guy she was living with now with was not her husband. This made her uncomfortable, so she changed the subject from her personal life to religion.
John 4:19-20 NIV “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus answers by saying that a day was coming when that it didn’t matter WHERE a person worshiped God. What mattered was HOW they worshiped Him.
John 4:21-24 NIV “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Let’s first look at a definition for worship; it’s “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity”. To Worship then, is to show reverence and adoration for (a deity); to honor them with religious rites.
Of course the deity we are talking about is God.
One way to look at worship is to think of it as "worth-ship." When we worship something, we declare that it is worthy.
Psalm 145:3 (NLT) Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.
The Greek word for "worship" (iproskyneō - pros-koo-neh'-o) implies an attitude of reverence. It also includes such physical gestures as kissing the hand or kneeling
Psalm 95:6 (NLT) Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,
We worship something when we act as if it has value. By nature, human beings are worshippers. For instance, we worship our work or our bank accounts, an athlete, an entertainer, a house, a car, a child, a spouse, even pastors, but we need to work on focusing our worship on someone who is actually worthy of reverence (like God).
Our attitudes and actions should reflect that we believe the character and conduct of God to be worthy of praise and adoration. At times our worship is expressed through corporate singing, teaching, and tithing. It is also expressed in our daily lives through prayer, Scripture reading, acts of kindness, gratitude, and our thoughts.
John 4:19-20 NIV “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus answers by saying that a day was coming when that it didn’t matter WHERE a person worshiped God. What mattered was HOW they worshiped Him.
John 4:21-24 NIV “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Let’s first look at a definition for worship; it’s “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity”. To Worship then, is to show reverence and adoration for (a deity); to honor them with religious rites.
Of course the deity we are talking about is God.
One way to look at worship is to think of it as "worth-ship." When we worship something, we declare that it is worthy.
Psalm 145:3 (NLT) Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.
The Greek word for "worship" (iproskyneō - pros-koo-neh'-o) implies an attitude of reverence. It also includes such physical gestures as kissing the hand or kneeling
Psalm 95:6 (NLT) Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,
We worship something when we act as if it has value. By nature, human beings are worshippers. For instance, we worship our work or our bank accounts, an athlete, an entertainer, a house, a car, a child, a spouse, even pastors, but we need to work on focusing our worship on someone who is actually worthy of reverence (like God).
Our attitudes and actions should reflect that we believe the character and conduct of God to be worthy of praise and adoration. At times our worship is expressed through corporate singing, teaching, and tithing. It is also expressed in our daily lives through prayer, Scripture reading, acts of kindness, gratitude, and our thoughts.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
Acknowledge God’s Greatness
When we worship God, we have to understand and acknowledge how mighty He is and how insignificant we are. God is the King of the universe and all creation inevitably bows down before Him.
Isaiah 45:22-23 (NLT)22 Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.23 I have sworn by my own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess allegiance to me.”
In the New Testament in Philippians 2:9-11 Paul writes;
Philippians 2:9-11 (NLT)9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Worship is our response to God’s greatness. It’s us, the created, responding to Him, the Creator. It’s our spirits being energized in His presence.
We worship when we come into God’s presence. Eugene Patterson the creator of “The Message” Bible translation says that worship is “A tribute to God when He comes.”
We know that God isn’t confined to a church building or only available at certain times of day. So we don’t have to wait until we come to church or a certain time of day to worship Him. We don’t even have to wait until we feel spiritual. If we are delighting ourselves in Him we can be confident of His presence all the time.
Psalm 139 says that God's presence can be wherever are.
Psalm 139:1-10 (NLT2)1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,Any10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
When we worship God, we embrace His attributes. We see Him as omnipresent (everywhere at once), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), totally good, and totally loving. Worship is not about responsive readings or singing hymns. Worship is surrendering yourself to the power, majesty, and goodness of your Creator, letting God be God — even when you don’t understand what He’s doing or when you disagree with what He’s doing.
Worship is all about responding to who God is and what He’s done for us. It’s about being so into God that we can’t help responding out loud or with our actions. Worshiping God is just about focusing on Him.
God doesn’t require some kind of perfect, complicated worship act. He just wants it to be authentic and genuine.
Sometimes people walk out of church saying things like, “I didn’t really like the songs today,” or “I just wasn’t really feeling worship today,” or “That singer or the band wasn’t that good. It kinda took me out of it.” Pastor wasn’t on it today that sermon was flat. The Spirit wasn’t here today.
We'll let me let you in on a little secret.
Worship isn’t about you anyway. It’s about carving out time in our busy lives and responding to who God is and what He’s done for us. It’s about a deep, inner spirit response. Worship doesn’t always mean singing at the top of your lungs, or dancing or shouting. It’s about just entering into His presence and your response to that.
In everyday life, there are so many things pulling you in different directions. So many things fighting for your attention. Things fighting for your worship.
We’re either worshiping God or we’re worshiping something else. But we can’t worship both. Worship is how we respond to the thing we value the absolute most! The thing we spend most of our time thinking about, doing, giving the most attention to, putting all our energy into is what we worship.
Worshiping God isn’t just something you do, it’s the way you live. Worship can be as intense as spending an hour every day in quiet time listening and talking to God. It can be something as simple as when you go to work, or to volunteer, or just talking to someone on the street and thanking God for the opportunity that He has given you. You realize that it’s because of Him that you get to do any of these things (See How Do We Worship In Spirit And In Truth and How Do We Worship In Spirit And In Truth -2)
Can You Worship God Anywhere and Everywhere?
By Rick Warren
“Sing out your thanks to him; sing praises to our God” (Psalm 147:7 TLB).
You’ve probably noticed that music and love go together, because music comes from the heart. It’s not something you do just intellectually. It’s something that comes out of your soul, your emotions.
There are many love songs in the world. In fact, there are radio stations dedicated entirely to the love-song format. But did you know that more songs have been written about Jesus Christ than any other topic in the world? Christianity is a singing faith. Why? Because it’s not about religion. It’s about a love relationship—a relationship with God, who loves you so much that he sent his Son to die for you and who wants you to love him back.
Psalm 147:7 says, “Sing out your thanks to him; sing praises to our God” (TLB). Nothing will make you more aware of God’s love and presence in your life than singing and praise.
You may be thinking, “But you don’t understand. I can’t sing.” The Bible says to make a joyful noise.I know you can do that because when you go to a sports game or when somebody’s getting married, you probably make a joyful noise. So just let it out! You don’t have to hit the right note. You just have to make a joyful noise.
Can you worship God outside the church walls? Yes, because worship is simply expressing your love to God. That means you can worship in the shower. You can worship in your backyard mowing the lawn. You can worship washing dishes. You can worship when you’re driving to work or making a deal or walking on the golf course. You can express your love to God anywhere and everywhere. And that means you can sing anywhere and everywhere.
By Rick Warren
“Sing out your thanks to him; sing praises to our God” (Psalm 147:7 TLB).
You’ve probably noticed that music and love go together, because music comes from the heart. It’s not something you do just intellectually. It’s something that comes out of your soul, your emotions.
There are many love songs in the world. In fact, there are radio stations dedicated entirely to the love-song format. But did you know that more songs have been written about Jesus Christ than any other topic in the world? Christianity is a singing faith. Why? Because it’s not about religion. It’s about a love relationship—a relationship with God, who loves you so much that he sent his Son to die for you and who wants you to love him back.
Psalm 147:7 says, “Sing out your thanks to him; sing praises to our God” (TLB). Nothing will make you more aware of God’s love and presence in your life than singing and praise.
You may be thinking, “But you don’t understand. I can’t sing.” The Bible says to make a joyful noise.I know you can do that because when you go to a sports game or when somebody’s getting married, you probably make a joyful noise. So just let it out! You don’t have to hit the right note. You just have to make a joyful noise.
Can you worship God outside the church walls? Yes, because worship is simply expressing your love to God. That means you can worship in the shower. You can worship in your backyard mowing the lawn. You can worship washing dishes. You can worship when you’re driving to work or making a deal or walking on the golf course. You can express your love to God anywhere and everywhere. And that means you can sing anywhere and everywhere.
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