What a hard concept to define. Two passages guide our understanding of worship:
"Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness." Psalm 29:1-2 (ESV)
David is saying that we are to ascribe to God glory. Why? Because it is due His name. So one aspect of worship is a response to who God is, simply because we are human, and He is God. The entire universe owes worship to God.
But another passage brings it to a personal level. We read in Romans 12:1-2: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Paul spent the first 11 chapters of Romans telling us how we all have sinned against God. But out of God’s great mercy, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be a sacrifice for us. When we trust in what God has done for us, and not what we try to do for him, we can live lives of worship that are pleasing to God.
So, we see that worship is a response not just to who God is, but to what He has done for us personally. Let’s put these two elements together to form a definition: Worship: Loving God more.
This response takes many forms. It is the way I respond individually to God, in my personal prayer time, my study of the Bible, and my lifestyle. But it is also the way I respond as part of a community with others worshipping God.
At Grace, this takes form as we gather weekly to respond to God together. Sunday services are not “church.” They are gatherings of people, who are the church, to worship in response to God. The service is a time when we gather in a place with a spirit of joy and celebration, balanced by the truth of what God has done for us, spoken to us in His word, and required of us by our actions toward other believers around us.
The best way to worship God is to let your entire life become a response to who God is and what He has done. You can do it when you stand with others at Grace Community Church, when you sit alone at your kitchen table with your Bible, and when you pray in the car. You can even do it when you’re making lunch.
