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WORSHIP
People in love want and need to be told-more than once-that they are loved. God is like that, too. he"s not insecure, but like any good father, he likes to hear his children express their love directly to him. This is the essence of what we call worship. We can draw principles from these instructions to help us worship the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Here are some of these principles, listed according to the "who, what, when, where, and why" of worship. WHO: We worship God. But many churches tend to shift the focus of worship from God to human beings. We don"t necessarily "worship" ourselves, but too often we ZERO IN on what God does for us. It"s OK to praise God for his goodness. But there"s a danger in thinking of God primarily in terms of how he can bless us, protect us, make us happy, etc. If we"re not careful, we"ll start to think that he exists for our benefit, not the other way around. Remember: we worship God, not what he does for us. WHAT: Worship is giving God the glory and obedience he deserves. In a sense, all of life should be "worship"-obedience given out of love and respect to our great God. But there is also the need for specified times of focused attention to praise, prayer, the teaching of God"s Word, etc. Our "whole-life" worship is like a shotgun-unfocused. Special times of worship, especially on Sundays, are LIKE A LASER-much more intense and specific. WHEN: While any time is acceptable to honor God with praise and adoration, the Scriptures teaches us to set aside certain regular times to gather for worship. The early church began to meet on the first day of the week, as opposed to the Jewish custom of meeting on the last. Churches today often meet Saturday nights, Sunday mornings, and Wednesday nights. it is important that we meet together regularly (Hebrews 10:23-25). WHERE: There are almost as many different places where Christians worship as there are Christians: church buildings, houses, schools, stores, shelters, tents, prisons, hospitals, ships, and on and on. The first Christians often gathered in SECRET PLACES, like caves and catacombs. Jesus clearly taught it"s not the place that"s important, but the person (John 4:1-42). You can worship God anywhere. WHY: The why of worship is simple and twofold: First, we worship because God wants us to. This brings out an extremely vital truth that is too often misunderstood. Worship is not primarily for us; it"s for God. The important thing is not whether we enjoyed the sermon, music, etc. It"s whether or not God is pleased with our offering of ourselves to him. SECOND, we worship because we need to. When we bow before God and acknowledge his greatness, majesty, patience, and love toward us, he is pleased, we are placed in the proper relationship to him. When we worship, we are reminded that he is God, and we are not; and that "we are his people, the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3). There is much more to say about worship, such as the elements of worship: music, preaching, prayer, communion, etc. Those issues are beyond our scope here. The crucial point is that we worship. OUR FATHER IS WAITING TO HEAR FROM US.


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