Worship

Worship is a privilege only true believers can enjoy. As believers, God invites us into his presence and gives us the ability to come before the throne of grace. One way we enter his presence is through worship.In the church culture today, worship has become an enterprise. I often wonder if we have made worship nothing more than a musical genre and have missed the heart of worship? If this is the case, then what was meant to be God-honoring and spirit-enriching has become something that God never intended it to be. To help you understand this, I want to address some ways our worship can become sinful. By the way, many of these things are very subtle, which is why you must be on alert. In full transparency, I have engaged in some of these practices, so I am very familiar with how they can creep in.Photo credit: ©Getty Images/FOTOKITA

I was just reading Romans 12:1-2, where Paul says that total devotion to Jesus Christ is our spiritual worship. I sensed that Paul was talking about a level of worship that I have never experienced. I'd like to move deeper in my worship.

When you want to deepen your relationship with God, you need to move beyond simply knowing about Him and seek personal encounters with Him. The Bible’s Psalms can help you do that. The Psalms are full of honest expressions of what it means to relate to God. They describe faith in action while dealing with the tension between this fallen world’s realities and the hope God offers you. Here’s how you can deepen your relationship with God by reading and responding to the Psalms: (*Image Credit: upsplash)

“Sing to the Lord, praise His name, proclaim His salvation day after day” (Psalm 96:2). So declared King David, the author of most of the songs in the Old Testament hymnbook—the Psalms.From King David on, writers and composers have continued to string together words and musical notes to proclaim the truth of God through song, and some of them have amazing stories that led to their creation!Here are the inspiring stories behind 5 of the most well-known hymns and worship songs.Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Jantanee Rungpranomkorn

“I Will Sing the Wondrous Story” is a song about singing the story of God’s love for us. It’s a beautiful hymn that has blessed people for almost 140 years. It’s a reminder of what God has done and a call to praise Him, showing our gratitude for all the incredible gifts He has so generously given to us, His children. But that’s not all. It’s a declaration of our choice to follow God and trust Him through any darkness or sorrow we experience here on earth, knowing He will bring us safely home when our time on earth is done.Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn

We much remind our own generation and those to come after us why “worship is worth it” regardless of whether we feel like it or the state of the times makes us doubt His presence.

As human beings, it can be easy to get caught up in the circus-like atmosphere of performance-based worship, but this does not have to be the case. By being intentional and mindful to recognize when worship becomes more about performance instead of praising God, we can shift the focus back to Jesus.

It's abundantly easy to praise God in times of abundance. But we shouldn't praise God for the stuff he gives us but rather for who he is.

Worship is an integral part of the Christian life. It allows us to solidify our relationship with God, and reminds us to focus our hearts and minds on his word. In the same way a human body requires food and water, so does our spiritual health depend on worship. Without it, our hearts grow cold and our faith withers into nothing.Scripture tells us that the devil will do anything to get between us and God. 1 Peter 5:8 even warns us to be, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”Our enemy will wait, and scheme, and hunt for any sign of weakness in our lives. It shouldn’t come as any shock that he’ll try to sabotage our worship. In the days ahead, be sure to put on the armor of God, and keep these 10 lies from stealing your joy!Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Bmywuk

It's tempting to let the complex nature of both to say that worship is only singing in church and box up our emotions. But God created us to worship and he gave us emotions. How do we unite the two?

Although music styles and tastes change through the years, one thing never goes out of style: Worshipping God through song. While worship consists of many forms—not just singing— expressing our hearts toward God through song is older than the Scriptures themselves. Ephesians 5:18-19 instructs Christ-followers to be filled with the Spirit, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” No matter what era your preferred “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” are from, they can be a source of encouragement, especially when they are based on the Scriptures. When I was looking for ways to change up my devotional time with God recently, I dusted off an old hymnal (that was published 40 years ago!) and sang aloud some of the hymns I remembered from growing up in church during the 1970s. These songs reminded me of some precious truths I rarely hear sung on the radio today. Here are just ten classic hymns you might remember (along with some of their lyrics in italics) and why they are so important. Photo credit: Pixabay

Depression. A mental health disorder characterized by persistent discouraged moods or a loss of interest in liveliness, causing significant impairment in daily life.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression. At its best, depression is often disguised by anxiety, a busy lifestyle, or hundreds of other coping mechanisms that avoid its presence altogether. At its worst, this troubling feeling of despair can lead to self-harm, intrusive thoughts, and suicide.While I have never struggled with this worrisome darkness to the point of self-destruction, I have watched countless family members attempt its luring vices and reside in shame when their act was not successful. I have struggled with self-harm of orthorexia and anorexia that left me shallow in a puddle of grief, desperation, hopelessness, and anxiety.In those times of hurt and confusion, the Lord often led me to Scripture and worship that elevated His Word above the noise of everything else. It's my prayer that these ten powerful songs will challenge your depression today, pulling you from the brink of darkness and setting you free in the beauty of His glorious light.Photo Credit: © Unsplash/Chad Madden

“To be human is to worship.” Those are the opening words of Daniel Block’s excellent new book on worship, For the Glory of God. Men and women are inveterate worshippers. Paul makes this clear in Romans 1. Even those who reject the plain knowledge of God which can be perceived within the created order do not cease worshiping. Rather they simply begin worshipping created things instead of the Creator (Rom 1:18ff). Given that we all worship and that our hearts tend to be deceptive, it is vital that our worship be shaped by what God has made clear in His Word rather than by personal opinions, past experiences, or intuitions. While not an exhaustive list, the following 7 points help us think more biblically about worship:

As the church, do we worship our own emotions or God? And how are we to worship in Spirit and in Truth?

Reminding ourselves where we run to when we're burdened, empty, and afraid is so important. Being reminded of the father heart of God is also critical as we learn that His arms are open and ready to hold us.

It is always refreshing when Christian music gets highlighted on national television. In this video clip, Lauren Daigle performs “Thank God I Do” on Good Morning America.

A singer onAmerican Idol treated the audience to a stunning performance of a Lauren Daigle hit.

Worship is not about you and me. Not about "getting our needs met." Not about a performance from the pastor and singer and choir and musicians. Not in the least.

Abiding in Christ, and worshipping Him is our full defense against Satan’s attacks. Here are five ways to put on the full armor of God and worship Him as your weapon against spiritual attacks.

The Bible speaks of the dangers of putting ourselves and our preferences over others, and even though we might believe we’ve got a good spiritual reason for liking or disliking a certain form of worship, God’s Word gives us reasons not to condemn something that is ultimately for Him. Here are four dangers of condemning worship styles we don’t like.