Why does a branch dance in a summer breeze? Why does a lake leap up to soak a child at the beach? Why does a Christian sing? Why would a Jesus follower joyfully clean up after others? The branch, the lake, and the Christian all respond to a force that powerfully works upon them.
✨ Christian worship is the God-centered, Spirit-enabled, whole-being response of believing individuals to God who is made accessible only through Christ as revealed in the Bible.
A Christian cannot initiate worship any more than a leaf can pull a heavy branch by itself. A peaceful lake does not suddenly leap high into the air on it’s own. In the same way, a Christian is dependent upon God to reveal His glory. The heart is naturally dead in sin and callous towards God (Ephesians 2:1). God’s glory is a terrible thing to behold unless a person’s rebellious heart has been transformed by the power of the Spirit and one’s sins are covered by faith in the blood of Jesus (Romans 8:10–11). The Good News of the Gospel is that God is glorious and that He is gloriously good to all those who believe in Jesus!
Worship, then, is the whole-being response of a believing individual. The common perception is that worship is singing in church on Sunday morning. God does command us to sing and to gather together (Psalm 47:6; Hebrews 10:24–25). However, joyfully responding to the Gospel bursts beyond singing and leads to joyfully responding in every area of life! The Christian worships God both in special times of congregational singing and in humble acts of service.
📖 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31
Encouragements to take away:
- Worship is not something you can work to initiate, but is a joyful response to God’s grace.
- God is working in you to bring about a joyful heart that loves to respond in worship.
- A whole-being response of worship is something that gives meaning and joy to everything in your life.