A Word About Worship

Read: Psalm 96
Text: Psa 96:9 (KJV) O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
Theme: Worship is a vital aspect of our walk with God, and an inevitable result of our relationship with Him.

I. Worship Studied

A. Who should worship? ("all the earth" - vs. 1)

 

B. Who should be worshipped?

("Jehovah" - every verse except vss. 11-12)
1. Should angels be worshipped? (NO - cf. Rev. 19:10)
2. Should heroes be worshipped? (NO - cf. Acts 12:21-23 - Herod)
3. Should saints be worshipped? (NO - cf. Acts 14:11-18 - Paul and Barnabus)

C. What is worship?

1. Definition (from Vines Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words): sahah - "to worship, prostrate oneself, bow down." time
2. It is found more than 170 times in the Hebrew Bible.
3. The First Mention of worship is in Genesis 18:2, where Abraham "bowed himself toward the ground" before the 3 messengers who announced that Sarah would have a son."

D. How should we worship?

Music - vs. 1
Testimony - vs. 2
Giving Glory - vs. 8
Bring an Offering - vs. 8
Come into His courts - vs. 8
Witness for Him - vs. 10
Live holy lives - vs. 9

E. Why we should worship?

God saved us! - vs. 2 (and every use of JEHOVAH as His name)
God's greatness - vs. 4
God's fearsomeness - vs. 4
God's power - vs. 5
God's majesty- vs. 6
God's strength- vs. 6
God's beauty- vs. 6
God is righteous - vs. 13
God is truth - vs. 13
God will come - vs. 13
God will judge - vs. 13

F. Where do we worship?

Among the heathen - vs. 3
In His sanctuary / courts - vss. 6,8

G. When do we worship?

Day to day - vs. 2

II. Worship Applied

DISCUSS - What do you think of the following statements? How do they fit with our study?

1. My worship of God is directly proportional to my relationship to Him. This is turn is directly proportional to the amount of time that I spend with Him.
2. The Sunday morning worship service is to be the climax of a week long of private devotions and worship.
3. Worship must be an act of participation; not spectatorship.
4. Just because we attend church, pray, sing songs, and listen to the preacher, doesn't necessarily mean that we have worshipped.
5. There is a relationship between worship and evangelism. You cannot have one without the other.

DISCUSS - How do we worship God in our daily activities?

(First might want to get the class to list some of their daily activities.)

DISCUSS - In light of these verses, how would you rate the quality of worship in your church, and in your life personally? What can be done to improve the quality of our worship?