This is a big subject for the limited space that we have, but let’s talk about worship. We were created to worship God and to bring him pleasure. There are many good definitions of worship. One that I like says that “worship is to recognize the worth of God and to respond appropriately”. In other words, worship is to give God the attention and devotion that only he deserves. There are many ways that we can worship God. Let’s talk about a few of them.

First, we worship God when we gather together as the church on Sunday. The Bible continually speaks of how God’s people throughout the years assembled to give their attention to God. Our gatherings declare that we believe that God is worthy of our time and trouble to get to the meetings. On the other hand, one’s neglect of these worship gatherings betrays a lack of desire to worship God. That’s why Hebrews 10:25-31 urges us to keep meeting together and warns of dire consequences for anyone who deliberately forsakes the assembly of believers.

Second, we worship God when we bring him an offering. Going all the way back to Cain and Abel, we see that mankind knew of the responsibility to bring something of worth to the Lord as an act of worship. We see various offerings described throughout the Old Testament. The early church continued this practice of worshiping God through their giving. It is interesting to note that Jesus watched people bringing their offerings to the Lord and commended one widow for the outstanding faith that she showed by putting her last two coins into the collection. May we always be mindful of how our giving is perceived by the Lord as an act of worship.

We also worship God when we sing. Music has an important place in Scripture, however, worship and music are not synonyms. Singing is but one of many ways we can worship God. Certain Israelites were designated to lead in the playing of instruments and the singing of worshipful songs. In the New Testament, Christians continued to worship the Lord with music and singing. Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

Another way we worship is to pray. Did you ever notice how many prayers are recorded throughout the Bible? We are urged to follow in the footsteps of those faithful people who came before us by offering our prayers to God. The decision to pray is a sign that we believe the Lord is worthy of our attention and that we believe that he has the power to intervene in our lives in many beneficial ways. Prayer is a crucial part of our worship of God. That’s why 1 Thessalonians 5:17 urges us to “pray continually.”

Participating in the Lord’s Supper is still another important way we worship God. When we take communion we remember the sacrificial death of Jesus and declare that God is worthy of our worship because he sent his only son to die for us. The early church devoted themselves to this “breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42) and met every Sunday for this purpose (Acts 20:7). Let’s make sure that we do not neglect this meaningful act of worship.

Finally (at least in this short study), we worship God when we obey his Word. This is more than listening, more than studying. This is putting the Bible into practice in our daily lives. By doing what God says to do and avoiding what he says not to do, we show that his ways are worthy of our acceptance.

Well, those are a few ways that we can worship the Lord. Let’s devote ourselves to becoming better worshipers of God.