Worship.

We all know what it is, but can we define it?

A previous blog post of mine was of a man named William Temple. His definition of worship is this:
"Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose--and all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin."

Here is the problem with worship. That's right. I said problem. Although, I suppose it is not the subject of worship, but rather the the object of our worship that is the problem. The God of the Bible (the One True God) is typically not the object of our worship. Here is the problem with that. God is the only one worthy of our worship. As one author put it so eloquently, "As the Holy and Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, the Sovereign Judge to whom we must give an account, He is worthy." To help you visualize this, we all have a throne in our heart. It is the object we desire most. For many if not all of us, on that throne are other things than God. I do not mean only materialistic things either. It could be money, sex, a person, cars, etc.; but it could also (and more likely is) things such as power, affirmation, appearance, authority, control, anxiety, or the greatest one of all YOURSELF (selfishness).

Here is another truth: Everyone worships. People may say they are not "religious" or "spiritual" (whatever that means to them). In practice, however, everyone worships.  We all serve something or someone. Who/What we worships matters. If you do not know what you worship let me help you with a series a questions taken from the book Worship Matters by a worship pastor named Bob Kauflin. What do I love most (heart)? What do I believe (mind)? What do I practice (hands)? What do I model (life)? The reason each question focuses on a different subject is because worship is all-consuming. You will know what you and others worship by the way it affects the heart, mind, hands, and life of this particular person?

When we think of worship what is the immediate thought? Music. This is very much a true form of worship, BUT it is not the only form of worship. Another thought is Church. Going to church is worship. True, but it is not the only form. We worship in many different forms, ways, and methods. So what are some ways we can practice worship in a way that is balanced between spirit (the emotional) and truth (governed by God's Word) as stated in John 4?

1. You must know God before you can worship him. How do we know God? By knowing His' Son, Jesus Christ (John 14). This is very important to stress. Any attempt at worshiping God is done with vain intention if you do not first know the salvation God offers to us through Jesus Christ alone. You know God by knowing His Son and the sacrifice He made (John 3:16). More so than that, you know about your condition by knowing how pure and holy God is, and realizing how sinful and needy we are (Rom. 3:10, 23; Jer. 17:9).
2. Worship through singing. Now I can picture some of you now shaking your heads and thinking, "Have you seen those embarrassing American Idol episodes of the tone-deaf-no-one-told-me-I-can't-sing-so-I-think-I-will-be-the-next-Kelly-Clarkson. Well, that's me." It may be true. You may not be able to sing well. However, we are commanded to sing (Col. 3:16). It is okay if you do not want to sing out loud, but your heart must be engaging the words. This is an important truth for those who do not mean the words they sing as well. One of the most times God's name is taken in vain is on Sunday morning when people sing the name of God, and yet are doing it out of vain. I've done it.
3. Read the Bible. A way to worship God is by reading about Him and then, in turn, praising Him for specific characteristics of His. If you have not read A.W. Tozer's book Attributes of God then you must read it. For those of you who are scared to read I assure you this is no challenge. It is a book thinner than a pencil and but deeper than the ocean. You learn of God's great attributes and they will lead you to worship.
4. I did not go into detail about family worship but you can order a great resource here. Worship is not only publically done (in church), privately done (on your own), but it is done in the smaller church (your family). I was eating dinner the other night at a professor's house and he is an avid practitioner of this discipline. Here is his order: Prayer request, prayer, Bible reading (4 verses), an explanation of the verses, prayer, and singing two hymns. If you have children, which he does, he takes them through the catechism put out by John MacArthur. A catechism is a series of questions (such as who is God?) with short, biblical answers to teach children. It is a simple practice that takes a small effort, but makes a lasting impact. I was impacted in just one night by how the method they practiced this discipline.
5. Here is another way I may have mentioned in another post: Turn off the radio on the way home from church and talk about the sermon with your family as you are leaving church on Sunday. If you are single, then find others who you can discuss the sermon with. This practice will help you to not waste a sermon or your time spent in church. It will help you engage what is said, remember what was said, and live out what was preached.

There are countless of other methods of worship. I will leave you here with some helpful resources:
The Attributes of God- A.W. Tozer
The Pursuit of God- A.W. Tozer
Desiring God- John Piper
When I Don't Desire God- John Piper
Crazy Love- Francis Chan
Worship Matters- Bob Kauflin
We Become What We Worship by G.K. Beale- This is a pretty heavy read for more advanced readers.