“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” Psalm 100: 4 NASB
The following is a Scriptural narrative of worship and more specifically, how I ascribe its purpose in a Sunday morning service. I prepared this so you can see what is in my heart and how my perspective is derived.
Worship can turn into warship, if you are on a worship team. So we need to be respectful, accommodating, and open to the Spirit. Worship is from Him, to Him, and about Him.
Worship involves singing, but not only music. It can include quiet reflection, loud reaction (done in proper order, of course), glorious jubilation, and mutual joy.
Worship also includes the offering, testimonies, and the morning message. Every word uttered in song or speech to the glory of God should bring praise to His name. Even greeting time should be a natural overflow of sensing the embrace of our Sovereign.
When we enter into the gates/door of the sanctuary, we come with a thankful heart. We need to be prepared as we come to serve and receive. Therefore, I use songs of thankfulness in the beginning of the service thanking for what He did, does and will do. As the service progresses, worship develops praising Him for who He is. I also follow this in my private life.
Remember that worship is more about the heart, than the head. It is a heartfelt response to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The worship service should end with each person being filled as a vessel and carrying the praise of God forward.
The worship service should also prepare the pastor as a servant of the Most High and help the pastor to adjust their spiritual hearing to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the congregation.
The word “worship” comes from the same word as “worthy”, so we want all effort in word and song to be worthy of the name of Jesus Christ.
If you serve as part of the worship team, as I do, we are not there to perform, but to be transformed into His likeness. As we minister to the Master, He will minister through us.
I pray that we can experience the worship that will continue into eternity.