Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Mat 4:10
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13 in this response to the devil’s attempt to get Jesus to worship the devil. This speaks to the high importance of the worship of God in every aspect of our lives. Every Church is centered around worship. From the Catholic Mass to the Protestant Sunday morning service to the Pentecostal hand raising, to maybe even dancing in the aisles worship services are at the center of the church.
Worship services from a huge variety of denominations and associations all feature singing, praying, reading from the bible, and often holy communion. Is is a common thread in the vast doctrinal diversity that makes up Christianity as we know it.
But it is important to note that worship is more than singing and listening to a sermon to see how it will benefit us. Worship in the above verse is translated fear or reverence. The Greek word in Matt 4:10 means to bow down or prostrate yourself. The image is of someone who is completely submissive, someone who obeys every command. That is the core of what worship is; obeying the Father in every area of our lives.
Worship services do their job when they motivate us to submit to God. Our God is overwhelmingly awesome. Singing songs of praise helps us focus on the great things that God has done for us. Praying helps us focus on communicating with God and developing a relationship with God as our father. Giving to the Church worships God in helping to do his work. Listening to the reading of the scriptures and the sermon gives us insight on how to know and serve God better. Holy Communion is a worshipful act as we focus on the tremendous sacrifice of Christ whose blood was shed for our sins and whose body was broken for our sicknesses.
So it should be obvious by now that worship is not limited to a period of time on Sunday when believers get together to worship. That service, that meeting is only as fruitful as the individual acts of worship committed by people not only in the service, but in their everyday lives.
© copyright 2009Â Mark W Smith, All rights reserved.