If you would like to know more about the worship ministry please contact Kevin Sanders.


Worship Is…

Definition: “Worship is the extravagant, open enjoyment of God as the fountain of life. And therefore it is a public declaration that God is more to be desired than all the pleasures of this world.” [1]

1. Worship is a Lifestyle

            In 1 Corinthians 10:31 the Apostles Paul gives the goal of the Christian life: So, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We are not to merely glorify God when we sing songs to Him on Sunday mornings. We are not merely to glorify God when we pray or read His word. We are to glorify God in ALL things. When we are driving to work, when we are jogging in the morning, when we are eating dinner, when we are putting the kids to bed, when we are doing homework, when we are giving our tithes and offerings, when we are hearing the word expounded… we are to glorify God.

            Isaiah 43:6-7 says, “I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, Whom I formed and made.” When the believer is living a lifestyle of worship to the living God he/she is fulfilling the purpose of life.

Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” In chapters 1-11 of Romans Paul shows man’s desperate need of God coupled with God’s grace in mercy in the lives of sinners.  In this verse Paul reveals to us that, in light of God’s mercy we are to offer our entire lives to Him as an offering. If we offer the living God an hour on Sunday morning and think He is pleased, we are wrong. True spiritual worship is one that is, by God’s mercy in the life of the sinner, constantly flowing.

The epitome of God’s mercy is found in the Cross of Jesus Christ, where he satisfied the wrath of God on our behalf, and in doing so, made it possible for us to worship the living God. Hebrews 12:1-2 says,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.


2. Worship is Corporate

            While the New Testament rarely discuss corporate worship in the way we imagine it, the scriptures very clearly point out the importance of gathering regularly to fellowship and lift high the name of Jesus:

1 Corinthians 14:23 speaks of “the whole church gathering together.”

Acts 2:46 speaks of the early church “attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.”

Hebrews 10:25 speaks of “not neglecting to meet together.”

While corporate worship is important, the believer must never forget that the deciding factor of true worship is one’s inward condition.

Ephesians 5:18-20: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.


3. Worship is Fuel For Evangelism and Missions

            One of the greatest pictures of worship in the Bible is found in Revelation:

            Revelation 7:9-12 “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

            Since God’s goal is His glory, He longs for the people of all nations to praise His name. With this in mind, worship should not simply be a personal thing. It should stand as the goal of our evangelism and missionary efforts. We should stand before God as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6. After peeking into a heavenly worship session, he responds as every believer should:

Isaiah 6:8 “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’”

            Fortunately, we don’t have to sit around and wonder what God wants is to do. Jesus made it very clear:

            Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

In his book Let the Nations be Glad, John Piper points out:

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man… Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God… But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching… Missions begins and ends in worship.”