Category Archives: Praise & Worship

We acknowledge that God certainly deserves our praise but sometimes we struggle to make worship a priority in our lives. We have access to much teaching and writing on worship to help us. (See: Worship Resources) Still, we sometimes let hindrances to worship keep us from truly worshiping “in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24). Why don’t we always worship as we should?

List of Hindrances to Worship

A session in The Truth About Worship Discussion Guides looks at the hindrances listed below. It provides some Scripture and questions to reflect on the effect of these hindrances on us worshiping God.

• Self

We can let our own needs, convenience, and preferences come above God Himself.

• Concept of God

A misrepresentation of who God is will cause us to misplace our worship.

• False Gods

Anything we prioritize above God will pull us away from worshiping the one true God.

• Our Culture

When we conform to the world around us we lose sight of God.

• Service

We can get so busy serving that we neglect the God we serve.

• Unreconciled Relationships

Mistreatment or lack of forgiveness in our relationships with others affects our walk with God.

• Traditions

Man-made or self-styled worship rather than that which God desires can keep us from truly worshiping.

• Worship “Props”

When we let forms, styles, facilities, or worship leaders become what worship is about, rather than aid us in worship, they hinder it.

God is so worthy of my complete and undistracted devotion and love expressed through worship! Let’s rise above these hindrances and worship God in spirit and truth.

Jesus brought the perspective of spirit AND truth in how we worship in John 4. The Samaritan woman identified two different styles of worship, questioning which way was acceptable.

Samaritan Method of Worship: In John 4:22 Jesus said of the Samaritans, “You worship what you do not know.” They were limited in knowledge, accepting only the Pentateuch of the Old Testament. Their worship was enthusiastic but they lacked the proper knowledge. — “zeal without knowledge”

Jewish Method of Worship: They accepted the entire Old Testament and hence did not lack knowledge but their hearts weren’t in it. In Mark 7:6 Jesus used Isaiah’s words to describe them, “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” — “knowledge without zeal”

God Seeks Spirit & Truth in How We Worship

Jesus responded, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (Jn. 4:23-24)

The Father seeks both zeal and knowledge when we worship Him. He looks for fluidity of life and absoluteness of truth, enthusiasm and sound doctrine. It isn’t a matter of balance but rather BOTH spirit AND truth. We show our love for Him through worship with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Lk. 10:27).

Why God Seeks BOTH Spirit AND Truth in Our Worship

Let’s remember why Jesus said we’re to worship in this way — “God is spirit” (Jn. 4:24). To truly connect with God in worship, we must approach Him on the basis of who He is.

To worship without spirit misses the personal reality, or essence, of His very being. Our spirit must connect with His spirit for God is not contained in a body like us. Consequently, true worship isn’t about where we worship. Nor is it about the means of worshiping. We worship from the heart so we don’t turn into the hypocrites Jesus spoke of, merely going through the motions, when He said, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain” (Matt. 15:8-9a)

To worship without truth leads to missing the awesome reality, or true God, He is. When we worship, we “ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name” and we “worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness” (Ps. 29:2). When worship is void of truth, it will be anemic at best, if not a pure sham. How can we say we’re worshiping God if we aren’t acknowledging who He Himself says He is? We may be worshiping some semblance of a god but not the God of the Bible.

Are you worshiping in spirit AND truth?

Let’s be real, we do experience personal, beneficial results of making worship a priority. But, when we make worship all about God, those aren’t the results we look for in worshiping Him. We become most concerned about how our worship benefits Him. Biblical worship is God-centered through and through.

3 Results of Making Worship a Priority

1) Honor and glory goes to the One who deserves it.

Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me … (Ps. 50:23)

2) True worship leads to purified hearts yielded in service to God.

… I saw the Lord, high and exalted … “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” … And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa. 6:1-8)

3) A testimony for God is lived before unbelievers.

… He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 15:16)

These results are listed in the Church Purpose Ministry Manual which views worship as a means of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Learn More: Worship Resources

How can we love God with all of who we are (Matt. 22:37) and not spend time telling Him what we think of Him, how much we adore Him? Making worship a priority seems to be the logical response.

9 Biblical Reasons to Make Worship a Priority

A walk through the Bible shows how much of a priority worship should be for God’s people.

1. Refusal to worship caused Satan’s fall. (Isa. 14:12-14)

2. Worship was central in the Old Testament law. (Ex. 20:1-7; 34:14)

3. God gave Moses detailed plans for tabernacle worship. (Ex. 25-30)

4. God gave David detailed plans for temple worship. (1 Chron. 22-26)

5. Israel was judged because they did not worship God. (2 Chron. 7:21-22; 24:18; Jer. 16:10-11; 22:8-9)

6. People have risked their lives rather than stop worshiping God. (Dan. 3:10-18, 28; 6:1-28)

7. Jesus lived to glorify the Father. (Jn. 2:13-17; 8:29; 13:31-32; 17:1)

8. Worship was an integral part of early church life. (Acts 2:42-47)

9. Worship will continue into eternity. (Rev. 4:10-11; 7:11-12; 11:16-17; 19:4-8)

As we see throughout Scripture, we will put no other God before Him when we love Him with ALL of our affection, ALL of our very being — now and forevermore.

This content on worship, along with some other thoughts on worship, is included in the Church Purpose Manual, as one of the ways we fulfill our purpose to love God.

Some resources on worship:

• Worship Ministry Manual
• The Truth About Worship Discussion Guide
• Children Learn to Worship Curriculum

Reflecting on who God is, as we did in the previous post, leads to responding to who He is in worship and praise. What a difference it makes in our worship when the reason we worship grows out of knowing the One we worship. It’s hard to simply go through the motions when we truly reflect on Him.

Respond: How We Worship Our God

Some of the same verses used to reflect on who God is, give an appropriate, and logical, way to respond.

Be thankful and praise His name.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Ps. 100:4-5)

Bow before Him in reverence and submission.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. (Ps. 95:6-7)

Offer praise even if it requires sacrifice on our part.

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise –the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Heb. 13:15-16)

Give all of who we are to His glory.

Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. (Rom. 11:35-12:1)

Notice that worship goes beyond our words, songs, and motions to our attitude toward Him. What’s in our heart matters! And, worshiping goes beyond the worship service to the whole of our lives.

Learn more about worshiping our God:

• The Truth About Worship Discussion Guide (for adults)
• Children Learn to Worship

Learn more about the implications in leading this kind of worship:

• Worship Ministry Manual