Definition of Worship

Glorify - Gather - Grow - Give

By John Wimber

If we don't worship God, we'll worship someone, or something else.

Probably the most significant lesson that Carol and the early Vineyard Fellowship learned was that worship is the act of freely to God. Indeed, in Psalm 18:1 we read, "I love you, oh Lord, my strength." Worship is also an expression of awe, submission, and respect toward God: Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song (Ps. 95:1-2).

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name, and proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples (Ps. 96:1-3). Our hearts desire should be to worship God; God has designed us all for his purpose. If we don''t worship God we''ll worship something or someone else.

But how should we worship God? There are various ways described in the Old and New Testaments:

Adoration: praising God for simply who he is- Lord of the universe.
Thanksgiving: giving thanks to God for what he has done, especially for his works of creation and salvation.
Confession: the acknowledgement of sin and guilt to a holy and righteous God.
As Carol would point out, worship involves not only our thought and intellect, but also our body. See throughout the Bible are such forms of praise as singing, playing instruments, dancing kneeling, bowing down, raising our hands, and so on. These are all expressions of worship.

How we worship is often called our Worship Philosophy. This was originally written by John Wimber & has been slightly adapted.

Worship Leaders - Songsmart