1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

We are a people called to declare.

Declare - to make something known publicly.

The praises of God are the church's clearest testimony. When believers lift their voices in holy awe, they declare that there is a joy deeper than circumstance and a hope stronger than sorrow. Worship preaches when sermons cannot. A watching world may doubt our doctrines, but it cannot easily dismiss a people transformed by the glory they behold.

— Charles Spurgeon

You were created for worship.

Everything God creates is wired for a purpose

Isaiah 43:7

Bring to me all the people who are mine, whom I made for my glory

glory = Kavod - to worship

1 Corinthians 10:31

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

glory = doxa - worship

Worship is not optional.

Old Testament: Worship - Shachah - to bow down, to kneel, to fall prostrate, to place yourself low before someone in reverence and submission.

New Testament: Worship - proskune­ō - to bow in submission, to fall at someone's feet, to offer oneself in surrender, to yield one's will to another.

Worship is about posture.

Worship is Kingship Expressed

If God is not intentionally on the throne of your heart, then something else will be.

Part of our calling as the people of God is to consistently and intentionally enthrone God.

Kingship = Recognition

Expressed = Response

Philippians 2:9

God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name…

Revelation 19:16

On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.

Worship is the outward expression of an inward decision that Jesus is my King.

Romans 1:21

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Romans 1:24

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator

When worship is misdirected life begins to unravel.

It's possible to believe in God and still not worship Him as God.

If God is not intentionally on the throne of your heart, then something else will be.

The human heart is a factory of idols.

— John Calvin

Why We Worship:

1. He's Worthy.

God's worth is not based on what He does. It's based on who He is.

Everything God does flows out of who God is.

Revelation 4:11

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

Praise celebrates His hands, Worship surrenders to His heart.

When you look at Jesus on the cross, you don't just see a Savior, you see a God who is infinitely glorious and infinitely self-giving.

2. We Need It.

Worship keeps our hearts soft.

Philippians 2:10–11

At the name of Jesus every knee will bow… in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Worship doesn't just express humility, it forms it.

Psalm 95:6–8

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker… Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

Worship doesn't just come from a tender heart, it creates one.

In a world that constantly forms us into self-reliant individuals, worship re-forms us into dependent sons and daughters. It is not just that a tender heart worships. It is that worship is how God keeps the heart tender.

— Jon Tyson

1. Worship Leaders Worship

Romans 12:1

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

"bodies" - sōma - the whole of your life, not just your physical frame

Worship isn't something you perform in a moment, it's something you practice with your life.

2. Worship Leaders Come Prepared

Ecclesiastes 5:1

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.

When you come prepared for worship, we don't just receive what happens in the room; we help establish what happens in the room.

3. Worship Leaders Give Permission

Romans 14:13

Decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

3 ways we express worship when we assemble:

#1. Singing

Psalm 30:4

Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name.

Psalm 33:1

Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord; it is fitting for the pure to praise him.

2 Corinthians 5:21

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

You don't worship because you're perfect, you worship because Jesus is, and because you've been made worthy by grace through Him.

Psalm 96:1

Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!

Psalm 150:6

Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Psalm 100:1

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.

#2. Raising Hands

Psalm 134:2

lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord.

Psalm 63:4

I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

Lifting hands is a physical expression of an inward decision: I belong to You. I trust You. I am Yours.

#3. Verbalized praise

Psalm 34:1

I will honor the Lord at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth.

Psalm 145:21

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord. And all flesh will honor His holy name forever and ever.

It's great to sing songs that other people wrote for God, but there's something special about you using your own words to express your heart to God.