You will also discover that worship is coming before God with a heart to give and not receive. If worship is the outward expression of an inward attitude, then entering a worship service with the attitude of what can I get out of this service is not true worship. If you enter into a relationship with the attitude of what can I get out of this relationship, you will never experience real love. You will only desire to take and not give. When I think of the greatest act of love that anyone can do for another, I think of someone giving up his or her life for another. The Bible says, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 NIV The key here is giving. The same applies to worship. You cannot have a relationship with the Lord that is true without giving.
Read Gen. 22:5-18. How does this act relate to worship?
Read Verse 5 again. What did Abraham tell his servants he was going to do?
Abraham was obedient to the Lord in his willingness to sacrifice his own son. Although there was thought of self here, the desire to please the Lord through giving, his only son, was the ultimate act of worship. He listened to the Lord and obeyed.
Read Psalm 27:6, 50:14, 107:22, Hebrews 13:15. What word is most common in each of these verses?
We sing "we bring a sacrifice of praise..." Is it really a sacrifice? Some days I'm sure it is, and that's what God desires of us in our worship. Sacrifice requires giving something up. In the Old Testament, it was the best of the flocks that were sacrificed. God required their best. So it is with us in our worship today. God requires or zeteo our worship. If you are like me, sometimes it takes a sacrifice of self to worship because we don't always feel like it. However, when we start through the sacrifice, God honors and blesses our worship to the point where we end up receiving much more than we could ever give. When we enter our times of worship with the attitude of how much can I give to the Lord today through my prayer, praise, singing, and listening, then you will come away knowing that you have worshiped. Whatever you were needing when you entered will come as a by-product of your giving. Keep in mind there are many times when emotions are gone and the worship may seem stale, but if we are faithful in our worship, God will be pleased.
Write down an experience in your life when you gave without the thought of getting something in return. What was the result of that gesture?
Just as with our tithing, you cannot out-give God in your worship and praise. He promises to respond when we are faithful to lift Him up.
We need to be careful when we worship that the expression is a result of what is real and true in us. Our motives and hearts need to be in the right place. Psalm 24:3-6. Many times we are caught mimicking someone else in their worship or copying the worship leader. Worship must come from within you. It is a product of who you are in Christ and a result of your love to Him. Worship is the result of our relationship to Him.
Experiencing Worship, The Study
Used by churches all over the world to help teach worship, the Experiencing Worship study can help your worship team too.
Your team will learn why we worship and gain a better understanding of how to worship.
One user said..."Your 5 week study course has made a tremendous impact on my life in the study of worship... I would like to express my thanks for a well written study course that leads into a higher realm of praise and worship."
Experiencing Worship, The Study