The Discipline of Worship

Jul 9, 2024 | by Major Ted Morris

The Discipline of Worship

Major Ted Morris

Corps Officer

Clearwater, Florida

Scripture: Psalm 95

Praise and Worship

            At a recent pastors’ meeting I attended, the leader announced, “First we’ll have praise and worship and then we’ll pray together.” We all knew what he meant. First, we sing contemporary praise songs led by someone playing the guitar and then we pray. Questions naturally arise. “Does praise and worship end when we move to prayer?” Are we able to praise and worship with a brass band instead of a praise band?” What about a piano or organ? Can they be used in praise and worship as well? Is it possible to praise and worship without even singing? Can we praise and worship and not even be in church? Is it possible to praise and worship while taking a walk or riding a bike? Can we praise and worship in perfect silence? 

            Over the past couple of decades praise and worship has referred to a particular genre of singing, at a particular time in the worship service, accompanied by particular instruments.  Of course, we know that “Praise and Worship” is far broader than this relatively narrow expression. 

            Psalm 95 presents to us many ways of worshipping. Verse 1 instructs us to “sing for the joy of the Lord...Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” Verse 2 invites us to “come before him with thanksgiving…Let us extol Him with music and song.” The psalmist continues, “Let us bow down in worship…Let us kneel before the Lord.” So many ways of worshipping are packed into these few verses!

Fellowship?

            I remember the first Sunday our church gathered after COVID. What a moving time it was for all of us. How warm it felt being all together again. This reminded all of us of the need to join in worship, the need for fellowship with one another. We realized how much we missed not being together. Being together on a Sunday morning is certainly an important part of worship. We can fellowship with each other. Our faith can be strengthened during times of worship. We can receive encouragement from others, and we can entrust others with prayer needs. But if we come together on Sunday morning primarily to reconnect with friends, to feel good about ourselves, to listen to good instrumental and vocal music or even to hear what the preacher might have to say to us we could have just as easily done this at a Taylor Swift concert.  Of course, it would have cost $200 a ticket, but you would have had a good time with friends, you would have felt good about yourself, other than paying this much for a seat. You would have heard upbeat music, and you could have taken a scriptural tract to read during the intermission.

            During COVID, in my community everything closed for a time, including churches. A friend of mine was most disappointed that his church closed. Out of frustration he said, “During this crisis, at least the church should be open! I have nowhere to worship. I have nowhere to practice the traditions of my faith.” I shared with him a post I saw on social media that read, “The church is not closed – it is deployed!” This stunned him. He realized that it is not where we worship, but the condition of our heart when we worship – wherever that is. Of course, joining together in worship is very important for our spiritual as well as community growth, but the exact place should not take precedence over the heart.

Where is Worship?

            In John 4, Jesus met a woman at a well in a little town called Sychar. They chatted a bit about water. She talked about what she knew – physical water, the liquid that she came to draw from the well. He tried to teach her about spiritual water, but she did not quite get it. He asked about her husband, and she said she did not have one. He then told her more about her serial marriages than most people knew. She was stunned and realized at that moment that this was not “just a man” with whom she was speaking. There was something super-natural about Him. She then asked him a supernatural question – about the right place to worship. “Where are we to worship? Our people worship on a nearby mountain, but you people say that the temple in Jerusalem is the place to worship. Which is it?” Jesus responded with, “There will come a time when neither will be the place to worship. True worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth.  God is spirit and his worshippers are to worship Him in spirit.” 

            Psalm 122:1 declares, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Perhaps you faithfully attend a corps or church on Sunday mornings. This is a good thing. It is my hope that this is not the only place you worship. Many in evangelical circles of the Christian faith have what is called daily devotions or quiet time. This is one way to worship as well. It can take place around a meal table. It can take place in an office or study. It can take place in the living room. In my family when growing up, family devotions also often involved singing, but there was no praise band to lead us! 

            In our post-COVID world, can we worship by viewing a service online. Absolutely! This is especially helpful for those who for health reasons are not able to leave home to go to a place of worship. But this opportunity also lends itself to those who can attend church in person, but choose not to, because it involves getting up, getting dressed and driving to church. It is much easier to worship virtually. Michael Smerconish, a CNN commentator, noted recently, when speaking about communication that is limited to virtual and not face-to-face, “The digital version of anything is an inferior analogue to its off-line counterpart.”  In other words, “as good as virtual is, it is never as good as being there in person.” I suggest that this applies to worship as well. 

            So, what makes it worship? Is it the room? Is it the music? Is it the people whom we are with? Is it the position of the heart? As Jesus noted to the woman at the well, “Are we worshipping in spirit and in truth?” 

Whom We Worship

            Whether you worship God in church, on YouTube, while taking a hike or sitting in your favorite chair at home with your Bible on your lap, worship involves a clear recognition of who God is and what He has done for your personally. Isn’t it a blessing to know that we can come to Him at any time, and anywhere, and that He is never too busy for us? 

            In his letter to the believers in the ancient city of Ephesus, the Apostle Paul jots down his prayer for them. “Father, out of your honorable and glorious riches, strengthen your people. Fill their souls with the power of Your Spirit, so that through faith the Anointed One will reside in their hearts. May love be the rich soil where their lives take root.  May it be the bedrock where their lives are founded…” (Ephesians 3:16-1 – The Voice)

            So, what is this worship that God expects from us?

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness.

Come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his.

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

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!

(Psalm 100 NIV)

Our Corporate Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to remember that worship begins and ends with looking at You. Sometimes I get distracted by this or that. My mind drifts or I don't like the music, or someone is bothering me. Sometimes it seems that when I want to focus on You all my senses come alive to make me look elsewhere or think about something else. Give me a heart that wants to hear what You have to say, that wants to sing for Your ears to hear, that wants to somehow bring a blessing to You. Make me a little deaf to the distractions, but a lot more tuned to You. I love You, precious Lord. Hear this prayer as I pray it in the name of Your dear Son and my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our Worldwide Prayer Meeting
Denmark and Greenland Territory

Thinking It Through

No doubt you have a preferred way to worship the Lord. But do you ever find you are in a rut? What ways can you keep your worship fresh so that the joy of worshipping the Lord you love excites you as you seek Him?

Notable Quotables

The highest form of worship is when God is honored for what He is, without petition for benefits other than communion with Him. - Handbook of Doctrine, 1969