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• The Right Way To Worship God
• Learning How To Worship God Acceptably
• WORSHIPPING GOD ACCEPTABLY
• It has always been the will of God that all mankind worship Him because
we need to recognize and acknowledge Him as our Creator and Sustainer.
• It was even prophesied in the Old Testament that during the Messianic
age people from all over the earth would worship the one true God.
• Introduction:
• In the Lord’s church, we’ve generally placed great emphasis
upon worshipping God according to the New Testament pattern by engaging only in
those things which are authorized in God’s word.
• This is right and should continue
• Introduction
• However, we may occasionally overlook some other aspects of worship that
are also important.
• Therefore, we need to turn to the scriptures and look at some important
principles that will help us in…
• Worshipping God Acceptably
• Stumbling blocks to meaningful worship
• One is sin:
• Isaiah 1:10-17.
• Of course, none of us is sinless—we all sin, but there’s a
difference between sinning in moments of weakness yet asking God’s forgiveness
and continuing to live in sin, which is a stumbling block to meaningful worship
because it separates us from God:
• Isaiah 59:2
• Stumbling blocks to meaningful worship
• Another is ritualism, worship that just goes through the motions in a
cold, formal, mechanical, or ceremonial way:
• Malachi 1:7-13. We must be careful that we don’t fall into a rut
by allowing our worship to become a mere routine each Sunday.
• Stumbling blocks to meaningful worship
• Still another is traditionalism:
• Matt. 15:1-9.
• All of the examples cited come from the time when the Old Testament law
was in effect, but these things were written for our learning, and they remind
us that just as there were stumbling blocks to worship among the Israelites, there
are stumbling blocks to worship which we need to remove.
• Stumbling blocks to meaningful worship
• It’s important that in our zeal to please the Lord we don’t
add all kinds of human demands in worship that, while they may not be sinful of
themselves, are simply not requirements of the Lord and may make worship vain.
• Stepping stones to meaningful worship
• An awareness of God:
• Isaiah 6:1-5.
• We won’t be given a vision of God as Isaiah was, but we need to
see God as He’s pictured in the scriptures, so that we might be more motivated
to bow down before Him reverently in worship:
• Hebrews 12:28
• Stepping stones to meaningful worship
• Thoughtful preparation:
• Exodus 16:22-24.
• The Jews had a day of preparation for the Sabbath that enabled them to
be ready for the Lord’s bidding and facilitated their obedience to His commands.
God hasn’t commanded such a day for us, but the more we’re prepared
for our worship ahead of time, the more meaningful it will be to us
• Stepping stones to meaningful worship
• Self examination:
• 1 Corinthians 11:27-30.
• While this passage is dealing specifically with the Lord’s supper,
the principle is true for other acts of worship too, that we should examine ourselves
as we sing, pray, study, and even give to make sure that we’re exhibiting
the proper attitude so as to make sure that we’re truly praising God:
• Stepping stones to meaningful worship
• Hebrews 13:15.
• We must not only be against additions to worship, we need to be for the
right attitudes and actions in worship, and then strive to do those things that
will help us to make our worship more meaningful.
• Practical suggestions for meaningful worship
• Take up the cross and live for Christ daily:
• Luke. 9:23.
• Those who strive to do Christ’s will every single day will be much
more likely to be in tune with the Lord when they come before Him in worship.
• Practical suggestions for meaningful worship
• Spend a few minutes with God each day in prayer:
• 1 Thess. 5:16-18.
• Daily prayer will draw us closer to God and help to make us more aware
of who it is before whom we’re coming to worship.
• Practical suggestions for meaningful worship
• Enter into worship with the whole heart, soul, mind, and strength to come
boldly before God’s throne:
• Hebrews 4:16.
• “Boldly” doesn’t mean irreverently or flippantly, but
assuredly with the knowledge that as children of God we have a right to approach
His throne in worship and should do so with humble and sincere hearts.
• Practical suggestions for meaningful worship
• Hopefully, following these suggestions will help us to avoid allowing
our worship to turn into a mere meaningless habit where we go through the motions
but fail to offer God our very best.
• Focus upon spiritual thoughts.
• Colossians 3:1-2
• Conclusion
• Worship is a deep and special privilege that all Christians should enjoy
and benefit from.
• But it will be even more special to us if we’ll make the effort
to enter into it with the right motivation and attitude.
• Let’s approach our worship with the attitude which the Psalmist
exhorts us to have:
• Ps. 95:1-6.
By Carey Scott
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