OUR DRESS IN WORSHIP

Our Dress In Worship

     Even though worship is not a "dress parade", many times we become too sloppy, and revealing in the way we dress for worship.  Our clothes do contribute to the emphasis we place on worship to God.  This does not mean we have to wear fine and expensive clothes.  But the way we dress should be in keeping with the dignity of the occasion.

Role Of Women In The Church

Role Of Women In The Church

     The Bible speaks of how women are to conduct themselves in worship.  In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 we read, "Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.  And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church."  The Bible says that women are not permitted to speak during the worship service of the church.  If a church allows women to speak or take a leading role during their worship service, they are ignoring what God's word forbids.  They are telling God, "we don't care what You say we are going to do things our way".

THE LORD"S SUPPER

The Lord’s Supper

     Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper in order for us to remember the great sacrifice He made for us and that we rely on Him and His sacrifice for our salvation.  He gave us this memorial so we would not forget Him and what He did for us.  In Luke 22:19, when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me."  This is done to help us remember the Lord and what He did for us.

We Must Worship The Lord In His Church

We Must Worship The Lord In His Church

     The Lord is to be glorified by the worship He receives in His church.  In Ephesians 3:21 we read, "To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus."  But how many churches does the Lord have?  Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, "Upon this rock I will build My church."  The word "My" shows possession and that the church belongs to Jesus.  How many churches did He say He was going to build?  He said, "I will build My church".  The word church is singular not plural.  There is only one true church because the Lord only promised to build His one church.

PREACHING IN WORSHIP

                            Preaching In Worship

     When God’s word is preached and taught, God is honored and glorified.  During the preaching of a sermon, the hearers feast on the word of God.  1 Corinthians 1:21, 23 says, "It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe…but we preach Christ crucified."  The preaching of Christ crucified is pleasing to God, but is foolishness to many people.  It is only by this kind of preaching and teaching that man will be saved.

SINGING IN WORSHIP----4

Singing In Worship (Part 4)

     Since Christ never authorized mechanical instruments of music in the New Testament to be used in worship of the church, we might ask, when did man "take it upon himself" to start using them in trying to worship God?  It is a historical fact according to early church history, no mechanical instruments of music were ever used in church worship until about the year 670 A.D.  At this time the church at Rome introduced an organ which produced such disturbances that it was removed.  It was not until about 775 A.D. that it was introduced again, but this time it was kept, even with many people objecting.  The instrument was not accepted by many churches for many years.

SINGING IN WORSHIP-----3

Singing In Worship (Part 3)

     In Ephesians 5:19 we read, "Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."  Also we read in Colossians 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching, and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."  Here we see in our singing, we are to speak, teach, and admonish one another.  This is what God expects us to do when we sing.

SINGING IN WORSHIP---2

                      Singing In Worship (Part 2)

     There are two different kinds of music: vocal and instrumental.  God has spoken in the New Testament concerning the kind of music we must use if we expect to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and that is singing.  Singing is the limit of God’s command.  God nowhere in the New Testament authorized mechanical instruments of music to be used in worship of the church.  A mechanical instrument of music cannot worship God.  Only with our voices can we sing praises to God.  God does not wish to be worshipped with a lifeless instrument.

SINGING IN WORSHIP-----1

Singing In Worship (Part 1)

     Singing has a very definite place in worshipping God in spirit and in truth.  We glorify God in our singing praises to His name.  There are only nine scriptures in the New Testament which specify the kind of music in the worship of the church that God wishes in order for us to worship Him in spirit and in truth.  They are as follows:
(1) Matthew 26:30, "And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives";
(2) Acts 16:25, "But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God";
(3) Romans 15:9, "For this reason I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name";

ATTENDANCE OF WORSHIP

Attendance Of Worship

     Worship is a privilege only children of God have.  There are many blessings we receive from faithful attendance in worship.  God has commanded us to assemble regularly to worship Him in spirit and in  truth.  Hebrews 10:25-27 says, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.  For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation."  When we forsake the assembly of the church, except for sickness or circumstances beyond our control, we are not only disobeying God, but we are robbing ourselves of all the benefits of worship which would have helped us to grow and become spiritually strong.

WE MUST ONLY WORSHIP GOD

We Must Only Worship God

     Jesus said in Matthew 4:10, "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve."  If we worship God in spirit and in truth, we cannot worship anyone or anything else.  Anything we worship, other than God, is an idol.  According to Webster, an idol is "an image used as an object or instrument of worship."

WE MUST GIVE OUR BEST TO GOD

We Must Give Our Best To God

     As we worship God, we give Him ourselves.  Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethern, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service."  Under the Old Testament some of the Jews were not offering their best and were condemned for it.  In Malachi 1:8 we read, "And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil?  And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?"  Is it not just as evil today when we do not give God our best?

VAIN WORSHIP

Vain Worship

     Our Lord says in Mark 7:7, "And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."  When we follow the commandments of men instead of God’s instructions, our worship becomes vain.  If our worship is vain, it is empty, hollow, and useless.  It will do us no good.  If it is vain, it would be as though we had not worshipped God at all and we will be lost.  When we worship in the way "we want" then God is dishonored and insulted.  When we worship the way God has told us in His word, God is honored and glorified.

ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE WORSHIP

Acceptable And Unacceptable Worship

     God has shown, in the Bible, His approval with those who follow His will and His displeasure and wrath with those who refuse to worship Him the way He has directed.  God has always been clear about how he is to be worshipped, but man has not listened.  

     An example of acceptable and unacceptable worship in the Old Testament is that of Cain and Abel.  Cain and Abel both worshipped God.  Abel did as God directed, but Cain tried to worship God the way he saw fit.  We read in Genesis 4:3-5, "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of fruit of the ground to the Lord.  Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat.  And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering."

WORSHIPPING GOD IN TRUTH---3

Worshipping God In Truth

     Jesus says in John 4:24, "God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."  We must worship God in truth.  Since His word is truth, we must worship Him according to His word.  Here the Lord is telling us that everything we do in worship, we must have God's divine approval.  Truth is not arbitrary.  Truth for one person is the same as truth for the next.  God has not spoken in unclear ways. 

WORSHIP IS NOT FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT

Worship Is Not For Our Entertainment

     There is an erroneous idea today that the main reason we attend worship is to "get something out of the service", rather than going there to give our worship to God.  This is a selfish motive on our part.  This is the reason people cannot be satisfied with the worship service when their emphasis is not on the proper object of worship, God.  People want to "do their own thing" in the worship of the church.  What the Bible has to say about worship for many people is of little consequence as long as they are happy and feel good.  We must be concerned with what God says on how He is to be worshipped instead of what we might want to offer Him.

Worshipping God In Spirit---3

Worshipping God In Spirit

     Worshipping God "in spirit" means with reverence, attentiveness, and having the right purpose of honoring God, while understanding what we are doing.  Hebrews 12:28-29 says, "Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.  For our God is a consuming fire."  Our worship must glorify God.  1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."

THE PURPOSE OF OUR WORSHIP OF GOD

The Purpose Of Our Worship Of God

     The purpose of our worship is to glorify, honor, praise, exalt, and please God.  Our worship must show our adoration and loyalty to God for His grace in providing us with the way to escape the bondage of sin, so we can have the salvation He so much wants to give us.  The nature of the worship God demands is the prostration of our souls before Him in humble and contrite submission.  James 4:6, 10 tells us, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up".  Our worship to God is a very humble and reverent action.

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH---2

Worship in spirit and truth:

Those who worship the Father must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth!!! 

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."--(John 4:23-24)

...those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth...

Spirit and truth, so what is this spirit and truth?

Our spirit is the center of our being.  It is where our thoughts, beliefs, desires and our hopes reside.  And the Spirit of God is the one who knows the thoughts of God.  We must have a clear conscience and a pure heart in order to worship God properly in our spirits.  We are told to be clear minded and self-controlled so you can pray (commune with God).  The same is true of worship, we must enter his sanctuary being dead to ourselves and alive through Jesus Christ.

WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH

In John 4:24, Jesus tells us that we MUST worship God in spirit and truth. What does this mean? How do we worship God in spirit and truth? I hope that this page will give you a better understanding of how to worship God this way.

John 4:23-24 ...'But the hour cometh, and now is, when the TRUE worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth.'