How Do We Worship?

How Do We Worship?

If we want to learn how to worship, the best approach we can take is to look in the Bible and see what it says, right? Well, that’s not as easy as it seems. The Bible says a lot about worship, but we rarely witness a worship service, in the strict sense of the term. Wouldn’t it be nice if we were just given a snapshot of what the early church did during a worship service when they met?

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians tells us a lot about many of the elements of worship but it never really gives us anything like an outline for a worship service or the details of what took place during all those times the saints spent together.

Acts 2:42 tells us about the things that the Church thought were the most important part of its mission, along with short insights here and there of the church meetings, but it doesn’t really describe the worship service for us.

Throughout the New Testament, we are told to pray, lay hands on people, gather together, love one another, stimulate one another to good works, encourage one another … yet nothing about what a worship service should look like.

But, wait! There is an entire chapter in the Old Testament that plays out a worship service from King David: the man who had a heart pleasing to God. When David returned the Ark Of The Covenant to Jerusalem, he commissioned Asaph to lead the nation in performing a worship service. That event is recorded in I Chronicles 16.

Over the next several days, we are going to take a look at each element of that service. The positive in that is that we will learn about what pleases God when we come to Him in worship. But, there will be negatives to this study.

For one thing, this was long before the Lord’s Table, baptism, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the revelation of the Gospel and the completion of the Bible. How in the world can we not take those into account? They are vital elements to any worship service.

Also, we are never told to replicate that event. So why are we looking at it?

Rest assured, we are not trying to suggest that this is a model for our own worship services. We are just taking an insightful look at a worship service that honored and pleased God. It never hurts to look at what pleases God and this is our goal.

So, buckle up and hold on. Let’s dig into the Word and see what it teaches us about this thing called worship.