WHY WORSHIP MATTERS: The Importance of Corporate Worship
Corporate worship is an essential function of our participation in a local church. Singing praises to God offers each of us a unique experience to encounter God together as one people. Corporate worship allows the truth of God’s word to be reflected back to Him in praise from His own people. I’ve always been fascinated by the importance music has in our faith.
Why do we worship the way we do?
Music is a tool that quickly and uniquely combines spirit and truth to our corporate worship. Reading, believing, and living the truth found in God’s Word fuels our worship lifestyle. Deeply rooted in scripture, our theology is the basis for how we live our lives. Our corporate worship at church is an overflow of the life we live behind closed doors at home.
[Romans 12]
This is what makes corporate worship so unique. We worship God in our homes, in our private studies, and in our daily talks with Him. We come together as a body to boldly sing our doxology. The relationship of our personal walk and corporate worship is crucial. Theology feeds our doxology. We cannot have one without the other. When we hear God’s truth, we must respond in some form of worship. The response to God’s glory is worship. Note: I do not think this has to be a musical response, but a good option in a group setting.
Corporate worship has both vertical and horizontal implications. When we worship God together we reinforce truth and affirm one another in the truth, and our vertical worship is in praising the God of creation in direct response to His truth
[Colossians 3]
Spiritual worship is a combination of head and heart! We use our heart to motivate and react to the truth of God in worship. Worship is a response to God initiated by God and for God’s glory. Our spiritual gifts were created for this purpose > WORSHIP!! It’s not just a song. It’s not words on a page. Worship is a very unique and beautiful expression of submission to the authority of God.
A Christian’s daily worship is a lifestyle and a choice to praise God in whatever you are doing. This calling to magnify God in His creation goes beyond song, music, words, or actions. We belong to Him. We are His children. We have been created and called to a much bigger picture than we could have ever imagined.
Are you defined by what you do or whose you are?
Living a lifestyle of worship is choosing to magnify God in and through the skills he has given you. Daily worship cultivates a life focused on truth and pursuit of God, enabled by the Spirit to live, breathe, and move!
