DEFINITION

worship
ˈwəːʃɪp/
noun

the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity."worship of the Mother Goddess"synonyms:reverence, revering, worshipping, veneration, venerating, adoration, adoring, -olatry, devotion, praise, thanksgiving, praising, praying to, glorification, glorifying, glory, exaltation, exalting, extolment, extolling, homage, respect, honour, honouring, esteem; dulia, latria; rarelaudation, magnification

verb

show reverence and adoration for (a deity).
"the Maya built jungle pyramids to worship their gods"
synonyms:
revere, reverence, venerate, pay homage to, honour, adore, praise, pray to, bow down before, glorify, exalt, extol; be devoted to, dote on, love, hold dear, cherish, treasure, admire, esteem, adulate, idolize, deify, hero-worship, lionize, have a high regard for, hold in high regard, hold in esteem, hold in awe, look up to; informalbe wild about, put on a pedestal; archaicmagnify; rarelaud

SOME SCRIPTURE ON WORSHIP

The Bible teaches and inspires us about our worship of God. Be inspired and grow in your faith in God.

Worship no god but me. (Exodus 20:3)

God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth. (John 4:24)

Go to the LORD for help, and worship him continually. (1 Chronicles 16:11)

Let all who worship him say, “His love is eternal.” (Psalm 118:4)

Speak to one another with the words of psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, always give thanks for everything to God the Father. (Ephesians 5:19-20)

Do not let yourselves be led away from the LORD to worship and serve other gods. (Deuteronomy 11:16)

So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

Praise the Lord our God;
worship before his throne!
Holy is he!
(Psalm 99:5)

This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church. (1 Corinthians 14:26)

Worship the LORD with joy; come before him with happy songs! (Psalm 100:2)

Why do we worship?
We do not worship simply out of tradition!

1. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS.
God is Creator and He is worthy of our worship! We worship Him because of His transcendence, uniqueness, and holiness.

2. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE OF WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US.
He created us, therefore we worship Him.
We also worship God because He saved us. He sent Jesus to die on our behalf, so that we might be free from sin.

3. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE HE COMMANDS US TO.
Jesus teaches us in John 4 that the Father is seeking true worshipers. And true worshipers are those that worship God in both spirit and truth.

4. WE WORSHIP GOD TO BLESS AND HONOR HIM.
Worship is not primarily for us. We certainly benefit from it, but worship is first and foremost a selfless act of love towards God.
We do not worship just because we enjoy the emotion or sensation of doing so. Worship makes us feel good, but that is not to be our primary motivation for worshiping God. We worship God because He desires us to and it pleases Him.
We are beneficiaries of worship, but should not be the primary one. Our motivation to worship should be greater than that. True worship is never self serving or self centered.

5. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE WE LOVE HIM.
When God means much to us, we will worship Him. Adoration, exaltation, and appreciation will be impossible to hide as we fall deeper in love with God.

6. WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE OF WHAT HE IS DOING ON THE EARTH.
Because of what Jesus has done through His death, resurrection, and soon coming, we worship Him.

7. WE WORSHIP GOD SO THAT WE MIGHT DRAW NEAR TO HIM.
We find God’s presence as we worship Him with music.
In Psalm 100, we are taught to come into God’s presence with songs of joy and to enter His gates with rejoicing.
God becomes enthroned on our praises. In Psalm 22, the Bible says that God is holy and that He sits enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
God literally sits on His praise! Our praise for Him becomes the throne He rests upon.

When we praise, God comes. And when God comes into any atmosphere, it changes as He takes dominion.

God is worthy to be worshiped!

1) Yadah (yaw-daw’):
This means to show reverence or praise with extended hands. The word pictures associated with the root words for this type of praise is shooting an arrow or throwing a rock. It literally means to extend the hands, or to shoot and arrow.
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 42:5, The Dedication of The Temple in 2 Chronicles 7 uses this expression of praise (visualize Levites blowing the trumpets and calling everyone to worship and the “praise” that everyone is expressing is through standing and lifted hands).

2) Towdah (to-daw’):
This word is very similar to yadah, but has a slightly different flavor. It means to show agreement with by extending the right hand. In today’s society the closest thing we have is a handshake to seal a deal or pact. The idea is that it is usually associated with sacrifice (specifically things given up to show thankfulness to God).
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 50:23 (the thank offering NIV, KJV uses the phrase praiseth)

3) Barak (baw-rak’):
This type of praise is one that we commonly see around altars. It means to kneel down. It means to bow low as a sign of adoration and reverence. It carries with it the idea of humbling yourself to a place that is lower than the recipient of your worship (God).
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 95:6 (expresses this idea literally); Psalm 103 (uses the phrase “bless the Lord” to convey this expression)

4) Tehillah (tel-hil-law’):
This type of praise is singing, but not just any type of singing. It’s the singing that bubbles up from our hearts. It’s a spontaneous type of singing. These songs are unrehearsed and unprepared. They are straight to God.
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 22:3 (these are the types of “praises” that God enthrones or inhabits, which is interesting because it’s so specific: God literally lives in the SPONTANEOUS praises of His people!); Psalm 33:1 (this type of praise is “fitting” for God’s people, or it literally makes them “look good”); When Isaiah talks about trading garments of ashes and mourning for garments of joy and praise, the word praise their literally means SPONTANEOUS praises!)

5) Zamar (zaw-mar’):
This literally means to pluck the strings, to celebrate in song and music. Basically it’s probably the most common form of “praise” we have across the world in our churches. It’s just singing songs put to music. What’s neat about it though, is that it can also refer to JUST PLAYING, as well. It is usually translated as “sing praises.”
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 150 (this psalm illustrates a picture of instrumental worship).

6) Halal (haw-lal’):
This form of praise requires one to step outside of “dignity” for a moment. It means to be clamorously foolish. To boast. To shine. This is the kind of praise that David exhibited when he danced for joy at the return of the Ark of The Covenant to Israel. It’s also the form of praise that prompted his wife to ridicule him for his lack of dignity.
This is also where we get the word Halellujah from. It literally means “Praise the Lord” but even more literally it means to BE CLAMOROUSLY FOOLISH unto the Lord! This includes dancing and laughing and leaping and twirling before the Lord, but it also (and probably more accurately) includes the state of the heart before God. A heart that is turned towards God and not afraid to BOAST in and of God is a “halal” heart. Halal is not only demonstrative praise, but can also be the force behind any of these other forms of praise. You can sing or shout or even play an instrument as a halal.
Scriptures to reference: This word appears over 100 times in the Old Testament. 1 Chronicles 16:4 (there were actual appointed musicians to “halal” before the Lord); Nehemiah 12:24 (an example of call and response halal)

7) Shabach (Shaw-bakh’):
Are you ready to get loud? Shabach means to address in a loud tone. It’s typically associated with freedom or triumph. But it’s more than just a loud shout, it’s the idea of putting everything you have into it. An attitude of wholehearted praise.
Scriptures to reference: Psalm 63:3-4 (We typically look at this psalm as soft cry of thirst in a dry place, but the words in these verses literally mean to SHOUT praises!)