Why Does Worship Matter?

Why do we come together on Sunday mornings? Why does it matter? Why is it a priority? It might help to start with a definition of the church. Here is one I like. The church is a group of people committed to pursuing Jesus in worship, community, and mission.

All the parts of that definition matter:

-A group of people – I am not the church – we are the church – requires a group.

-Committed to pursuing Jesus – not coffee, donuts, or tradition – we seek Jesus.

-Worship – both corporate, private, and personal.

-Community – the church is a family where we connect to God and each other.

-Mission – we are on a mission with Jesus.

By the way – that includes both macro church and micro church settings. Let’s focus on worship - specifically on corporate worship.

I love etymology – the study of words. Since English is a conglomeration of words from other languages, there is a rich history behind many of our words. “Worship” is an old Anglican word. It means to assign worth or value to someone. Let’s go to the Bible – our source of truth. The Bible offers a specific definition of worship.

“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 (NLT)

So based on that verse, here is my definition of worship: Worship is giving yourself totally to God. That is worship - giving all of me to Jesus. Worship is deciding that God is worthy and giving ourselves to Him in response.

“Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for his glory and strength. Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.” Psalm 29:1-2

This verse gets at what worship is. It is honoring God by giving ourselves totally to Jesus.

I was raised in a combination of southern / Christian cultures. Manners were major. Customs were normal. Traditions were high. We were taught to bow our heads when we came face to face with authority. It was a way of signaling, “You are in charge, and I am not.”

Worshipping God means living a life that bows to God. Living a life that honors God. Worship is responding to God as our creator by giving ourselves to him because he has created us in love. Worship is offering up our lives to him because he is our redeemer who rescues us from death and wants us to use our lives to participate in his mission. Finally, worship is giving our finances and resources because God has been so generous to us.

Worship is recklessly giving our lives away to God because He is worthy.

Worship is both private and corporate.

When it comes to worship, there is both private and corporate worship. People often say to me, “I can worship by myself – alone – out in nature – or at my house.” So true.

I worship privately in my bedroom, where I have my chair time – my time with God. In my car, when I am driving – driving means prayer time for me. My husband Dan tells me I should be praying when I am driving – because he has seen me drive.

And that is part of worship. It is personal and private, but worship is also corporate and public. That is the church side of worship.

Let’s take a look at corporate worship. It is a time when we, as a church, offer ourselves to God together. Because living a life that bows to God means being part of his team. His team called church.

I learned a verse in Sunday School as a child.

“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

So how do we do that? How does our corporate worship help us do that? What does corporate worship involve? What can we do better together that helps us give ourselves totally to Jesus?

Here is how Colossians tells us to do it. Our primary scripture for today describes corporate worship.

“Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:16-17

Let’s break that verse down into the component parts of corporate worship.

Teaching - “Teach each other…”

Teaching is a big part of what we do when we come together because we need the word of God. We need someone to teach us the ways of Jesus.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16

We read the scripture for ourselves and find truth. However, we also need to be taught these scriptures in corporate settings. 

Counseling - “Counsel each other with the wisdom He gives.”

Wisdom - what to do about what you know.

It is not just about what we learn from teaching. It is about passing that wisdom on. It is about counseling each other with the wisdom God has given us.

“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” 2 Timothy 2:2

We value teaching for ourselves. However, we also value teaching for being able to pass it on to others.

Singing - “Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”

Singing encourages our souls. Hearing others sing around you lifts your spirit. We were made to join our voices and hearts together in praise to Jesus.

Singing also teaches us theology. Most people raised in the church know more verses of hymns and songs than verses of scripture. That is because what we sing stays with us.

“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.” Psalm 149:1

Singing praises reminds us that God is faithful and that we are not alone.

Praying - “Giving thanks through Jesus to God the Father.”

We certainly pray privately and individually, especially when we are in trouble. We also need corporate prayer. Praying together as a church matters. We need to hear the needs of others and pray for them.

“The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord will answer my prayer.” Psalms 6:9

This verse shows us the two main reasons we pray:

• To know that God hears us.
• To experience God answering our prayer.

Living - “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus.”

All of life is spiritual when we do it unto Jesus. One of the paraphrases of scripture I love is The Message. Check out how The Message speaks to how we live:

“Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering.” Romans 12:1 (MES)

We worship better together!

-In our learning

-In our counseling

-In our singing

-In our praying

-In our living

What we do together matters!

“Don’t stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. Instead, encourage each other, especially as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25 (CEB)

Church attendance has been in a slow decline in the U.S. for decades. It dipped big time during COVID. People have learned they can do life without church. They are opting for lone-ranger Christianity. Don’t fall for that lie. We need each other. We are better together, and we need corporate worship.

Corporate worship is a triple play!

• Jesus wins
• We win
• The church wins

Worship is offering all of me to all of God. Jesus wants us. All of us. Not just to believe. But to follow, to obey, to worship. What He offers back is all of himself. All his peace. All his direction. All his presence. We were made to worship God. We were made to give ourselves totally to Him. Life will not make sense until we do.

So here is the question today. Are you committed to worship? Are you committed to corporate worship? To worship God in truth is to recognize Him for who He is and to recognize ourselves for what we are.

And to worship fully, we must worship together.

Mary Southerland is also the Co-founder of Girlfriends in God, a conference and devotion ministry for women. Mary’s books include, Hope in the Midst of Depression, Sandpaper People, Escaping the Stress Trap, Experiencing God’s Power in Your Ministry, 10-Day Trust Adventure, You Make Me So Angry, How to Study the Bible, Fit for Life, Joy for the Journey, and Life Is So Daily. Mary relishes her ministry as a wife, a mother to their two children, Jered and Danna, and Mimi to her six grandchildren – Jaydan, Lelia, Justus, Hudson, Mo, and Nori.