How to Worship the Lord: Joy, Thanks and Sincerity

What does it mean to worship the Lord? In this Sunday message from February 19, 2023, Pastor Linda Reese went through several psalms and found three marks of real worship: joy, thankfulness and sincerity.

Worship with joy

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth” (Psalm 98:4, KJV), with harp, trumpets and singing, because He’s coming to judge the world in righteousness (98:9). Joy isn’t always present in worship, but it’s one of the reasons we worship, and we don’t have to wait until life is smooth. Joy comes from knowing who God is.

O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

Psalm 95:6 (KJV)

He’s the great King above all gods, and the sea and the dry land are His (95:3-5). Kneel if you can. If your knees won’t let you, God understands. Pastor Linda prays in bed, in her recliner and in the car. Prayer should come as naturally as talking.

Worship with thanks

“Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing” (Psalm 100:2). We are His people and the sheep of His pasture (100:3). Before we knew Him we were “dead in sins,” and He made us alive by grace (Ephesians 2:1-5). That alone is reason to be thankful.

“In every thing give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). That doesn’t mean thanking God for evil, since evil doesn’t come from Him. It means thanking Him that He’s with you and helping you through it. Thank Him in advance, too. When bad things happen, look for the good that’s coming.

Worship that means it

Is it possible to go through the motions? In Isaiah 1:11-15, God was weary of Israel’s sacrifices because their hearts weren’t in them. They trusted their rituals more than Him. Pastor Linda remembered churches that cared more about rules for hair and hemlines than the heart. It’s also possible to smile at church while you’re hurting inside. You don’t have to stay there. Let God take care of it.

Let every thing that hath breath

Psalm 150 calls for trumpet, harp, tambourine, dancing, strings and cymbals: every instrument and every voice. Worship doesn’t end at the church door, either. Sing while you do the dishes, and when you’ve lost your joy, ask God to bring it back.

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Related messages: Give Thanks to the Lord, Safety in God’s Presence (Psalm 91), Every Person Matters to God.

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