Gratitude: The Purpose of Worship

Main Text
Psalms 148:1-14

Watchword
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
(Colossians 3:16) NKJV

This text lays an emphasis on the place that praise and singing has in the congregational worship. In singing we are speaking not only to God but also to one another. (Colossians 3:16). Our text emphasize that we must be teaching and admonishing one another when we sing in the worship services! We must be thinking not only of ourselves and of God, but also of others. Singing, as part of worship, is a kind of holy conversation. In worship, God speaks to us as our God and we speak to Him as His people, but as part of that holy conversation that goes on in worship, we also speak to one other as fellow-saints and fellow members of the body of Christ.

The source and foundation of our encouragement is to ensure that we are worshipping together (Hebrews 10:25).The best way in which we can encourage one another in life is to make sure that we all grow stronger as a people of praise and worship together in God’s family. If we get our worship right and become strong as a spiritual family, it will spill over into how we live our lives throughout the week and we will be taking God with us in our hearts into the everyday lives in which we live, work and play. If we can find happiness, fulfilment and contentment, in the worship of God in the context of a loving and supportive spiritual family, then we will know God’s presence and encouragements in every aspect of our lives.

Our worship engages both the mind and the emotions. Our worship of God comes from our hearts, our emotional centre, as we reflect on what God has done for us, what Jesus has done for us the new life and forgiveness that we have received through Jesus’ death on the cross. As we come together to worship, we reflect on God’s amazing love for us and we are moved in our hearts to sing, to praise, to receive communion together and have our hearts warmed as we meet together in the presence of God (Colossians 2:6-7). God wants our worship to be with thankfulness from the heart. We are to be God centered in our worship because He is our focus in worship.

Confession
Everlasting father, thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. We give you praise and thanks, for you alone are worthy!

Prayer
Oh Lord, I pledge my love and loyalty to live my life as acts of worship, pleasing to you. Amen.

Additional Reading
1 Corinthians 14:15
1 Thessalonians 5:11-12.