1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT) That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 

Why We Worship the Way We Do

Because God asked for worship.

Psalm 150:1-6 (NLT) Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven! Praise him for his mighty works; praise his unequaled greatness! Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn; praise him with the lyre and harp! Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes! Praise him with a clash of cymbals; praise him with loud clanging cymbals. Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Because praise is my purpose.

1 Peter 2:9 (NIV) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 

For Who He is.
 

Psalm 145:3 (NLT) Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.

Psalm 96:4 (NLT) Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!

Psalm 48:1 (NLT) How great is the Lord, how deserving of praise…

Nehemiah 9:6-7 (NLT) You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you. 7You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham.

For what He has done.
 

Luke 19:37b-40 (MSG) The whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed: Blessed is he who comes, the king in God’s name! All’s well in heaven! Glory in the high places! Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!” But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

Because worship changes everything.
 

Psalm 18:3 (NLT) I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.

Ezekiel 46:9 (NLT) But when the people come in through the north gateway to worship the Lord during the religious festivals, they must leave by the south gateway. And those who entered through the south gateway must leave by the north gateway. They must never leave by the same gateway they came in, but must always use the opposite gateway.
 

When We Worship God Changes My...

Atmosphere

Psalms 22:3 (KJV) But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. 

Attitude

Romans 12:2 (NLT) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Ability

Philippians 4:13 (NLT) For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 

In Spirit and in Truth

John 4:23 (NLT) But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.

#1 - Worship based on choice not feelings
 

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NLT) Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.

#2 - Worship with everything I have

2 Samuel 24:24 (NLT) No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing.

Mark 12:30 (NLT) “…love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

#3 - Worship expecting God to respond
 

James 4:8 (NLT) Come close to God, and God will come close to you.

Worship conveys my gratefulness to God and expectation in God! 
 

Next Step: Choose to be on time for Sunday worship and worship God daily.