​Why Worship?

With multiple families visiting from out of town and only one shower in the house, getting to church would have been challenging. Not wanting to miss the blessing of worshiping together, we hatched a plan for all of us to take part in worship at home. We called it the 'church of the unwashed.' Scripture was read, prayers were prayed, songs were sung, and God was praised. We shared together how God was shaping us through our personal time in God’s word. Pajama-clad worshipers enjoying muffins around the coffee table may seem like an odd worship setting, but God can be worshiped in many ways.

We looked a little unconventional, but the intimacy of the gathering of the unwashed brought us closer to God and to each other. Worship is like that--it reaches to the core of who God designed us to be and enriches us to be all that God designed us to be. We could have just skipped church--why bother with worship? So why was worship important to us?

Worship unites us with our purpose

We are designed for worship, it is how we are made. We have hearts that are attracted to God. As redeemed people we should overflow with thankfulness for what God has done in our lives. In worship we are reminded of how awesome our God really is. We discover him as our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord. In worship we join in celebrating God’s goodness and we get on board for joining God in advancing his kingdom.

Worship redirects us to God

It is easy to get distracted with our everyday problems and fret over how these things will resolve themselves. Our problems can appear larger when they consume our focus. When we worship, we look up to see the God who rules the universe. It puts our struggles into perspective. God is still in control and he walks with us through the struggles of this life. Worship takes us outside of ourselves to see God at work in restoring his world.

Worship builds our relationship with God

Time spent in God’s presence strengthens our connection to him. Worship reminds us of who God is and who we are in relationship to him. If we never call a friend until we need something, we would not be considered a very good friend. A relationship deepens and matures with time spent together. Hearing God’s words in scripture and lifting our voice in prayer creates a bond of friendship.

Worship is part of everyday life

God made us with a heart that longs for him and any time can become a time of worship. Time singing praise as you drive in the car is worship. Time marveling at God’s creation is worship. Anytime you tune your heart to see God’s glory you are taking a posture of praise. Thanking God for the blessings of the day makes you mindful of the true giver of all gifts. God delights with you in life’s joys, and he comforts you in life’s sorrows. All of life can be worship of God when we are mindful of his presence.

Worship transforms us

Time spent in God’s presence does not leave us untouched. God’s character rubs off on us as we hang out in his word. We are challenged to remain in Christ so that the Spirit can produce its fruit in our lives. Worship strips away our masks and invites us to be transformed by our loving God. He uses worship to mold our hearts to his kingdom purposes.

Worship unites us with one another

Our family becomes closer when we share our faith together. In worship we stand on common ground as sinners in need of a savior. Before God’s feet, there is no one who has it together. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. We all need God’s grace. As God’s children, adopted into his family, we share a community of love. God unites our hearts together as we spend time in his presence. Worship reminds us of how we are called to live in relationship to one another, as a Spirit-filled family and body of Christ. In worship, God calls us to forgive our neighbor and to reach out to the hurting. In love, we enact grace with one another.

Worship has great value for our lives and our relationships. Our families are blessed when we schedule intentional times of worship into our daily lives. As broken people who were designed for worship, we need to be intentional about making God the object of our worship. God’s gifts can become our focus instead of God alone--we stray from worshiping God to worshiping our busy schedule, our perfect kids, or our Pinterest-driven life.

Our family may have missed a Sunday worshiping in our neighborhood church, but we did not miss the blessing of worship. Our unwashed family worship praised God and drew us together as his people. Choose to foster worship time together and find the blessings that flow out of time spent in God’s presence!