Sentence Sermons (Christian Inspiration) #34 --- Worship

Worship is made from the word worth or worthiness, and means that through worship God calls into activity all that is worthy, elevating and inspiring in man.

—Morris L. Eversz, Milwaukee Sentinel, Milwaukee, Wis., Aug. 22, 1921.

There is a form of worship, which lacking pure heartedness, is unavailing. ... The true worship has always been the worship of a pure heart. ... The worship of an impure heart is doomed to disappointment. That disappointment may range from a mere sense of lack of divine approval to anger. ... An improper worship is fraught with larger consequences than we often think. Fortunate is that individual who having drank of the divine strength ... goes forth to face the obstacles of the work-a-day world. The value of his worship might better be measured by the strength which it gives to the individual for his daily tasks than by any of the musty canons of custom for which we contend.

—James T. Ross, Hereford Brand, Hereford, Texas, April 22, 1926.

Reverence is the portal to revelation. God speaks to those who hold Him in high regard.

—Ernest C. Wareing, Western Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 19, 1924.

Worship is meaningful only when it remains in vital contact with life. ... Worship sanctifies a man to live and serve as a total human being in the world.

—David S. Schuller, Lutheran Witness Reporter, St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 14, 1965.

Worship is the highest form of appreciation and appropriation of that which one holds to be the highest and holiest. It means that every fiber of one's soul accepts and responds to that which is best, in a harmonious joy. Here is probably the very ultimate of life, and finds its expression in the enthusiasm of service.

—M. Ashby Jones, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., March 16, 1941.

The essence of worship is self-dedication and the perfection of worship is entire self-sacrifice. ... Faith in Christ puts men to action, strengthens the desire to conquer self and always prompts to self-denial and sacrifice. Willing sacrifice is the natural development of salvation in the heart.

—Alfred Sturgeon, Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, Nov. 13, 1905.

Each opportunity of worship should brighten the vision of God's love, of the joys of spiritual fellowship and of the privilege of entering into the presence of the Eternal.

—Charles L. Allen, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., June 17, 1960.

Worship involves listening, reverently thinking of the holiness of God, and yearning to hear what God would say. Sincerity in worship will lead to considerable silence under the searching and sanctifying of God's Spirit. Always we are to recognize the majesty and holiness of God.

—Clifton J. Allen, Baptist Message, Alexandria, La., May 16, 1968.

Worship involves us in a deeply probing person-to-person encounter with God.

—Jack Partain, Religious Herald, Richmond, Va., Jan. 11, 1962.

Worship is the one thing that ought to enlarge our horizons and make our hearts and minds both broad and deep. To know God is to partake of God's knowledge, to adore His love in sincerity and in truth, is to seek to manifest that love; and to believe that God is a lover of all men is to assume toward men without distinction of rank, nationality, race or color the attitude of love that God himself assumes.

—William E. Gilroy, Alexandria Daily Town Talk, Alexandria, La., Dec. 28, 1929.

True worship lifts us above ourselves and into the presence of God.

—James DeForest Murch, Christian Standard, Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 24, 1940.

By worship, I mean every moment of the soul Godward, every process intended for the development of man's spiritual nature.

—Walter C. Roe, Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, Jan. 20, 1896.

In Psalm 27:8 the Psalmist expresses the very essence of worship: God's call to man to seek His face, to draw near unto Him; the response of the faithful heart in seeking the Lord who draws near. Worship is the answer of the heart of the child of God to the call of the Father. It is the opening of my life and soul in answer to His knock and call. It is to be gripped by God and His wondrous will, so gripped that we earnestly long for His will to be wrought in our lives on earth as it is in heaven. It is the filling of my empty spirit with the freshness of His great eternity. It is a satisfaction of a heart yearning for God. "As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God!" (Psalm 42:1.) One of the original words used for "worship" in the Scriptures may be literally translated, "kiss the ground toward, or kiss the hand toward." This is expressive of the profound sense of reverence found throughout the Scriptures in reference to approaching God properly. The sense of awe and majesty, and bowing down of the body and prostrating oneself before the Lord; the kneeling down before the Maker--these all express this profound regard of the true worshiper in the presence of God. True worship does not just happen. It is something that demands the proper approach, proper attitude on the part of the worshiper as well as the proper actions.

—Milton D. Wilson, Fulton Daily Sun-Gazette, Fulton, Mo., March 13, 1976.

"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." (Luke 4:8.) Worship and service are bound together. They are the counterparts of each other. Man inevitably worships something and he serves whatever is the object of his primary devotion. The scripture verse above is as much the statement of a principle as it is a command. ... The principle lies in the fact that when the Lord God is worshiped He will be served by those who worship Him. Therefore, the causes which we help to advance--the interests which we serve--point directly to what or who we worship. If our worship be correct, our services will be right. Men must worship. The imperative is that they worship God. Men must serve some interest and they will serve some interest--no matter how little or selfish or how great and worthy from a humanitarian point of view. But the imperative need is that everyone serve God. In doing this one's life and one's efforts can only count for good. Much is involved in serving God. The dynamic power of the Holy Spirit is essential. True worship is the divinely given method by which God's redeemed children receive the Holy Spirit.

—J.H. Avery, Panama City News-Herald, Panama City, Fla., Feb. 13, 1955.

True worship is regular. Nothing worthwhile comes to us unless we make a business of getting it. True worship is both private and social. Each helps the other. True worship is unselfish. We must seek God not merely for comfort and joy for ourselves, but for strength that we may do our part in helping others and in promoting the kingdom of God. True worship is prepared for. We must get our work out of the way, for the remembrance of neglected duties will take our minds from our prayers and praise. We must prepare our minds by the settlement of grudges and the confession of sins and faults. ... And above all, true worship is humble. We go to God knowing that we are nothing in ourselves, that we are poor, and weak and sinful, but rejoicing because we know that He is our loving Father, able and eager to do for us all things that we need. Such worship cannot fail to please Him and to bless ourselves.

—J.E. Nunn, Amarillo Daily News, Amarillo, Texas, Nov. 26, 1927.

Our English word worship is a contraction of worth-ship. Worship then is the duty of declaring God's worth to us. Wor(th)ship. It is the living response of a quickened soul to the living presence of the living, life-giving God. Worship has to do with the very center of life, "the heart," "the spirit." "They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24.) ... Worship is the communion of spirit with spirit. ... Man does not have to be taught to worship, but he has to be taught whom to worship and how to worship. ... There are certain well-defined motives that should move us to worship God; it is His due; we suffer loss without it; it produces the welfare and contributes to the peace of God's people; it promotes prosperity; it promotes fellowship; and it summons us to purification and cleansing of conscience.

—L.T. Hastings, Monroe Daily World, Monroe, La., Jan. 13, 1930.

Worship is optimistic, hopeful, praiseful. ... God is honored in joyous worship. ... Joy is the key to Christian success. ... Let us worship Him zealously. "Let us come zealously into His presence." This is really the proper rendering of the phrase, "Let us come before His presence." (See Psalms 100:2.) The verb denotes readiness, alacrity, forwardness. Without hesitation, then, let us render unto Him the homage of our lips. We should be quick to acknowledge God's bounties and zealous to express our gratitude. Reverence is an element in true worship. Who can think of God in the light of His infinite majesty and omnipotent acts and not be filled with deep reverence? ... Thanksgiving should hold a large place in our worship. ... All worship should be thankful. Paul says, "In everything be thankful." (1 Thessalonians 5:18.) "Let us come before Him with thanksgiving." (See Psalms 95:2.)

—Otis E. Carter, Austin Daily Statesman, Austin, Texas, Nov. 19, 1907.

Worship is primarily a meeting of God and man. Such an experience is a part of man's history from the beginning. It seems to be a necessary experience for a man's welfare. No man can have a "meeting with God" and not learn something. he could never be the same again. ... Adequate worship has a lot to do with out total being, including our health. If worship teaches us and helps us to be close to our fellow man, then it follows that our prejudices are lessened. Guilt no longer pours poison into the blood stream. The tone of the body is more healthy, stronger and more able to ward off infection and disease. Worship helps us to relieve anxiety and enables one to feel at home in this world. When a man feels that God is against him, nothing seems to go right. On the other hand, when a man feels right with God, the world makes sense when many things go wrong.

—Harold L. Hawkins, Baptist Hospital Echo, Alexandria, La., January 1965.

Worship gives spiritual altitude, that we may rise above our small world and see the whole world in perspective. It takes us far from the commonplace of the day. ... It takes us high unto God.

—Lastie N. Hoffpauir, Sabine Index, Many, La., Feb. 10, 1939.

The worship of God prompts a person to praise Him not only with his lips but by his deeds. Otherwise his worship is not only incomplete but insincere. ... Life is a voyage made not in a canoe coursing effortlessly along, with the occupant dipping a single paddle into the water. It is made in a sturdy rowboat with the occupant struggling valiantly with both oars for every foot gained. One oar is effort and the other is worship, and when only one oar is used, the voyager finds himself traveling in circles. True worship consists not only in words, but also in deeds. God wants the homage of our wills as well as of our intellects; these are but the two sides of the same coin. The notion that worship has no connection with moral conduct is grotesque. "By their fruits," declares Jesus, "you shall know them." Then He continues, "Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." This truth is central in the teachings of Christ. ... To render God the praise of our words and to deny Him the homage of virtuous deeds is to hand Him a branch from which the fruit has been plucked. ... Worship is not an empty sham. It is a living tree, producing the fruit of morality, and both the tree and the fruit derive their vitality from God.

—John A. O'Brien, North-Central Louisiana Register, Alexandria, La., April 15, 1966.

What is worship? Worship does not consist of mere posture–of prostrating ourselves in an attitude of feigned reverence, nor in the simple singing of hymns or saying or prayers, and far less in argumentative discourses which has any purpose other than the elucidation and the demonstration of truth. The origin of the word tells us something of its primitive meaning. It comes to us from the Anglo-Saxon, and means in reality worthyship, the rendering of reverence and praise to the Most Worthy. Our Father is pleased with worship of the proper sort, with true worship; but that which pleases Him most is the worship of deeds rather than of mere words; words should be but an index to our deeds. The prayer that we shape with our lips ought to be nothing more than the index to the volume of prayer that is found in our hearts; and I believe that we can serve our God and worship Him more acceptably as we learn to know Him better and better.

—James E. Talmage, Salt Lake Herald Church and Farm Supplement, Salt Lake City, Utah, Aug. 10, 1895.

Real worship leads to service. And real service seed the need of worship. Worship and service demand one another. Much of our Sunday worship is cold and meaningless because we haven’t been attempting much service the week before, and are committed to little service for the weak ahead. The reason much of our service is a toilsome drudgery is that our Sunday worship is thoughtless and is not real worship.

—Robert R. Wyatt, Religious Herald, Richmond, Va., Nov. 30, 1967.

True worship is an offering of the soul unto God. ... True worship should be spontaneous. It should not be restrained or reluctant, but given as a joy. The heart--the soul--is always earnest in its actions. True worship should be grateful. It should be conscious of kinship. It should recognize the privilege as a joy, use its opportunity. It should be earnest; it should be sincere, remembering that "sincere" demands a high, great purpose. All the intent and power of the soul is called forth in worship. ... Each worshiper must come with the mention and merits of Christ himself as the ground of his acceptance. There is no such thing as "religion by proxy." ... God does not force us unwillingly to worship Him. If we do not promptly, earnestly worship with decided spirit we miss the precious benefits of the Redeemer's sacrifice. Real faith acts eagerly. ... True conviction gives willingly to the Lord. Only voluntary worship is pleasing and acceptable to God. He desires to be sought with the whole heart. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him." (Hebrews 11:6.) Whatever we give, we must give resolutely, entirely.

—William M. Anderson, Sr., Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, July 28, 1913.

The worst fools are those who worship a God in the hope of fooling him.

—Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., Aug. 22, 1909.

To worship God in spirit and in truth the heart must be pure; and there must be faith in the love and beneficence of God. True worship is not singing hymns on Sunday and then forgetting God and His service during the week. Both words and works must praise Him.

—W.G. Coxhead, St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, Fla., Nov. 10, 1945.