"The whole person, with all [his] senses, with both mind and body, needs to be involved in genuine worship." Jerry Kerns
"The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance." C.S. Lewis
"Worship is an it-is-well-with-my-soul experience." Robert Webber
"We only learn to behave ourselves in the presence of God." C. S. Lewis
"As worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. Holy obedience saves worship from becoming an opiate, an escape from the pressing needs of modern life." Richard Foster
"Worship has been misunderstood as something that arises from a feeling which "comes upon you," but it is vital that we understand that it is rooted in a conscious act of the will, to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ." Graham Kendrick
"Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped" Jack Hayford
"As John 4:23 says, Its time, as worshipers of God, to give him all we have. For when he is exalted, everything about me is decreased. So many times we stand in the way of really stepping into the secret place of worship with God. Just abandon tradition and the "expected" ways of Praise & Worship and get lost in the holy of holies with the sole intention of blessing the Fathers heart." Jessica Leah Springer
"When I worship, I would rather my heart be without words than my words be without heart." Lamar Boschman
"We must bear in mind, true worship is a matter of the heart and of genuine devotion to God." Vivien Hibbert
"Worship is the believer's response of all that they are mind, emotions, will, body to what God is and says and does." Warren Wiersbe
"Corporate worship is a regular gracious reminder that it's not about you. You've been born into a life that is a celebration of another." Paul David Tripp
I've begun worshipping the sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, and a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to 'God' are all answered at about the same 50% rate. George Carlin, Brain Droppings
worship is us responding to all that God is with all that we are John Drane
Ashram Cat When the guru sat down to worship each evening, the ashram cat would get in the way and distract the worshipers. So he ordered the cat be tied up during evening worship. Long after the guru died, the cat continued to be tied up during evening worship. And when the cat eventually died, another cat was brought to the ashram so that it could be dutifully tied up during evening worship. Centuries later, learned treatises were written by the guru's disciples on the essential role of a cat in all properly conducted worship. That's often the way we operate in the church. We don't ask the right questions, and we overlay our past experiences or reactions against them -on what we think we should do for the future. Mark Pierson, The Art of Curating Worship: Reshaping the Role of Worship Leader
I want to suggest that worship preparation is primarily about offering a context rather than a content. The context being an environment in which heart, soul, mind and strength have opportunity to respond to God Mark Pierson in The Prodigal Project
You don t have to be in a church service to worship, you can be in your own home. You enhance your spirituality, through the instrument of worship, when you really connect with the invisible, almighty God. TD Jakes
Much of what I read and have experienced suggests that a church or worship event that purports to be new and exciting is, in many cases, just the old and unengaging placed in a new setting. Mark Pierson
I hope our worship and wider life together will produce confident, maturing followers of Jesus Christ who live creatively, courageously, and justly in the chaotic emerging culture. Mark Pierson
The intersection of art, worship, and pastoral ministry appears to be a rarely considered topic. Mark Pierson
Worship strengthens you. It gives you a sense of God's presence and ultimately His protection and provision. TD Jakes
The church, rightly or wrongly, has quite a bad reputation in the community, partly deserved, of being disconnected, a relic, incomprehensible and unnecessary. People worry that if you go to church they will expect too much of you, they ll want you to convert or get caught up in a secret society you don t want to be part of. Cheryl Lawrie, alternative worship project director, Uniting Church, Victoria, Australia
Psalms 29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
John 4:21-24 Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Peter 2:5 NRSV 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built[a] into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 13: 16 NRSV 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Romans 12: 1-8 NRSV I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual[b] worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect.[d] 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Hebrews 12: 28-29 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29 for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 10 NRSV 23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Acts 2 NRSV 43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds[j] to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home[k] and ate their food with glad and generous[l] hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.