What Worship Is
● Can you think of something that has a lot of worth to you?
● The title of the series is “Worth” but we’re talking about worship
● English word, “worship” comes from two words, “worth” (having great value) and “ship” (state of condition of being.)

The idea is “being of great worth.”
o When used as a verb, the word, worship is used to ascribe worth to a being or object
o Because God has such great worth, we recognize, proclaim and respond to him as such.

● The Hebrew language (the language that the Old Testament was written in) has several words that describe worship,
but the primary word is SHACHAH. It means to bow down in worship
● The primary Greek word is PROSKUNEO. It means to kiss, as in to kiss the hand of a superior. It is commonly
associated with bowing down or lying prostrate on the ground with the idea of kissing the ground before someone.

o Both words speak of the attitude with which we view God and respond to him
o Humility – Recognizing that God is greater than I am
o Submission – Responding to God’s greatness by choosing what He says is good and right

● In Genesis 22, we see a great example of worship. The story of Abraham and Isaac
o God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son and Abraham immediately obeys
o Abraham makes a declaration when they reach the location of the sacrifice
Genesis 22:5 (NLT) “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will
WORSHIP there, and then we will come right back.”
o The word for worship here is Shachah

▪ Abraham responds with humility and submission. He recognized God is sovereign. Even though he
didn’t understand what God was doing he humbled himself and submitted to God by obeying his
command.

The Heart of Worship
● This week we are focusing on Individual worship (worship I do by myself)
● Whether we are worshipping individually or together with others, the beginning of worship has to do with our heart.

There are several ways we can prepare our hearts for worship.
o Recognize and declare who God is
▪ This takes our eyes off of ourselves and helps us focus on God
o Confess any sin in your life
▪ This requires an attitude of submission and brings us back into a right relationship with God
o A heart of Gratitude
▪ Having gratitude for God’s many blessings is perhaps the greatest weapon we have against self-focus

● It takes our eyes off our problems and reminds us that God is good

Ways to Worship Personally
1) Think about and study God’s Word. (Psalm 119:97-100)
o This is the owner’s manual for a good life
o There are all kinds of resources to help us

2) Memorize God’s Word (Psalm 119:11)
o A great Bible verse memory tool is The Bible Memory App

3) Journaling

o Writing out what God is showing you
o Writing down prayer requests to review later

4) Giving
o Humbling ourselves before God and submitting our lives to Him with our finances

5) Serving
o When we serve others, whether at church or in other environments, if we do it in the name of the Lord, it is
worship (Romans 12:1)

6) Worship through music
o Just singing in church isn’t necessarily worship. It starts with the heart. We have to have a desire to worship in
order to do so. When we focus on the lyrics of a song that describe who God is and all that He has done for
me, it’s worship
o And we can do that anywhere, not just in church!

When to worship
● We should be worshipping God all throughout the week, every day! Worship should not be confined to 75 minutes at
a weekend service.
● Here are some suggestions that may help you with Rhythms of daily worship

o Morning devotions
▪ Be mindful that this is a relationship. God wants to speak to you as well as hear your requests. He
does that through His Spirit and His Word

o Nightly reflection – What brought joy? What brought challenge? What is God showing you?
o Determine to worship when a common occurrence happens each day

▪ Daily commute
▪ Something you do each day like getting coffee or water. Plugging in your computer. Walking down a
particular hall. Turning on the light

Application
● Do you find that you worship God daily in some way?
● What is your favorite way to worship individually?
● Are there ways to worship that we discussed that you have never tried?
● This week pray about a new habit of worship that God wants you to make a daily part of your life in this coming year
o Commit to doing that for 30 days and see what happens
o It can be a new type of individual worship (Bible study, journaling, serving, etc.)
o It could be worshipping in a familiar way more frequently because you have set a new rhythm in place to
remind you to worship

● Share with someone else the thing God has put on your heart as accountability
● Whatever it is, if God is leading you to do it, it will be good and beneficial for your life