The purpose of our public worship is to bring glory to God's name. This is demonstrated by the two NT words for worship. The first word "proskuneo" means "to kiss the had of" or " to bow down towards". It signifies humble adoration. The second main word "latreuo" means "to render honor" or "to pay homage". Both of these words carry the idea of giving something to God. The Anglo-Saxon word from which we get our English word "worship" is weorthscipe, which is tied to the concept of worthiness. In other words, worship is declaring the worthiness of our great God to receive glory, honor, praise, adoration and humble, obedient service. Psalms 145:3 "great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable." 2 Sam 22:4 "I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised..." Revelations 5:11 "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."
It must also be noted that worship is something we give to God. Worship must be God-centered, not self-centered. When people complain that they didn't get anything out of the worship service they have completely missed the point of worship. Rather, we ought to say, "what did I give to God in worship?" When we gather together for worship we com to give praise, honor, glory, adoration and service to God. Yes, we should receive from the Lord during the worship service, but primarily we come to give. Ps 29:1-2 "Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness."
We are to worship:
-Obediently-John 14:15, Micah 6:8
-Reverently- 1 Tim 3:14-15, 1 Cor 14:33, Acts 2:42
-Fearfully- Isa 66:1-2
-Confessionally- We must confess what and how God has told us in His word. We must confess our sinfulness and rely completely upon the life and death of Jesus Christ as the only way, truth and life. Jesus is the only means of salvation. (Acts 4:12)
-Faithfully- Heb 10:25
-Attentively- We must engage our minds during the worship of our Lord.
Preaching: Rom 10:13-17, Martin Luther once said that "the highest worship we can give to God is the preaching of His word."
-Prayerfully- Eph 6:18, 1 Thess 5:18
-With song- Psalm 95, 96, 100
-Stewardship: using our spiritual gifts to give back to God. Also giving up of our time, talents and treasures.
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