“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t… When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”
John Piper – “Let the Nations Be Glad”
“All things have been created through Him and for Him.”
Colossians 1:16
As a current worship leader who now feels called to preach, I’ll admit that the concept of worship has taken some time for me to wrap my mind around. If you had asked me several years ago for a definition of worship I would quickly have said that worship is anything we do that glorifies God, but I’ve been so steeped in western culture that I still tend to think of worship and preaching as two separate components in the Christian life. We go to church and fellowship for a while, then worship with songs of praise, and then listen to a sermon. Right?
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Worship is simply drawing attention to the glory and majesty of God, helping others to draw closer to their Almighty Father. If done well, then the songs of praise that we sing should certainly achieve this. And if preaching is done well, then it will accomplish the exact same thing. By explaining Scripture, preachers are able to draw people’s attention to God’s glory and call them to draw closer to Him. So you see… preaching is not something that follows worship. Preaching is worship.
This realization has helped clarify my own calling. As a young high school student, I felt the Lord calling me to devote my life to helping others worship Him, and as a worship leader and also as a preacher, I am able to do just that.
Understanding this will also change the way we listen to sermons. Instead of singing with all our hearts and then allowing our minds to wander the moment the preacher steps onto the stage, we will praise God with all our hearts and then wait in breathless expectation as we prepare to hear a word from the Lord.
As John Piper states in the quote above, worship is what human beings were created to do. Of all the activities we can choose to spend our time engaging in, the single greatest activity that any of us will ever be part of is worship. This is such an awesome task, because we serve such an awesome God.
Have You Taken a Moment to Worship Him Today?
The Artistic Christian 
I have never thought of this before- and I was raised in a Bible believing fundamental church. Awesome! And it’s wonderful that you have found your calling is to preach. My calling is to encourage.
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We just don’t tend to think of worship in this way, but it’s exciting to think about. What an awesome calling each of us have to worship in everything we do!
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Yes, I honor and worship Him by spending time with Him each morning – thanking, praising, praying, and eating up His Word! My day just doesn’t go right if I don’t put Him first.
God bless.
Jennifer
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That’s so true… neglecting our time with God is like painting a bright red target on our backs!
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We were created to worship God. If we aren’t worshipping Him we will find something else to worship. I like to describe worshipping God as part of our spiritual DNA. We inherently desire to worship. Unfortunately, many fall into worshipping other things/people besides God. I did this for years with addictions. I worshipped my alcohol and cocaine over God. It wasn’t until I began worshipping God that the desire for the alcohol and cocaine faded away. When worshipping God with all our hearts there isn’t room for other things/people to become our idols! Great post!!
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I love the way you’ve pointed out that overcoming temptation becomes easier the more we focus on worshiping God. We have to not only put off our old habits and thoughts, but also put on Christ each day… thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Clothe ourselves in Christ – wear the Jesus label. I always think of this passage from Colossians 3 when I hear “put on Christ.”
“It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it.” (The Message)
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I’ve never heard this passage from “The Message” translation before… I love that imagery!
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Way back in the dark ages my catechist gave an explanation of liturgical worship. Many people, he said, think of church in terms of theater: God is the prompter, the pastor/choir/etc are the performers, and the congregated assembly is the audience. But then he explained how this understanding turns worship inside out and upside down. A more correct interpretation, he taught, is that the pastor etc. are the prompters, the congregation –active participants in the liturgical order– are the performers, and God is the audience. For good or ill, this understanding stuck. I’ve visited many “churches” –once– where the preacher or worship leader thanked us, “You’ve been a great audience. Thanks for coming today!” My heart always replies, But, you see, but this wasn’t for my benefit.
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Really love these thoughts! We have such a “consumer culture” in churches today, where people seek to be entertained, etc… and feel that they need to find the church with the most to offer them. But just like you’ve mentioned, worship is all about glorifying God, and we need to be looking for a church that trains its people to offer their best to God!
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I’ve never thought of worship in this way, yet it makes total sense. Thanks for sharing this with us today.
God’s Blessings!
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Absolutely, Robbye! I think it’s good to reflect on these things every so often, and hopefully stretch our thinking a little bit.
Thanks for stopping by!
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Great thoughts! I am blessed to be able to lead worship at my church too. Once I became a mom I wasn’t able to serve in the same capacity as before. I’ve always considered worship as a lifestyle. The Lord has recently taught me that ‘leading’ worship is also a lifestyle. Anytime we draw others attention to the glory of God, like you said, we are leading them in worship. So, I would say, that your preaching is just another form of leading worship. By pointing my children to the Lord, I’m leading them in worship. This was such a freeing revelation for me! I don’t have to be up on a stage to lead worship!
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I absolutely love this perspective! I’ve heard many Christian people become very downcast about not being blessed with a powerful singing voice or the ability to speak well in public, but each of us have powerful gifts and an arena of some kind, and all of us are called to lead others to worship. Not everyone may stand up on stage at church on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t making a powerful impact for Christ’s Kingdom. I heard recently that only 20% of Jesus’ recorded words were spent on public sermons, and 80% of His words were spent in private conversations… it just goes to show how important it is to God that we lead others to worship God through daily conversations!
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Amen!
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