Praise and worship should be focused on God alone, as our creator and the one who desires a relationship with us. Christians are commanded to praise and worship God, as shown in both the Old and New Testaments. True worship requires knowing God through faith in Jesus Christ, developing a relationship with Him, and allowing our lives to be transformed by renewing our minds and yielding our will to God's. Praise and worship involves using our entire lives to exalt God through our thoughts, actions, and obedience to His good and perfect will.

1. Praise and Worship – 22nd
June 2016
"Love the LORD your Godwith all your heart and withall yoursoul andwith all your strength"
(Deuteronomy6:5).
Ideallyall of humanity ‘shouldhave’ hadfaithandbelief inone God...Butitisnot so and hence we don't
all worshipthe same God.But everyone worshipssomethingorsomeone.Since we all worship,we
shouldquestionthe reasonforthisdesire.The mostlogical conclusionisthatwe were createdbya
higherbeingthatwe referasGod, to whomwe serve and for the verypurpose of worship.
The ongoingquestof man isto findanswerstothe fundamental questionsof humanorigin,human
nature,and humandestiny.There isone bookthathasthe answerstoall these questions,includingour
questionsabout Praise and worship. ButforChristiansthe Bibleisthe wonderful andmysteriousbook
that God has chosenas a wayto communicate withus.
An importantquestionwouldbe: Whyshouldwe Praise andWorshipGod? AsforChristians, Godisthe
focusof our devotioninboththe OldTestamentandthe New Testament. We canreadin Exodus 20:2-3,
“I amthe LORD your God,whobroughtyou out of Egypt, outof the land ofslavery.3
“Youshall haveno
other gods beforeme”.Againwe can read in Matthew 4:10, Jesus saidto him, “Awayfrom me, Satan!
For it is written: ‘WorshiptheLord yourGod,and serve him only.’” So,worshipisnotmerelyanatural
instinct,it'sa commandfromGod”. It is He alone that isworthyof ourdevotion,praise andworship.He
isGod, our Creator,and we are commandedtopraise andworshipHim as we learnfrom Psalm96:9,
"WorshiptheLORD in the splendorof hisholiness;tremble before him,all the earth. Againwe can read
inPsalm29:2 “Ascribeto the LORD the glorydue his name; worshipthe LORD in the splendorof his
holiness”.
Withoutworship, we have nofocusinour lives. Goddoesn'twantusto be miserable,becausehe
createdman to have a close relationshipwithHim.We were createdwith aperfectplanforeachone of
our lives.He hasdone so many thingstoshow us that He lovesusand doesn'twantusto be miserable.
He wantsus to have hope fora future withHim.The mostimpotentlyforusisthat‘He wantsus to have
eternal life inheavenwithHim’.A life of praise andworshipfillsourdeepestneeds,andamazingly,it
alsobringsgreat joyto God. We can learnfrom Zephaniah3:17, "The LORD yourGod iswith you, the
MightyWarriorwho saves. He will take great delightin you; inhis love he will no longerrebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
The nextimportantunderstandingwouldbe - How dowe doit? JesusChristtellsusaboutworshipand
praise inHis Word. We can read thisin John4:23, "Yet a time iscomingand hasnow come when the
true worshiperswill worshipthe Father in spiritand truth, forthey are the kind of worshipersthe
Father seeks." Inorder to worshipGodintruth, we needtoknow whoHe was,He isand whoHe will be
for the Christian.AsChristianswe have learnedwhoHe isas statedin John14:6, Jesus answered, “I am
the way and the truth and the life.No one comes to the Father except throughme." Therefore, before
one can worshipinthe way that God desires, we have toknow more aboutHimand developa
relationshipwithHim.Thisisonlypossible throughfaithinJesus,His begottenSon.
The bestway that we can praise and worshipGodiswithour everythoughtandaction. In orderto
understandGodswill forus,we needbe transformedbyrenewingof ourminds because ourbodiesare
a livingsacrifice.Thereforewe needtochange from the waywe livedinourday to daylives.We needto
change and steadfastlymove awayfromsinandsinfulnessfromdwellinginourhearts. It isonlythen

2. that we can fullycomprehendGod’sgood,pleasingandperfectwill foreachone of us. We can readin
Romans12:1-2, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers,in view of God'smercy,to offer your bodiesas living
sacrifices,holyand pleasingtoGod -- thisis your spiritual actof worship.Do not conformany longer
to the pattern ofthis world,but be transformedby the renewingof your mind.Then you will be able
to test andapprove what God'swill is -- hisgood,pleasingand perfect will."
Many people thinkthatpraise andworship isonlysingingsongsatchurch,As Christianswe mustknow
that itis so muchmore! As an example itreflectsone’s conditionof hisorherheart.It reflectsthe
willingnesstoexaltGodandyieldtohiswill.Worshipis alsoanexpressionof love andawe tothe God
whogivesusmore than we deserve.Whetheryouexpressyourworshipbysinging,playingmusic,
dancingor in some otherway,rememberthatyouare calledto worshipGodwithyoureveryaction,
everydayof yourlife.Godisholy,loving,andworthyof all ourworshipanddevotion.