It has been said, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
A definition of worship: Recognizing the presence of God and responding to Him.
Over the years I have come to see that worship of God is the main purpose of life.
Do I understand completely what that means? No way! But I am learning a bit at a time about this vast subject.
When I do anything that pleases God, it is an act of worship. Worship isn’t only something that happens at church on Sunday morning. It’s much more than that. It is applicable every moment of every day.
There is CORPORATE worship – worship with the church family.
There is PRIVATE worship – worship individually.
At the risk of sounding a bit “heady”, here are the four basic areas of worship as I understand them:
- FORMAL CORPORATE WORSHIP… Sunday morning “church” following a basic pattern of worship service.
2. INFORMAL CORPORATE WORSHIP…Other gatherings of the church family (picnic, anniversary celebration, fellowship, etc.,) that follow more of a “spontaneous” order.
3. FORMAL PRIVATE WORSHIP…Personal Quiet Time which usually follows a predetermined pattern of prayer, Bible reading, journaling, etc.
4. INFORMAL PRIVATE WORSHIP…Everyday activities which include a focus on God and His activity.
The above four types of worship are not listed in any particular order. They could happen in any sequence or simultaneously.
Warning: If not careful, one can get caught up in the act of studying worship instead of doing worship. I learned this the hard way.
According to John 4:23, God is seeking worshipers.
I like John Piper’s revision of the initial statement to this post:
“The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever.”
When I worship God, I glorify Him and enjoy His presence!
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