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Worship

What is “worship?”

Worship simply means “assigning worth to something” or “demonstrating that something has worth.” What we truly value inwardly is expressed in how we live outwardly. Because every person values something, every person is constantly worshipping through their words and actions.

Christian worship is the intentional offering of everything we say and do to God because of who He is and what He has done for us in Jesus.

What do we believe about worship?

  • Everything and everyone exists for the worship of God. (Psalm 66:4, Psalm 100:104, Psalm 150:6, Revelation 4:11)
  • The natural tendency of the human heart is to worship anything but God. (Judges 2:19, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 6:24, Colossians 3:5, Ephesians 5:5)
  • Jesus is the center of proper worship, magnified by the Spirit to the glory of God the Father. (Romans 5:12-21, Hebrews 13:15, Galatians 2:20, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, John 14:6, John 1:3, 1 Corinthians 14:15-17, John 4:24, Romans 8:26-27)

How do we worship?

Worship takes many forms in the Bible both expressed individually (Ephesians 5:19, Psalm 4:4) and corporately (Ephesians 5:19, Psalm 22:22).

Below is a non-exhaustive list of forms of worship found in scripture:

  • Singing (Psalm 100:1-2, Psalm 95:1-2, Colossians 3:16, Ephesians 5:19, Psalm 147:1, James 5:13, Psalm 13:6)
  • Playing Instruments (Psalm 150:1-6, Psalm 33:3, 2 Samuel 6:1-23, Psalm 149:3, Revelation 14:2, 2 Chronicles 5:13)
  • Shouting (Psalm 33:3, Psalm 81, Ezra 3:11:13, Psalm 98:4, Isaiah 12:6, Psalm 100:1-5)
  • Clapping (Psalm 47:1)
  • Dancing (Psalm 150:4, Psalm 149:3)
  • Praying (Psalm 141:2, 1 Timothy 2, Acts 2, Matthews 6:10)
  • Communion (1 Corinthians 11:25, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
  • Giving (John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Luke 21:1-4, Proverbs 11:24-25, 1 Timothy 6:18-19)
  • Quiet Reflection / Meditation (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 19:14, Psalm 119:15, Philippians 4:8, Psalm 143:5, Psalm 77:12)
  • Kneeling (Psalm 95:6, Philippians 2:10, Romans 14:11)
  • Lifting Hands (Psalm 63:4, Psalm 134:2, Psalm 141:2, Lamentations 3:41, Psalm 28:2, 1 Timothy 2:8-10)
  • Serving Others (Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:16)

At One Hope Church, we carefully plan our gatherings to enhance focus and reduce distraction and believe we’re free to include or exclude any of these forms to that end.

With this is mind, the most common form of worship during our gathering is singing due to its high effectiveness for communicating truth and expressing human emotion.