Worship Is Formational
As we gather to worship with other believers, it’s vital to realize that what we do during our time together (whether in our churches or homes) is formational. Biblical worship clarifies our views of God, ourselves, and others. What we sing, pray, say, and do in worship shapes our devotional lives. Worship on Sunday forms how we worship and live the other days of the week, which is why it is so critical that our worship be guided by Scripture, for the Bible is what the Holy Spirit of God uses to sanctify us.
We become who or what we worship! The words in Psalm 115:8 are a powerful reminder giving a warning that those who trust idols “are just like them.” However, we also see in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that as we look to Christ and worship him, we are transformed into his image.” May it be that all of us realize more and more that we resemble who or what we revere.
Scripture contains a rhythm of worship that is simple but profound—the rhythm of Revelation and Response—God revealing and his redeemed responding. There is another rhythm in worship that we see throughout Scripture and it is the rhythm of Transcendence and Immanence. In other words, in our corporate gathering we should be reminded first of who God is! He is the one who initiates our worship. He is the one who makes it possible for us to worship. Worship begins with God, and He is all the things we are not … omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. But through Christ, he is also intimately near. His thoughts toward us “would outnumber the grains of sand” (Psalm 139:18). The God who said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3), also said, “Let the children come to me” (Luke 18:15-17).