âOh come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For He is our God; And we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His handâ (Psalm 95:6-7). Worship, by far, is the most important of all activities for the believer. It is more important than witnessing, preaching, teaching or any other work of piety. Why is worship so important? Because everything the believer does in the Kingdom of Christ depends upon his or her relationship with God. In private and public worship our relationship with Christ is enriched and enlivened. Christ said to a hardworking, sacrificing, very orthodox in doctrine, and rigid in practice Church âI have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first loveâ (Rev.2.4). These believers in the Church at Ephesus loved the word (as we at Calvary Baptist Church), they loved each other (as at Calvary Baptist Church), and they loved souls (as Calvary Baptist Church), but their love for Christ had grown cold, which is the first sign of a decaying worship. What is worship? Worship is ascribing worth to the Triune God. Worship is thinking on, trusting to, loving, fearing, and honoring God alone for His infinite excellency, mercy, power, and wisdom. Worship is not robed choirs, beautiful singing, orchestral music, and precisely formed services. Was it so, Paul and the small company of believers in Philippi, âwhich went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily madeâ could not have been successful in their worship. It is interesting that the very first act of faith recorded in scripture is Abelâs worship (Heb.11:4). Then follows Enochâs walk of faith, and Noahâs work of faith (vv.5 & 7). Oh beloved, when we come together for public worship let us be âtrue worshippers, worshipping God in spirit and truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.â The total inward man is activated, energized, and involved in spiritual worship. William Temple defines worship in these words; âTo worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God. To feed the mind with the truth of God. To purge the imagination by the beauty of God. To open the heart to the love of God. To devote the will to the purpose of God.â Oh God quicken our hearts to Your holiness, Your truth, Your beauty, Your love and Your will: Lord donât let our love for You grow cold. âWhen the blessed Jesus died, / God was clearly justified. Sin to pardon without blood / Never in His nature stood. Worship God, then, in His Son; / Thereâs His love and there alone; Think not that He will, or may, / Pardon any other way.â (Hart) âThen I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: âTo Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever.â Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as a Church to worship in our designated times and ordinances. And let us determine to have a private place and time to worship the Lamb. ~~Terry Worthan, 1938-2022