Benefits to Worship

• Forgiveness: True worshipers recognize God's holiness and accept His forgiveness (Romans 5:1; John 1:9). Through worship they are purified.

• Guidance: Those who honor the Lord will be given wisdom and will recieve His guidance day by day (Psalm 25:4-12; Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 3:5-6)

• Provision: Jesus said that God will meet our material needs if we give Him first place in our lives (Matthew 6:33; see also Psalm 23; Psalm 37:5-6).

• Love: The love of God is experienced in the hearts of all those who are true worshipers (Psalm 63:3; John 14:21-23; Romans 5:5).

• Protection: He faithfully watches over all who acknowledge Him, and He keeps them in all of life's changing circumstances (Psalm 5:11-12; 1 Peter 1:5).

• Glory: All true worshipers will one day be glorified. They will inherit a new heaven and a new earth and join a company of believers and angels in perfect, uniterrupted worship (2 Peter 3:13; 1 John 3:2).

Hinderances to Worship

• Ignorance: Many people worship gods but not hte tru God (Acts 17:23). They are "religious" but lack a vital relationship with their Creator. They are sincere but wrong (John 4:22). They need the truth.

• Unbelief: When we come to God, we must approach Him with believing hearts. If we don't, we cannot expect Him to be please with us or to reward our efforts (Hebrews 11:4-6).

• Unconfessed Sin: When we as Christians sin, we should confess it immediately to God (1 John 1:9). If we don't, it destroys our fellowship with Him and we become cold and insensitive to Him.

• Wrong Attitudes: If we hold a grudge against someone, God will refuse our worship until we make things right with the other person (Matthew 5:23-24; Mathew 6:14; Ephesians 4:31-32).

• Misplaced Priorities: When we allow other things to become more important to us than God, we take away from the honor He deservers (Matthew 6:33). Right worship recognizes His worthiness to be first.

• Enemy Opposition: The world system of evil, the indwelling sin nature, and the devil are constantly opposing our worship (Romans 7:23; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 2:15). But as we daily depend on the power of the Spirit of God, He will enable us to overcome our enemies (Galatians 5:16; James 4:7; 1 John 5:4).

Aids to Worship

• Meditation: Taking time to quiet ourselves and to think of God and His goodness will help us to prepare our hearts for worship (Psalm 63:3-4; Psalm 89:1-11; Psalm 119:15; Phillipians 4:8).

• Confession: The person who truly understands the glory of God will realize his need for confession and cleansing (Isa. 6:6-7). God wants worship that comes from a clean heart (1 John 1:7-10).

• Music: The use of hymns and musical instruments can add much to our worship (Psalm 150; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

• Orderliness: Our worship of God should not be haphazard or disorganized. It should be done in an orderly fashion (1 Corinthians 14:40).

• Prayer: Talking to God helps us to focus our minds on the things of God and makes us conscious of His presence (1 Timothy 2:1-8; Hebrews 4:16).

• Giving: By our gifts and offerings we epxress gratitude to God in a tangible way. We acknowledge His ownership of all that we possess, and we show that we are trusting Him to provide for our needs (2 Corinthians 9:6-15).

• Bible Study: Whether it be from the pulpit, in a Sunday school class, or in a home Bible study, the instruction of God's Word helps to equip us to be better worshipers of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-2).