Quotes About Worship

Whenever and wherever you put yourself in touch with GOD, that is the state of meditation.

Michael Green cuts through church cant: "God's church exists not for itself but for the benefit of those who are not yet members. . . . [and] the church which lives for itself will be sure to die by itself." The church is not a religious club and it does not have a secular mission. Instead, it is a worshipping and sending community.

To keep its past as part of its present, God gives to Israel a series of rituals, routines, and rhythms.

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of my heart by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that I may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name by the practice of Christian-year spirituality; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. —ROBERT WEBBER

Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us (leading us to faith and worship), we have to see it as something done by us (leading us to repentance)." And: "As we face the cross, then, we can say to ourselves both 'I did it, my sins sent him there' and 'he did it, his love took him there.

The book of Revelation reveals to us that the way to counter the government's overreach is to begin with worship of the One on the throne, the Lamb in the middle of the throne, and the Seven Spirits around the throne.

For some it is tempting to use only set prayers, while for others it is almost a solemn requirement to use only spontaneous prayers. We need both,

The Psalter is responsible for creating the prayers in the church. It remains the core of all Christian prayers. Whenever we pray with psalms, we are joining the universal Church in prayer.

Prayer was and is both a spontaneous act and a recitative

Every scene of heaven in the Bible shows us a vision of the Church praying together and singing together and praising together.

If you compare the written prayers from the psalms, the Lord's Prayer, or those we find in the prayer books of the church, one thing will immediately strike any reader: The prayers from those sources are theologically rich and aesthetically appropriate. I cannot always say this of the spontaneous prayers of many Christians—and I am not impugning their motives or questioning their hearts.

God gave the Bible not so we can know it but so we can know and love God through it.

In anthropology terms, this superficial mimicry is called a cargo cult, a reference to the misguided worship of abandoned airplane landing strips among tribes hoping for the goods that airplanes had delivered to return.

The fact is, there can be no true evangelization without the Eucharist. It's not simply that the Eucharist is the context in which evangelization unfolds or even the goal of evangelization. It's the content of evangelization. It's what we

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21 NIV)

The secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" (1 Cor. 14:25 NIV)

When they [the Magi] saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matt. 2:10–11)

With palms up in surrender and praise, I enter this day.

For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. (1 Cor. 8:6 NIV)

Lord Jesus, you were the Good Samaritan to me, and you still are. But you didn't just find me beaten and broken alongside the road; you found me running as fast as I could from you. I know God and worship God only because you first cared for me, served me, loved me by giving your life for me. Make me a humble, grateful, joyful worship servant. I pray to your glory and by your grace. Amen.

And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God." (Rev. 19:9–10)

I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Rev. 5:13–14)

Teach us how to be stewards of technology, not slaves to technology. Teach us how to be creative, not cute; faithful, not manipulative; simple, not spectacular. Reel us back in anytime we move away from the "sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:3). And let us never forget that you are not seeking "great worship" but true worshipers—those who worship you "in the Spirit and in truth" (John 4:23 NIV).

We "get" the gospel the best when we are face down and palms up before you in repentant faith—not in groveling despair, nor in face-saving penance, but in the beauty of repentant faith.