(Adapted from the paper “Why We Worship” by Carl Tuttle)
The primary emphasis of our worship is to
magnify, bless, and lift up Jesus as an end in itself. But
as a natural result of worship, God comes through the
presence of the Holy Spirit and ministers to us. As we
worship, we come into the presence of God. Through His
presence, we are touched by His compassion and love, we are
cleansed through repentance by His blood, we are changed as
He does a work of brokenness in us, we are blessed and
empowered, we are released from bondage and pressures; we
are made whole. Through the tangible presence of God, these
supernatural things occur. As a result of His presence, the
Word of God may be internalized and effective ministry one
to another may also occur. Worship is a real experience
where we touch Him and are touched.
“To worship is to quicken the conscience by
the holiness of God, to feed the mind 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.”
– William Temple
“When we kiss the heart of God in worship,
we are healed, inspired, motivated, directed, and integrated
into reality from God’s perspective.”
– Steve Robbins
