What Is Worship?

So many words get bandied about until they no longer have meaning.

What IS worship?

How does one do it when involved in the process? (choir, reader, greeter, usher, etc and etc.) Is it a private thing, a public thing?

Just what does God want from us when we are to worship?

As I see it, worshiping God, is to honor him. To acknowledge, and respect him and everything he has done. Rather this is done publicly or privately is between you and God, although seems like I remember a passage indicating it's better not to try to be seen. (don't remember exactly where it was). For those involved in the Church, taking part in services, that would be a way for them to honor God, in taking part in helping maintain the church, and assisting with the very service that's helping to spread his word.

Here are some thoughts on and a definition of "Worship" I found:

The word worship is a shortened form of the old word worthship, which means showing God the worth he holds in your life.

And now the wants are told, that brought
Thy children to thy knee;
Here, lingering still, we ask for naught
But simply worship thee.
William Bright (1921- )

How often Christians assume they have worshiped God simply because they have been in church! We are told that the church building is "God's house" (an inaccurate designation borrowed from the Old Testament temple) and conclude that worship must take place there! Not necessarily. God was not pleased with the worship at Jerusalem (the Holy City). Nor is he impressed with beautiful cathedrals.
Erwin W. Lutzer (1941- )

I lay my "whys" before your cross in worship kneeling,
my mind too numb for thought,
my heart beyond all feeling:
And worshiping,
realize that I in knowing you don't need a "why."
Ruth Bell Graham

Worship is not a part of the Christian life; it is the Christian life.
Gerald Vann (1906-1963)

All the previous quotes from: Edythe Draper, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992)

Writing more than one hundred years ago, Alexander Paterson Smith gave this definition of worship: "To worship God is to make Him the supreme object of our esteem and delight, both in public, private, and secret."

-- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).

Hope some of these help to answer the question.

MacE

So often people think of the praise and worship part of a church service as fluff and that the sermon is the true heart of the service. Well, I for one think that assessment is backward! The sermon is for OUR benefit! God already knows His word, He doens't need to hear it! No, the most important part of the service is the praise and worship, for this is where we give back to God! We no longer have to make physical sacrifices as they did back in the temple days, so I view my worship as a form of sacrifice to Him! Which I give willingly and joyfully! It is in praise and worship when I am truly able to just let go and let God know just how much I appreciate and need Him in my life!

And if you REALLY want to know what true sacrifice is, try praising when you are going through the hardest parts of your life! When you've just lost a loved one, or a job, or facing a bankruptcy or a divorce, or any other really difficult situation! Its so easy to worship Him when things are going great, but it is a TRUE sacrifice of prasie when you do it even when you don't want to or feel like it!

Just my 2 cents...

You are right on the button here. I have always liked the sermon part of a service, but only because I am learning. I will always love the worship part best. The prayers, the songs, and especially the times in my church when people share their testimony of the Lord's work in their life. I think this makes worship more personal, though it seems to be left out of many church services today.