Whether people see eye to eye on this, I believe worship is the most fundamental function of being a Christian.

Isn’t it astounding that God in his infinite grace will allow sinners such as us to come before him boldly and humbly before the throne of grace? (Heb 4:16).

Neglecting the importance of worship has been detrimental in the body of Christ. Once we begin to praise through the scripture, driven by the gospel and a Christ-exalting worship atmosphere, the community and ourselves will begin to look a bit different from the surrounding context we live in.

Whether that is singing, kneeling, dancing, bowing, or raising our hands, Christ-centered worship is very much needed in all of our churches.

Take a moment to read these and let these quotes transform your heart, mind, and life.

1. In the process of being worshiped, God communicates his presence to men. — C. S. Lewis
2.  If you don’t worship, you’ll never experience God. — David Jeremiah
3. God wants worshipers before workers; indeed the only acceptable workers are those who have learned the lost art of worship. — A. W. Tozer
4. Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. — Oswald Chambers
5. Worship is the highest elevation of the spirit, and yet the lowliest prostration of the soul. — Charles H. Spurgeon
6. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. — John Wesley
7. You never go away from us, yet we have difficulty in returning to You. Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back. Kindle and seize us. Be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love. Let us run. — Augustine
8. Many Spirit-filled authors have exhausted the thesaurus in order to describe God with the glory He deserves. His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that our words can’t contain Him. Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?”— Francis Chan
9. God directs his people not simply to worship but to sing his praises ‘before the nations.’ We are called not simply to communicate the gospel to nonbelievers; we must also intentionally celebrate the gospel before them. — Timothy J. Keller
10. We are perishing for lack of wonder, not for lack of wonders.— G. K. Chesterton
11. Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their Creator-God precisely because he is worthy, delightfully so. — D. A. Carson
12. Who will deny that true religion consists, in a great measure, in vigorous and lively actings of the inclination and will of the soul, or the fervent exercises of the heart? That religion which God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless, wishes, raising us but a little above a state of indifference. — Jonathan Edwards
13. The worship to which we are called in our renewed state is far too important to be left to personal preferences, to whims, or to marketing strategies. It is the pleasing of God that is at the heart of worship. Therefore, our worship must be informed at every point by the Word of God as we seek God’s own instructions for worship that is pleasing to Him. — R. C. Sproul
14. From your heroes, you pick up mannerisms and phrases and tones of voice and facial expressions and habits and demeanors and convictions and beliefs. The more admirable the hero is and the more intense your admiration is, the more profound will be your transformation. In the case of Jesus, he is infinitely admirable, and our admiration rises to the most absolute worship. Therefore, when we behold him as we should, the change is profound. — John Piper
15. The highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service. — Billy Graham

What else would you add to this list?

 

—Jonathan Hayashi is a pastor, educator, and contributor to Ambo TV.  This post originally appeared on his blog www.jonathanhayashi.com