Key Scriptures: Psalm 96:1-13, Psalm 95:1-7
Psalm 96:1-13, Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Psalm 95:1-7, Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,
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Lesson One: Worship is bowing down.
• Worship isn’t just singing—it’s a posture of surrender. It’s bowing our lives before God.
Genesis 22:5, Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship (shachah—to bow down) and then we will come back to you.
Psalm 95:6, Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
Revelation 7:11, All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
Application: Where do I need to bow—my pride, my plans, my preferences? Worship begins when I lower myself and lift him up.
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Lesson Two: Worship is seeing and responding.
• Worship is a response to revelation—and you can’t respond to what you haven’t seen or experienced
John 4:23-24, Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
Ephesians 1:17-19 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him more. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Application: Pray—Lord, reveal yourself to me…give me sight. Make space to see the glory, grace, and mercy of God—and when you see him clearly, worship rises naturally.
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Lesson Three: Worship is extravagant.
• Little God+little grace=little worship. Glorious God+radical grace=extravagant worship.
Luke 7:37-38, A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
Psalm 96:8, Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.
Romans 12:1, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Application: What does “extravagant worship” look like for me this week? Obedience, generosity, surrender, serving, lifting hands, laying something down. Extravagant worship isn’t hype—it’s giving God everything because he gave everything.
