When we think of the word worship, we often think of singing music together at church. But worship is so much more than that!
According to Merriam-Webster, worship is defined as:
- To honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power
- To regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion
- To perform or take part in worship or an act of worship
I’ll give my definition here: worship is a heart posture we take to honor God in all that we do. We can worship God by singing a praise song, but we can also worship God through cooking dinner for our family or serving someone in need.
Here are four ways that we can incorporate worship into our family life:
Praising
Praising God can encompass worship songs. We can play worship songs with our family while we are in the car or cooking dinner.
We can also make a habit of praising God through our words. Let’s thank Him for a blessing we experience during our day, like finding a parking spot, or when our kids do well at school.
We can also cultivate a heart of worship in our family when we praise God when things go wrong. When someone in the family is sick with a cold, we can praise God for how He designed our bodies to fight off germs. We can thank Him for the inconvenience of spilled milk because it teaches us to give grace and work as a family to clean up the mess.
The opportunities to praise God throughout our day are truly endless if we look for them!
Reading God’s Word
We can worship God together by reading the Bible. It can be a lengthy family Bible study, or it can also be reading a devotion or verse at dinner. It can be reading Bible stories with the kids at dinner.
Whenever we read God’s Word, it is an act of worship.
Living Out Your Giftings
Celebrating how God made each member of the family with unique gifts is another way to worship together. God tells us in Psalm 139 that we are each fearfully and wonderfully made. When we each live out of the strengths He gave us, it reflects His goodness and love.
We worship as a family when we point out, encourage, and value the giftedness God has given each member of the family.
Serving
We worship God and give Him honor when we serve others. Brainstorm a way for your family to serve others together. It might be cleaning up trash in your neighborhood, volunteering at a food bank, or visiting an elderly family member to help with jobs around the house. Serving often doesn’t have to be extravagant, small acts of love and care mean so much and make God smile.
How does your family enjoy worshipping God together?