How to Worship God the Way That He Wants Us To

As you read this section, keep in mind that the New Testament is not merely a history book, it's meant to change us to become more and more like Jesus. When we read any passages in the New Testament, our goal should be to discern what God wants us to believe and do so that we can be obedient to Him.

(Some of this information comes from chapter 7 in my book called Divine Healing Absolutely Is for Today, and is copied here due to its relevance.)

The Bible is surprisingly specific about how God wants us to worship Him, and it's completely different from what most Christians assume (based on what they say about worship online).

Before we examine how we're meant to worship God, we need to understand that the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses were fulfilled and completely canceled at the cross (see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three). Christians are under the New Covenant, so we need to be cautious about naively applying Old Covenant passages to Christians. This is a very important issue that many Christians (including many pastors and Bible teachers) don't seem to understand.

So what do we find under the New Covenant about how to worship God?

After the cross, when the New Testament describes how people worshiped, there's a consistent pattern in which they fell down or kneeled in reverence:

"So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."" (Matthew 28:8-10)

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" Then they remembered his words." (Luke 24:1-8)

"While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts 7:59-60)

"Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up." (Acts 9:40)

"As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself."" (Acts 10:25-26)

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!" The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"" (Acts 16:25-30)

"But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"" (1 Corinthians 14:24-25)

"The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever." (Revelation 4:10)

"He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people." (Revelation 5:7-8)

"The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped." (Revelation 5:14)

"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" (Revelation 7:11)

"And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God" (Revelation 11:16)

"The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: "Amen, Hallelujah!"" (Revelation 19:4)

"Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" And he added, "These are the true words of God." At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus."" (Revelation 19:9-10)

"I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, "Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!"" (Revelation 22:8-9)

In modern Western culture, we have little or no experience with falling prostrate or bending the knee before a superior, yet this is the consistent pattern for worshiping and showing reverence and honor throughout the New Testament. This is how God wants us to worship Him because He has given us the above examples. (For more examples of worshiping in this way, see Matthew 2:10-11, 17:14-16, 18:25-31, Mark 1:40, 5:31-34, 15:16-20, Luke 5:6-9, 8:40-42, 17:12-19, John 11:31-32, Romans 11:4.)

The above passages show that on earth and in heaven, the proper method of worshiping is to fall to the ground or bend the knee before a superior. This is exactly what we see Jesus doing when He prayed to the Father, and we also see demons falling at Jesus' feet:

"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."" (Matthew 26:36-39)

"They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him." (Mark 14:32-35)

"Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." (Luke 22:39-44)

"For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God."" (Mark 3:10-11)

"When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places." (Luke 8:27-29)

Once again, in the following passages we're told that in heaven and on earth and under the earth, every knee will bow before Jesus (see my article called The Unsaved and Unrighteous Will Not Be Annihilated and Will Not Be Tormented in Hell for All Eternity):

"It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.'"" (Romans 14:11)

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)

We've seen over and over and over that when the New Testament describes how people worshiped, there's a very consistent pattern in which they fell down or kneeled in reverence, and we're never told to worship God in any other way (except in the case of improper translations as we'll see).

Therefore, once a day, we should get down on one or both knees and bow before Jesus for a few moments to worship Him. If you're physically unable to get down on one knee, then simply bow your head where you are. For example, when Jacob was near death, he worshiped while leaning on his staff (Hebrews 11:21). Tell Him out loud or in a whisper that you're bowing before Him and giving Him your worship as your Lord and King, then spend a few moments being aware that He's your King, your Sovereign, your Leader. Saying more than this is not necessary (e.g., Matthew 6:7), but when you pledge your worship to Him, say it like you mean it.

When Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman at a well, He said that He will give people water that will spring up to eternal life (John 4:13-14). A few moments later, the conversation continued as follows:

""Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." "Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 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."" (John 4:19-24)

Under the Old Covenant, the Jews were required to obey the written rules in the Law of Moses, which sometimes involved traveling to Jerusalem for festivals and worship as we see in the above passage (also see Luke 2:41, John 12:12, 20, Acts 8:27, 24:11). Each occurrence of the word "worship" in the above passage comes from the Greek word proskuneo, which has the following meaning:

"To worship, do obeisance, show respect, fall or prostrate before. Literally, to kiss toward someone, to throw a kiss in token of respect or homage. The ancient oriental (especially Persian) mode of salutation between persons of equal ranks was to kiss each other on the lips; when the difference of rank was slight, they kissed each other on the cheek; when one was much inferior, he fell upon his knees and touched his forehead to the ground or prostrated himself, throwing kisses at the same time toward the superior. It is this latter mode of salutation that Gr. writers express by proskuneo. In the NT, generally, to do reverence or homage to someone, usually by kneeling or prostrating oneself before him." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, proskuneo)

Once again we can see that worship involves paying reverence or homage to God by prostrating or bending the knee before Him.

Before the cross, Jesus lived His entire life under the Old Covenant. When He died, the Old Covenant was completely canceled and the New Covenant was instituted. After the cross, no one is required to obey any of the 613 commands in the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses, and no one is able to sin by breaking or violating any of those 613 commands (such as the Ten Commandments, the tithing laws, the kosher dietary laws, or the Sabbath laws) (see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three). Under the New Covenant (which all Christians are required to obey), there's no Sabbath requirement, no kosher dietary requirement, and no tithing requirement (see my article above). The modern form of tithing taught in churches is a complete fiction that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible (see my article called Christians Are Not Required to Pay Tithes).

Under the New Covenant, we're not required to worship God at a specific time or place; we can worship Him at any time and place because we have the Holy Spirit in us, who is the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:12-14). This is why Jesus said that those who worship God must worship in the Spirit and in truth (NIV) or in spirit and truth (NKJV) (John 4:19-24, above). In that passage, He specifically said that the Father is seeking people who will worship Him in this way, so this type of worship is significant to God. Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters, such as both God and money (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13). We can only serve one Master, and God is seeking those who will give their allegiance to Him rather than to the world.

There are many passages in the New Testament which say that someone worshiped someone else (or something else) without telling us how they did it. Apart from what we've already seen, these are the only passages that give us more information about what people did when they worshiped:

"Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."" (Matthew 14:33)

"When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."" (Matthew 17:14-16)

"A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."" (Mark 1:40)

"But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"" (1 Corinthians 14:24-25)

"Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come." Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."" (Revelation 4:8-11)

"He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."" (Revelation 5:7-10)

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." 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, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"" (Revelation 7:9-12)

"And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small - and for destroying those who destroy the earth."" (Revelation 11:16-18)

"After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants." And again they shouted: "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever." The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: "Amen, Hallelujah!" Then a voice came from the throne, saying: "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!"" (Revelation 19:1-5)

In the above passages, when we're told that people worshiped or fell to the ground or went down to their knees, we can see that they sometimes also said something, which was usually either a request or an exclamation of praise. In some English translations of the Bible, we sometimes see the word "worship" but the original Greek word actually means "serve" or "service" as we can see in Luke 2:37 and Romans 12:1 in several different versions of the Bible:

"and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying." (Luke 2:37 NIV)

"and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day." (Luke 2:37 NKJV)

"and she is a widow of about eighty-four years, who did depart not from the temple, with fasts and supplications serving, night and day" (Luke 2:37 YLT)

"and she was a widow of eighty four years, who did not depart from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers." (Luke 2:37 LITV)

"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." (Romans 12:1 NIV)

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1 NKJV)

"I call upon you, therefore, brethren, through the compassions of God, to present your bodies a sacrifice - living, sanctified, acceptable to God - your intelligent service" (Romans 12:1 YLT)

"Therefore, brothers, I call on you through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1 LITV)

What we've seen so far is that worshiping God specifically involves falling to the ground before Him or getting down on one or both knees before Him (or simply bowing our head before Him if we're physically incapable of getting down on our knees), and it can be (but is not required to be) accompanied by giving Him praise. Serving God is an important aspect of obedience, as many New Testament passages show, but some English versions of the Bible have improperly translated the Greek words for "service" as "worship."

In all of the passages (above) where we're told what people did when they worshiped under the New Covenant, notice that with only a single exception (Revelation 5:7-10, below), when people worshiped God we don't see anyone singing or playing music. This is the only passage under the New Covenant where we see singing or musical instruments in the specific context of worshiping God (falling down before Him):

"He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."" (Revelation 5:7-10)

In the above passage, people fell down before Jesus, which is specifically how people worshiped throughout the New Testament as we've seen. They each had a harp and were holding golden bowls full of incense. We're not told that they were playing the harps, which would be difficult to do while they were fallen to the ground in worship and while they were also holding bowls of incense. It's certainly possible that they played the harps at some point after getting up from the ground, which would also be when they sang a new song praising Jesus as in the passages that we'll look at in a moment. Bible commentaries tend to say that the incense (representing prayers) and singing a new song of praise to the Lord (accompanied by a harp or lyre) echoes what we see in psalms such as these:

"May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." (Psalms 141:2)

"Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy." (Psalms 33:1-3)

So the people in Revelation 5:7-10 (above) who had harps were singing a new song of praise to the Lord, just as we'll see in a number of passages in a moment. In all of the New Testament passages (below) where people sang or played music, these are the Greek words that we'll see:

ado:
"To sing, used trans. always of praise to God" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, ado, emphasis added)

humneo:
"to celebrate or praise with a hymn or hymns, to sing hymns to someone, to praise in song" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, humneo, emphasis added)

humnos:
"A song or hymn in honor of God. It also came to mean praise to men. Whereas a psalm is the story of man's deliverance or a commemoration of mercies received, a hymn is a magnificat, a declaration of how great someone or something is (Luk 1:46-55, Luk 1:67-79; Act 4:24; Act 16:25). It is a direct address of praise and glory to God." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, humnos, emphasis added)

ode:
"Song. The original use of singing among both believers and idolaters was in the confessions and praises of the respective gods." (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, ode, emphasis added)

psallo:
"To play a stringed instrument or to sing a hymn...to sing, sing praises or psalms to God whether with or without instruments" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, psallo, emphasis added)

psalmos:
"song sung with musical accompaniment...In all probability the psalms of Eph 5:19; Col 3:16 are the inspired Psalms of the Hebrew Canon" (The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, psalmos, emphasis added)

Those Greek words are used throughout the New Testament for praising God with music and singing (sometimes using psalms from the Old Testament). Apart from Revelation 5:7-10 (above), the following passages are all of the places in the New Testament where we see singing or making music in reference to God:

""I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." When they had sung a hymn [humneo], they went out to the Mount of Olives." (Matthew 26:29-30)

""Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." When they had sung a hymn [humneo], they went out to the Mount of Olives." (Mark 14:25-26)

"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns [humneo] to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone's chains came loose." (Acts 16:25-26)

"For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises [psallo] of your name." Again, it says, "Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people." And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him."" (Romans 15:8-11)

"So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing [psallo] with my spirit, but I will also sing [psallo] with my understanding." (1 Corinthians 14:15)

"What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn [psalmos], or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up." (1 Corinthians 14:26)

"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms [psalmos], hymns [humnos], and songs [ode] from the Spirit. Sing [ado] and make music [psallo] from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18-20)

"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms [psalmos], hymns [humnos], and songs [ode] from the Spirit, singing [ado] to God with gratitude in your hearts." (Colossians 3:16)

"He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises [humneo]."" (Hebrews 2:12)

"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise [psallo]." (James 5:13)

"And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang [ado] a new song [ode] before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song [ode] except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth." (Revelation 14:2-3)

"And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God and sang [ado] the song [ode] of God's servant Moses and of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."" (Revelation 15:2-4)

Apart from Revelation 5:7-10 that we examined a moment ago, the above passages are all of the places in the New Testament where we see people singing or making music in reference to God. The Greek words in those passages tell us that those passages are all about praising God. Notice that not a single one of those passages is in the context of worshiping God, falling down before God, or bending the knee before God. Singing and making music in reference to God is all about praising Him.

Worshiping God does not involve singing or making music. Worshiping God specifically involves falling to the ground before Him or getting down on one or both knees before Him (or simply bowing our head before Him if we're physically incapable of getting down on our knees), and it can be (but is not required to be) accompanied by giving Him praise. Praising God and worshiping God are two completely different activities.

Modern Christians often refer to a church service as a "worship service," and they often refer to the singing and/or music during the service as "worship songs" and "worship music." As we've seen, those terms are completely unscriptural and completely wrong. When you read what Christians say online about how to worship God, and compare their statements with the Scripture passages we've examined, you'll find that most Christians (including pastors, Bible teachers, church leaders, "worship leaders," etc.) don't understand the scriptural distinction between worshiping God and other activities such as praising God.