Come, let us sing to the Lord!

Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too. Psalm 95: 1-5 NLT

This is how we should begin worship:

Come, let us sing to the Lord! We begin our worship with singing. I think too often we begin worship with words in traditional services. How much more natural it is to begin offering praises with our voices in song.

Let us shout joyful to the Rock of our salvation. In the United Methodist church, we don't often shout. It is considered impolite or perhaps too Pentecostal. But the psalmist instructs us to do so – not to make fools of ourselves or to draw attention to ourselves but to give God our joy.

Let us come to him with thanksgiving. How often have you entered worship with resentment, anger, or the idea that you are just getting this week's responsibility over with? We are to be thankful to God when we come to worship.

Let us sing psalms of praise to him. We aren't here for karaoke or fame. We are here to sing praises to God. When we open our mouths in worship, that should be our motivation.

And why should we do all this in worship? Because God is king over all, the creator of the world and the owner of everything.

That is how we should begin worship.

God, you are a great God, the King above all else. May our worship be pleasing to you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims