A call to worship is an invitation from a congregational leader for everyone to take a moment and reflect. It’s an opportunity to really turn yourself over to God. Turn your attention to Him, shed anything that’s bothering you, and focus on nothing more than God.
Call to worship scriptures, phrases, and verses are used to provoke emotion, inspiration, and excitement for everyone to join in worshipping the Lord.
What Is the Call to Worship?
A congregational worship service is a powerful part of the Christian life. As Christians, we come together to join in fellowship with our fellow believers for a variety of reasons.
It’s a constant reminder of our faith. When we surround ourselves with other believers, it strengthens our faith and holds us accountable. By spending more time with Christians we’re also keeping ourselves away from the darkness of temptation and other things we might not want to be involved in.
Additionally, worship allows us to praise our God, draw close to Him, and even get to know and understand Him better. This is the primary purpose of a worship service, and it’s why it’s such a huge part of the Christian lifestyle.
For those who don’t regularly attend church and aren’t involved in the Christian community, they might wonder why we sing, what we’re singing about, and what it has to do with our faith.
Signing is a powerful thing. It’s the moment where we can shed all the burdens we feel and tap into something bigger than ourselves and our day to day worries. We all have stressful jobs, families, children, parents, financial burden, health complications, and much more.
An ability to set this all aside is a powerful and beautiful opportunity. With the right music, the right call to worship scriptures, and the right worship team, a service can be so much more than people singing and dancing. It can be revitalizing and in turn a wonderful testament to what Jesus Christ did for us.
The most important thing to remember is that God calls us to worship. He specifically says at multiple points throughout scripture that we need to follow Him, praise Him, and worship Him, and that’s why we do what we do.
This command to worship is the true meaning behind a worship service. When people stop participating in worship, they often can lose their way and their faith.
At the same time, when you don’t understand what you’re doing or why, it’s much harder to continue forward. When we worship God, we’re essentially doing exactly what He asked us to do as followers and His creation.
What Is the Point of a Call to Worship?
I want to expand upon this a little because it’s so important. Call to worship scriptures, and the actual act of calling a congregation to worship, is a reminder of who God is and an inspiration to worship Him. That is the goal of worship. To remind us of who God is and inspire us to invite God and the Holy Spirit into our lives.
We need to be intentional in our call, and if we are leading a congregation or even a small group of people in a worship service, we need to clearly call out what we’re intending to do and why we’re worshipping. Here are a few examples of what you could say to call a group of people to worship:
“The Lord says we should call upon His name, make His deeds known, and sing praises to Him! As Christians, we are saved. We have an incredible opportunity because of an incredible God. It’s times like this when I wonder how I could be so lucky. Now let’s all come together and worship our Lord and God together, for He is the real King of Kings!”
“God said in 1 Peter 1:3-5 that Jesus was born so we could be born again. It is only through the resurrection of Jesus Christ that we are able to live and to inherit the kingdom of Jesus. This is a time for celebration and one that we shouldn’t take lightly. As God asks us, we shall answer in His praise!”
The main goal of worship is to remind others and ourselves of who God is and why we praise and worship Him. By initiating calls to worship before a service, it helps prepare our minds and puts things into perspective. It also prepares us for an emotional response to worship that leaves us feeling rejuvenated and grateful.
How Do I Start a Worship Service?
When you are preparing for worship, be sure to make eye contact with those listening to you. Smile and speak to them rather than at them. Even more powerful than looking at the congregation is knowing when to close your eyes and speak directly to God.
You should pray before beginning the worship service asking God to fill your heart with love for Him and fill your mind with clarity and the right words to speak. You want everyone in the room to be lifted up and encouraged by the worship service. The only way to do that is with Jesus at the wheel and us in the back seat.
Songs are a major component of worship, but speaking is also important. If you’re leading a congregation or a small worship group, it’s important that you know what to say and when to say it.
As mentioned, the goal of everything you say prior to moving into worship is getting a lot of heads nodding in agreement. Everyone should be on the same page about what you’re about to sing. When everyone participates it creates a wonderful atmosphere of oneness.
The best way to ensure participation is to prepare what you want to say ahead of time. Think about how you can motivate people to worship and get them excited about singing along.
Prepare call to worship scriptures and insights. You can also discuss some of the meanings behind the songs before you sing them so that people have a deeper understanding of what they are singing and why it’s significant. Everything should tie together and engage your listeners in a personal way.
In addition, be sure to invite everyone to sing along. Let them know that “Psalm 134:2 tells us to raise our hands and bless the Lord, let us do that right now as we sing to Him.”
Using scripture is a great way to get everyone involved because it’s not just you speaking, it’s information directly from the Bible and everyone can follow along.
Lastly, to inspire the congregation and break from what might be the norm, try pausing between verses of a song to add in your own personal touch or readings from scripture. This is a great way to keep the motivation fresh as you collectively worship and call out to God.
What Is the Biblical Difference Between Praise and Worship?
Luke 4:8 provides the answer to this question. It says “And Jesus answered him, ‘it is written’ You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.”
That is the difference between praise and worship. Throughout the Bible we are told that we need to praise God in everything, during good times and bad, so on and so forth. But worship is a whole different game.
Worship is reserved for the Lord only. We should never worship anyone or anything else. We can praise a lot of people for a variety of different things, but worship is reserved for God.
To truly worship God we must get over ourselves and the things in the world we may worship and hand ourselves over to God. We must humble ourselves enough to surrender our own lives just like Jesus did for us.
Most importantly, worship isn’t something that just happens for an hour or two on Sunday morning. Worship is a lifestyle and something that we need to practice every day. Worship requires a deeper reflection on the things God calls us to do and be. It is a sacrifice of self for the only true One who deserves our attention.
When we bow our head, kneel, lift our hands, and close our eyes, we’re opening ourselves up to let the Holy Spirit in.
10 Calls to Worship from the Bible
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! – Psalm 3:8
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me. – Psalm 5:7-8
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. – Psalm 9:1-2
Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” – Psalm 66:1-4
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! – Psalm 95:6
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. – Malachi 1:11
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. – Matthew 11:28-29
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. – Revelation 3:20
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. – Colossians 3:16
Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, – Ephesians 5:19
