Compared to the parent Hebrew religion, Christianity is given little scriptural instruction for worship.  Some attribute this to the fact that early Christians were Jewish and already knew how to worship, while others recognize Christianity as more of a relationship than a religion, and, therefore, harder to dictate exact requirements.  Your relationship with your spouse will be different than my relationship with mine.  So too, your relationship with God will be different than mine.  Tozer proposed that when God created humans in his image, he gave them the capability to appreciate and admire his attributes.  Still, the capacity to worship does not explain the Christian’s motivation to worship.

Regarding Christian worship, author and pastor Don Saliers observes that there are two crucial themes: thanksgiving and doxology.  Doxology simply means “praise.”  Tozer also mentions two kinds of love for God: thanksgiving for his acts, and amazement at his person.  Again, thanksgiving and praise.  Unfortunately, most worshipers rarely get beyond gratitude.  We’re very good and thanking God for what he has done, is doing and will do, but many times we just stop right there.  There is a communion prayer, called a Eucharistic prayer (Paul used four words for what we call communion: 1) communion, 2) The Lord’s Table or Supper, 3) the breaking of bread and 4) Eucharist, which means “thanksgiving”), that states: ‘It is our duty and delight to offer you thanks and praise!’

Tozer further maintained that worship is the “normal employment” of human beings.  Meaning, it’s what we are made to do.  Yet, there has been a movement in the United States to convert the Sunday service into a primarily evangelistic gathering.  Whereas, historically, Christians gathered for fellowship and worship and scattered for evangelism, some Church Growth models encourage churches to gather on Sunday for evangelism, and then maybe again for a mid-week worship event.  According to Dr. Ronald Allen, however, the worship of God is the priority and ultimate end of his redemptive work.  Though important, evangelism is not the primary purpose of the gathering, (see 1 Corinthians 14).  Still, some worry whether evangelism will somehow get lost if the Church focuses primarily on worship.  Tozer would counter that “practically every great deed done in the church of Christ all the way back to the apostle Paul was done by people blazing with the radiant worship of their God.”  It is very possible that when non-believers see Christians worshiping, they will be drawn to God. 

You see, corporate worship fuels evangelism.  Service, including evangelism, is the natural byproduct of worship.  The things that we care the most about are the things we want to talk about.  When we are fully engaged in worship of God Almighty, evangelism will be a natural byproduct.

[many thanks to Dr. Jim Altizer for being a great mentor on this topic]