Introduction:

·   The people of God have used many ways to vocally and physically express their love and adoration to God.

We express our worship through singing.

·   Man alone expresses himself in music.

·   Man alone of all creation is creative because he is made in the image of the Creator.

·   God gave music to be an expression of worship.

·   Singing to the Lord is evidenced throughout Scripture.

·   Jesus sang songs of praise.

-Matthew 26:30

·   Beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, Paul and Silas sang songs of praise.

-Acts 16:25

·   James 5:13; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16

·   Singing says a lot about a congregation of Christians.

-Illustration: The old hymn says, “Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God, but children of the Heavenly King will speak their joys abroad!”

We express our worship through shouting.

·   The worship we see in the Scriptures was often punctuated by shouts of joy.

·   Amen is a Hebrew word, meaning “so be it” or “this is true.”

·   Throughout the centuries, crossing cultural, linguistic, and denominational barriers, the people of God just kept using “Amen.”

·   Jesus used the “Amen” in figures of speech.

-Revelation 3:14; 2 Corinthians 1:20

·   In verbalizing “Amen!” you join a long line of ancient worshipers.

·   Hallelujah is also a transliterated Hebrew word, meaning “praise the Lord.”

We express our worship through kneeling.

·   The primary Old Testament word for worship means “to bow down.”

-Psalm 95:6; Ephesians 3:14

·   Kneeling is a symbol of humility and submission.

·   A day is coming when everyone will kneel before God.

-Philippians 2:10–11

We express our worship through clapping.

·   Clapping is a biblical expression of worship.

-Psalm 47:1; Psalm 98:8; Isaiah 55:12

·   Clapping can rightly be used to express our joy in the Lord.

·   In black churches clapping becomes a praise instrument.

We express our worship through lifting hands.

·   Lifting hands in worship is a common expression in the Old Testament.

-Illustration: William Hendrickson found fourteen Bible descriptions of hands lifted toward God, compared to four references for bowing one’s head.

-Psalm 134:1–2; Psalm 141:2; Psalm 28:2; Nehemiah 8:6

·   The Hebrew word for hand is the word yad; yadah means to “throw out the hand” or to worship with extended hands.

·   The hands were so much a part of Old Testament worship that the word hand became part of the word for praising God.

·   To deny the raising of hands is to deny the very heart of Old Testament worship.

·   Lifting hands in worship is a common expression in the New Testament.

-1 Timothy 2:8

·   The folding together of the hands in prayer has been of Indo-Germanic origin.

·   The last image of Jesus was hid lifting his hands in blessing as he ascended.

-Luke 24:50–51

·   Lifting of the hands in worship has nothing at all to do with charismatic theology.

·   Lifting the hands is a symbol of surrender.

·   Lifting the hands is a symbol of trust.

·   Lifting the hands is a symbol of openness.

·   Lifting the hands is a symbol of affection.

-Illustration: Wylie’s youngest daughter will lift her hands to her father, showing that she wants her father to pick her up and draw her close.

·   Does this mean that in order to worship we must lift our hands? No.

·   Does this mean your pastor will lift his hands? Sometimes, when led to do so.

·   The lifting of the hands is not coerced; it is permitted.

-Illustration: Dr. David Jeremiah tells of an organist so shocked when someone stood up and shouted “Hallelujah!” after his all-stops-out rendition of a hymn that he left the organ on at full volume. When he accidentally brushed the keyboard, it sounded like the last trumpet was sounding.

We have the freedom to worship God within the boundaries of the Word of God