NOV 1

Matthew 4:8-10
Memorise Ephesians 6:7
“…doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.”

Service and worship are both vital aspects of the life of a Christian. To worship God is to give Him the due acknowledgement of His identity as Creator, Sustainer, Saviour, and Judge, by adoring and exalting Him through certain spiritual activities. This includes worship services in church and dedicating our time for honouring and praising Him through prayer. As evidenced within the phrase itself, worship is actually a form of service to God.

To serve the Lord is to dedicate our time, energy and resources to doing His work for Him. While service to the Lord includes worship, there are many activities which qualify as service to the Lord but cannot be described as worship. For example, welcoming worshippers just before worship service starts, selling lunch coupons, handing out tracts, teaching, or doing kitchen duties. These activities are important as they have spiritual as well as practical value to the church. Done with clean hands and pure hearts (Psalm 24:4), serving the Lord is pleasing and honouring to Him.

God is honoured when we serve and perform tasks which have practical value. In worship, there is less emphasis on the physical and practical aspects but rather, it is more a spiritual exercise whereby the believer sets his heart, mind and soul on the adoration of God alone to the exclusion of everything else.

The focus of worship is on giving God the praise and honour that are rightfully His. That is what we seek to do when we say our prayers and attend worship services. The focus of service is on labouring for Him because we love Him and are grateful to Him. Indeed, it is a privilege to be given the opportunity to repay our Gospel debt to Him in some small way. We do so when we offer our time, money and energy to the various ministries and activities in church.

Therefore, we see that both service and worship are important in the life of a believer. In all that we do, we must be very sure that we will worship the Lord our God, and serve only Him!

Thought: Can I worship God in spirit and in truth if I am not willing to serve Him?

Prayer: Help me, O Lord, to both worship and serve Thee while giving me the wisdom to know the difference between the two.