A great question we should ask on occasion is, “Why do we, the church, exist?” Until we know what our church exists for, we have no foundation, no motivation, and no direction for ministry.

I believe that there are four basic questions that we have to answer as a church.
1. Why does the Church exist?
2. What are we to be as a church? (Who and what are we?)
3. What are we to do as a church? (What does God want done in the world?)
4. How are we to do it?

I want to use Acts 2:42-47 for the main text for these next six messages. In this passage, we can find the essential purposes of the church.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” —ACTS 2:42-47

The first Purpose of the church that I want to look at is Worship.
One of the purposes of the church is Worship.

They were continually devoting themselves to …..to the breaking of bread and to prayer. —ACT 2:42

This passage gives us some of the elements of worship, some of the things that they did. Let us look at 3 important parts of Worship.

I. WHAT IS WORSHIP?

When you hear the word “Worship”, what images does it bring to mind? Singing, prayer, giving, works? These all may be a part of worship, but those actions miss the essence of what worship is.

Sunday morning is the time that people who love the Lord Jesus come together to express that love as a group. Our focus is on Him, this was avery early commandment from God

You shall have no other gods before Me. —EXODUS 20:3

True worship happens when we put God first in our lives. Worship is not something that we can make people do, it is something that is a natural outflow of a life lived for Jesus.

Jesus had an insightful statement about worship
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Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ —MATTHEW 4:10

Notice in this passage that worship comes before service! God wants worshipers before workers; indeed the only acceptable workers are those who have learned the lost art of worship.

II. WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF WORSHIP?

The objective of our worship is to magnify and Glorify God. This is why worship cannot happen in a life that is not surrendered to God. We magnify either God or ourselves by the way we live our lives.

O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. —PSALM 34:3

The things that we do in a “worship” service are intended to magnify God. The music, communion, prayer, preaching. Jesus told us that when we partake, we are to remember Him.

One challenge for us is to not focus on ourselves and “How worship makes us feel” Our worship, the time we spend together is intended for a focus on God. We want to bring glory, honor and praise to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

III. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WORSHIP?

What are some of the benefits of worship? This is the question that we always ask, “what is in it for me?”

One benefit is that the church grows stronger through worship. Worship allows us to hear from and move towards a plan for us as the local Body of Christ. The focus is on God instead of us. We are looking to further God’s agenda and not our own personal one.

In worship, we will experience personal growth. Calvin Coolidge said, “It is only when men begin to worship that they begin to grow.”
Worship is the highest and noblest act that any person can do. When men worship, God is satisfied! And when you worship, you are fulfilled!

Think about this: why did Jesus Christ come? He came to make worshipers out of rebels. We who were once self-centered have to be completely changed so that we can shift our attention outside of ourselves and become able to worship him.

Have you really thought about why you are here? Have you really given any thought to the purpose of the local and universal church?
One of the purposes of the church is to worship. Worship will not happen unless we have placed Jesus first in our lives
Are you here today to worship? Does your worship seem empty to you? Are you looking for more?

Many times it is not that we need to find something new to excite us, but we need to surrender ourselves to Jesus.
If you find that you cannot worship, maybe you need to surrender more of yourself to Jesus.