What Does it Mean to Worship God?

Genesis 4:26

Christians use the word “worship” regularly. We say things like, “I am going to worship this weekend at my church,” or “the worship service starts at 10:00 a.m.” We comment that “the worship team did a great job today” or “I didn’t connect with the worship at all during the service.” We listen to “worship” songs from our playlist or the radio as we drive to work or take our children places. Some say they “worship” best in a group; others “worship” best in solitude. I saw a church sign today inviting people to gather and worship in “the style of Taizé.” I googled “taizé worship,” but I still don’t know what it means.  

So—what is worship? Is it something we do, a place we go, or something we watch? Today, we’ll consider the first mention of worship in the Bible and trace its description throughout the New Testament. It’s amazing how the Bible consistently defines “true and proper worship” (Rom. 12:1 NIV). 

Tucked away at the end of Genesis 4:26 are these words: “At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” So, what does it mean to “call upon the name of the LORD?” I believe this phrase is synonymous with worship—expressing God’s greatness and worthiness with our lips and our lives. Notice that the name for God used here, “the LORD,” is Yahweh, the personal, approachable God. 

Now that we’ve established that Yahweh is at the center of this phrase, let’s examine how it appears in Scripture and what it teaches us about worship.

Worship Involves Sacrifice
In Genesis 12:8, Abraham set up his tent in Bethel, “and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.”[1] Building an altar indicates that Abraham was preparing to offer a sacrifice to God. 

After Adam and Eve sinned, God made them clothes from skins to cover themselves (Gen. 3:21). Because sin deserved death, God provided the first substitutionary sacrifice. This practice continued as he graciously allowed animal sacrifices to cover or atone for the sins of his people. The book of Leviticus provides detailed instructions for this ongoing sacrificial system. Genesis 12:8 shows that Abraham built an altar to make an atoning sacrifice, which was integral to worship.

Worship Involves Communicating with God
God’s name represents who he is and what he does. When we call upon the name of the Lord, we express and proclaim the Person of God—what we know to be true about him. In Beersheba, Abraham called “on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God” (Gen. 21:33). Abraham acknowledged God’s attribute of eternality. This is a prayer of worship—recognizing God’s greatness and his worthiness of our praise. 

Worship Involves Thanksgiving
Sometimes our prayer is a cry for help. The psalmist said, “I called on the name of the LORD: O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul” (Ps. 116:4). At other times, our prayer is an expression of thanksgiving. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake” (Gen. 26:24). In response to God’s comfort and promise, Isaac “built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD” (Gen. 26:25a). The psalmist declares, “I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD” (Ps. 116:17). 

Worship Involves Service
The prophet Zephaniah says there will be a day when all “may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord” (Zeph. 3:9). Worship includes serving the God we love and deem worthy of our adoration. 

Worship Begins at Salvation
We could have begun our discussion with this. Our first act of worship is calling on the Lord to save us. This implies that we trust in Jesus and turn from our sins. The prophet Joel said, “that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32). Paul reiterates that believers are “those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (1 Cor. 1:2). 

We have seen that those who first called on the name of the LORD built an altar and offered a sacrifice to God. The first sacrifice was made by God for Adam and Eve and will be made by God again at the cross. God the Son came to earth and took on flesh to be the one-time-for-all-time sacrifice for our sins. 

The Old Testament sacrifices served as a continual reminder that a perfect sacrifice was coming. The apostle Paul says that “Christ loved us and gave himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). The Old Testament sacrificial system is now obsolete. There is no need for it “since [Jesus] did this once for all when he offered up himself” (Heb. 7:27).

Jesus is the perfect sacrifice and, therefore, the object of our worship. Today, we don’t need to build an altar to worship. Rather, worship is an active demonstration of our love for God, an appropriate response to his Person, his work, and his Word. It is celebrating all that God is with all I have and all I am. We no longer offer sacrifices; we offer ourselves. The apostle Paul says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Rom. 12:1 NIV). 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD 
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on Genesis 4:26.

Talking to God: What would it look like this week to offer yourself as a “living sacrifice” in response to who God is and what he has done for you in Christ?

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SAVE THE DATE: Bible Immersion trip to Israel: November 4-14, 2026.