" Thou dost so excite [man] that to praise Thee is his joy. For Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless 'till they find their rest in Thee."
- St. Augustine of Hippo
But our God is the God of Love, and a God of Justice (as well as a lot more). Our response, as a result, can only be captured in the word "fear" . However, this is not the "fear" that comes as a result of watching one too many Wes Craven movies. This fear comes from a realization of who we are, who God is, and the difference between the two. Ultimately, it draws us closer to Christ as our God is also a God of Infinite Grace. Brothers and sisters, this is true worship.
Outside its abstracto-theological definition, worship manifests itself in many ways. Singing praises is one popular manifestation. Prayer is another (and arguably the most important). As such, we point you to resources that allow you to gain a deeper understanding of both.
To say the least, this site has a ton of helpful resources. Please give it a look!
Caritas
Catholic they may be, but helpful prayers do that have a bunch of, so give it a look! And yes, Catholics have beautiful prayers.
Oremus
Latin for "let us pray", this Anglican website is full of prayer ideas and even more than that.
International House of Prayer
The name's somewhat cheesy, but what's not cheesy is what it stands for. Some good resources are availabe, but you need to look somewhat hard. Dr. Sam Storms is here.
Written by Eric Norregaard, MA (Wheaton College), every WCAC member involved with a worship team should read this so they know what the purpose of worship at WCAC is. A very good introduction to what theology of worship is, and also important to see how worship goes beyond simply singing songs we just like.
Consider Christian Worship
Written by Ellen T. Charry, PhD (Temple University), this is a theologico-ecclesiastical introduction to the issue. May be difficult for high school or below, but give it a try!
Biblical Principles of Worship in Music
Written by Alan Ingalls, ThD (Dallas Theological Seminary), this is a good and well-organized paper about... you guessed it... biblical principles! Some of his criticisms of songs are surprising.
Names of God in the Old Testament
Written by Andrew Hill, PhD (U Michigan), who is a great guy attending Blanchard Alliance (Wheaton), this is a great summary of the many facets of God for you who wonder why songs like "Madly" don't make the first cut.
Essentials of Biblical Worship
Written by Larry Ellis, MWS (Inst. Worship Studies), this is a good "rebuke", if you will, to those who think of worship as just the part of the service where we sing praise songs.
Lead Worship Change, not Worship War
Written by Joan Huyser-Honig, this is good to simmer disagreements between the "traditional faction" and the "contemporary faction" of the worship wars.
The Reformed Presbyterian Synthesis of their Theology of Worship
We may not be reformed Presbyterians, but their syntheses of worship is worth a read. Pretty deep though.
Worship as Habits of Ritual and Social Action
This seminary paper is an interesting look at how one pastor did worship at his church and what he learned in the process.