On Worship - why should I?

Thoughts on worshipping Jesus, God of Heaven and Earth, the King of kings, and Lord of lords:

What is worship? It is loving Jesus with all our heart, mind, strength, and soul; it is complete submission of our nature to God. It's something that comes from the heart, and is shown by the things we say, think, do, every day of our lives. It is something that God can't make us do, but if we truly love Him, it will be easy to do, and the more we do it, the more we'll want to do it!

To really love Him, though, we begin by learning as much as we can about Him. We learn about His past, what He's done, what He's said, what He likes and doesn't like, what makes Him happy and what makes Him sad. Where do we find this stuff out?? Glad you asked! In the Bible, of course! Just for your info, God used many different authors over hundreds of years to write this "letter" to us, so we could know Him! And even though this was written with so many authors over such a long time, all the "books" can be proven that they were written by One Author! He wants us to know Him so we can love Him. He has so much He wants to share with us!

Now, once we know about Him, you'll want to know Him. The best way to make this happen, is to talk to Him. What better/easier way to get to know anyone? You can talk to Him as if He's right beside you. Tell Him anything you want. Tell Him you're happy, you're sad, you're mad, you did something wrong/bad, you think He should do things differently, you need help, you're stuck, you don't like something. Whatever!!! He just wants to hear from you! He isn't gonna be mad at you, or ashamed of you, or punish you, or be shocked and disappointed about anything you might tell Him - He already knows everything about you! Go ahead! Try it! Have a nice long talk with Him! and you don't have to be all formal - He was a human just as you are.

After you've had your little (or long) talk with Him, trust that He heard you. Anyone who seeks Him will find Him - that's a promise in the Bible. Talk to Him everyday, all day if you want to. The more you talk to Him, the more you'll know Him. The more you know Him, the more you'll love Him- and this is what leads to worship! True Worship will bring you a sense of awe- knowing that the Creator of heaven and earth, the Lord that is above all lords, has come into your presence and has listened with an attentive ear to what you had to say! It will bring such a joy that you may cry actual tears! Don't stop here! Begin to tell Him thank you, and tell Him how awesome you think He is. Tell Him how thankful you are that He has considered you "worthy" of His notice. He Is an awesome God!! You will begin to speak in tongues, sounding as a baby who babbles as he is learning to talk. Don't be afraid of this! Keep on talking as long as you can! This is a sign of Jesus filling you with the Holy Ghost! It is an awesome, life-changing experience! You can read about people in the Bible who received the Holy Ghost by going to the book of Acts - this is in the New Testament, after Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read the whole book of Acts - it tells of how God was moving then and changing lives. He is still moving and changing lives today! Acts was written by Luke who was a physician in his day, so if you want continuity, begin by reading Luke, which is about Jesus' earthly ministry and his death, burial and resurrection, then go to Acts, which continues from the resurrection and to His ministry afterwards.

So, what got me on this? At my church, my Pastor recently preached a sermon on worship, and it has made such an impact on me that my thinking has been changed. To sum up his message:
4 expectations of worship:
1) We can expect God's presence anytime we truly worship
2) we will see ourselves as we truly are - sins and all
3) we can expect to be reminded of his grace (He gives us what we don't deserve )
4) we will be inspired to serve (what can I do for You, Lord?)
Worship will change us!
Worship is an encounter with Jesus!
Why go through the motions of going to church, if we don't "connect" with the One we came here for?? hmmmm?