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Last Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were driving home after church, and the car was unusually quiet. No music. No YouTube. No podcast. Just silence, especially because here in the States people don’t usually use their horns when driving, unlike in my country (wink, wink). After a few minutes, I remembered one of the phrases of the preacher, “if you're singing words about God, but your mind is elsewhere, you're taking his name in vain.” That simple sentence stuck with me all day. It described something I felt but hadn’t yet put into words.

The sermon reminded me that worship is not just background music to life; it is the reason we exist. Psalm 96 does not gently suggest worship; it commands it. “Sing to the Lord” is repeated three times in verses 1 and 2. Why? Not because God enjoys repetition, but because our hearts are so prone to wander. God deserves praise because He is great, and He is greatly to be praised.

What especially stayed with me was the reminder that worship requires thought. It made me think about family worship, prayers before meals, and even private moments with God. Am I getting ready to teach my family that worship is something we do, or something we mean?

Psalm 96 also stretches worship beyond the walls of the church and the boundaries of faith. God deserves praise not only from His people, but from all people. That makes this psalm a missionary psalm. Evangelism is not just about rescuing sinners, though it certainly includes that; it is about calling people away from empty idols (false gods) and toward the true God who alone is worthy. Worship and witness are similar ideas in the Scriptures.

The last three verses of the psalm are also important. God deserves praise not only from humanity but from all creation. We live in a world that has been affected by sin and is groaning. But the promise that God will judge with righteousness and restore what sin has broken is comforting. Creation itself is groaning, but not forever.

This passage has left me asking honest questions of my own heart. Do I worship with understanding? Do I model thoughtful praise in my daily life? Is my example teaching others what true worship is?

May our praise today prepare us for the day when all people and all creation will join together and declare, “Praise the Lord, for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.”