A call to worship is an invitation for the congregation to turn their attention toward God. It’s typically not intended to be a lengthy intellectual discourse but a summons. That is, unless you’re looking to invoke a particular tone or focus in a service like Good Friday or Christmas.
Powerful praise and worship verses can be used to address the congregation, or they can be spoken corporately. Here are the top 10 brief and emotive calls to worship from the Bible that you can use in your worship software.
10. Invitation from Psalm 3
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people!—Psalm 3:8
This is a perfect example of a call to worship. It’s simple, concise, and immediately reminds listeners that they’re gathered as God’s people. Drawing attention to the Lord’s salvation and the blessings that He liberally pours out upon His children immediately creates an atmosphere of worship.
9. Call to worship from Psalm 5
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in the fear of you.
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.—Psalm 5:7–8
This call to worship is a little on the longer side, but still effective. For an invitation of this length, it’s helpful to have your worship team play under it. You could show the passage with your church presentation software as the worship leader reads, or even simply show a fitting background for worship to help prepare the atmosphere. This will help draw the worshipers in and keep their attention as the call to worship is recited at your church gathering.
8. I will give thanks from Psalm 9
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.—Psalm 9:1–2
Obviously, the Psalms are a perfect source to use for calls to worship. After all, it is the Jewish hymnal, and it’s full of beautiful expressions of reverence. This is a perfect invitation for a worship response, especially if it transitions immediately into singing. There are many songs for worship that center around the theme of thanksgiving that would pair well with this call to worship.
7. Shout for joy! Psalm 66
Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.”—Psalm 66:1–4
If you’re planning on kicking off your church service with an upbeat worship song, this passage from Psalm 66 is a great place to start. It’s emphatic, powerful, and perfect for reminding the congregation of the greatness and worthiness of God.
Encourage your church media team to be creative with the backgrounds in the worship software they use. Worship backgrounds are an important piece of the puzzle that set the tone for a worship gathering. Also, upbeat praise and worship songs give the media team an opportunity to sing for joy and use fun motion backgrounds and creative slide designs.
6. Let us worship and bow down: Psalm 95
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!—Psalm 95:6
Brief but compelling, this call to worship is really on the nose. There’s no question what the congregation is being invited to do. It’s the simplicity of this call that makes it so powerful. It’s a good way to begin a worship service that will start slowly and build to an energetic finish.
When searching for bible verses about worship, this is a great place to start.
5. Make a joyful noise! Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.—Psalm 100
Here’s another longer call to worship that can be used in a number of ways, expressing joy to the Lord. You can call people to bless the Lord with the first stanza, and build the song choices around the other stanzas, introducing each song with the appropriate verses.
You could also have people in the congregation stand up and read a different stanza from their place in the sanctuary as a call to worship. Still backgrounds for worship are a great choice for when the congregation is reading scripture from the screens. Be sure to choose colors and fonts that are easy to read so that everyone can participate. (You can read some tips on great slide designs for worship HERE).
4. Great among the nations: Malachi
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.—Malachi 1:11
Here’s an intriguing take. In this one, the Lord calls His people to worship—and that worship becomes an avenue for making His name renowned among the nations. If you use this call to worship, you might even consider increasing its potency by lighting some incense in the sanctuary or using a hazer to simulate what the Israelite people experienced.
If you can’t have smoke in your church building, you can search for church motion graphics to be used in your worship software that will represent the concept on the MediaShout Media Store. This is another way to encourage your media team to be creative in using the features of your church presentation software.
3. Rest for your souls: Matthew 11
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.—Matthew 11:28–29
If you’re putting together a worship service with a more somber tone and reflective worship songs, this quote from Jesus is a strong call to worship. This invitation can be used to acknowledge the peace that comes from bringing your burdens to Jesus and resting in His unfailing love.
2. Draw near in confidence: Hebrews 4
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:14–16
One of the glories of the gospel is that—because of Jesus Christ—we all have access to the throne room of God. The invitation to confidently approach God and receive mercy and grace is what sets Christianity apart from any world religion. This call to worship reminds us of the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ who came and died for our sins to redeem us and restore us to the Father. We have the ultimate hope!
1. Divine invitation from Revelation 3
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.—Revelation 3:20
Highlighting the reciprocal nature of our worship, this invitation reminds worshipers that the Lord ministers to us as we minister before him. For congregants that have a hard time engaging in worship, this call alerts them to the fact that Jesus is waiting for us to reach out. This is perfect for including before a participatory worship song or a prayerful response time.
Finding your own calls to worship
Scripture is full of strong passages for leading people into worship. As you spend time in the Bible, pay attention to verses that can be used to inspire your congregation to worship God. Look for passages that talk about the bigness, goodness, and love of God and use them to kick off your worship service with participation from your congregation. If you are about to sing to the Lord, then search for Scripture that compliments it (hint: check back in Psalms).
Share your favorite calls to worship with us in the comments!
If you’re looking for ideas on how to end your gathering with a worship response from scripture, check out our list of scriptural benedictions!
Don’t have church presentation software yet, or thinking of upgrading? Get a FREE 14-day trial of MediaShout.
If you’re just dipping your toes into the water, you can even sign up for free webinars with an experienced church media technician to guide you through the possibilities when you implement software like MediaShout. You’ll be amazed at its powerful simplicity!
There’s also a call to worship that’s been used for the better part of two thousand years and also has the added bonus of reminding the faithful of their baptisms and the God who called them by name: “In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.”
Hello Bryan
It seems that the Call to Worship is a Scripture reading that intentionally calls peoples hearts to worship … come into His presence with praise and thanksgiving … come into our assembly and help our feeble hearts to love and adore You. Indeed the call to worship and the closing benediction might be thought of as book-ends around that precious time when we corporately come into God’s presence.
The trinitarian formulae that you suggest is a great Call to Worship, but would also be well suited to a doxology or a benediction spot.
I was pleasantly suprised by the non Psalm verses, as I didn’t think of them as a call to worship, especially Hebrews4:11.
Chuck,
You are right! We easily default to Psalms for scripture on Worship, but there are so many other great scripture that can be applied to our Worship Services (and of course our daily life). Thanks for reading and be blessed!
do you have one that relates to courage?
Hey David! We don’t have anything done for courage, but I’ll definitely add it to our list. Thanks and be blessed!
Joshua chapter 1:3-9 is one of my favorites. The same God then is the same God of the present. Ministering to our spirits.Working by His Blessed Holy Spirit.I was indeed blessed with these wonderful worship ideas. The Lord indeed led me to your article.
Joshua 1:7-8
Thanks, Charlotte, for sharing this scripture. That’s a great one!
I am working to build a new mindset in the local church I worship. This article fits my most desirous need.
Thanks for sharing it is good to give thanks to the Lord and to be in his presence.
My favorite is Joshua 1 v 9
Deut 31:6 Be strong. Take Courage. Don”t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; He won’t leave you.
Thanks for sharing these! I worship at the Upper Room Lutheran Orthodox Church in The Bronx, NY. We open every service with a reading and a reflection from the scheduled Psalm from our Lectionary. It really goes a long way to focusing our minds on Christ and contributing to a worship mind-set.
I am a Pastor and also familiar with Habakkuk 2:18-20, it gives an insight to christian about the worthlessness of the devil and his idols and reminds them to worship God’s presence and greatness
The call to worship psalm 100, what Bible version is that from?
Hello Connie, it is from ESV: English Standard Version 2016
All wonderful scriptures in approach to God. I particularly like the one taken from Hebrews 4fF
Fay – thanks for the comment. Hebrews has some great scripture that we often overlook. Thanks and be blessed!
I am familiar with some of the scriptures. They are all awesome and spirit filled. Great job for the compilation.
Michael,
Thank you for the feedback. Let us know if there is anything else we can do for you. Thanks and be blessed!
Thanks for the beautiful verse, i love all of it.
Psalm 47:1-2,6-7
Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth…
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm!
Matt,
This is also a great one! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for putting this together. I used one of it before our worship this morning and indeed God took over and honored his words. God bless
The LORD is in His only temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.
Kris,
This is a great one from Habakkuk 2:20 (ESV). Thanks for sharing!
thank you for Psalm 100. I am a worship leader at a methodist church in UK and once a year, at Christmas, I bring in a brass band and we have a really good sing using carols, prayers, bible readings, sketches, solos and funny songs. Children love 12 Days of Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and the adults enjoy Winter Wonderland. Its all about having a good time. Our normal congregation might be 18-24. On that day it numbers 70-80. We dont pass round the offering plate, we have a retiring collection.
Our pleasure! It’s always encouraging when we are able to bring the Love of God and Truth of His Word to more people during special days like this. We are praying for you and your congregation to be an impact in your community. Be blessed!
Can I get the verse when David said I have now grown but I have never seen the child of God defeated.please
Nhlanhla – I believe you are referring to Psalm 37:25 (ESV translation):
“I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for bread.”
As a note, I used http://www.biblegateway.com to search for the scripture and found it there. Blessings!
Psalms 37 v 25
I’m Bless to read these words that comes from the Bible , thank you so much for sharing,
Roslin – our pleasure! Blessings to you!
Psalm 34:8, 14
8 Taste and see that the Lord is Good….
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Can I get a verse that can be use under the theme ‘You must be ready’?
Thank you for all the work you are doing. Stay blessed.
Hey Grace,
Check out this quick search of New Testament scripture I found for “be ready”. There are some good ones here that may be what you are looking for:
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NLT&quicksearch=%22be+ready%22&begin=47&end=73
Please can I get some verses which shows that nothing impossible through God’s power??? By the way, today I will lead the service in my church and all these calling verses are so helpful to me. Am so blessed and thank for all your sharing
Happy to help! God is all-powerful and scripture shows that He can do ANYTHING, but he may not always do it (sometimes for reasons we may not even understand). Check out these verses:
Matthew 19:26
Mark 9:23
Mark 10:27
Mark 14:36
Thanks and be blessed!
I am new at leading my Church and these Call to Worship scriptures are so helpful for me. Thank you for sharing.
Gayle – our pleasure! We are happy to serve! Praying for you at your new role. Be blessed!
God richly bless you Aaron West and grant you deeper wisdom. Amen.
Thank you, Hannah!
It is an eye opeoner to read your call to worship as we usually refer mostly to the psalm but here other biblical passages are very relevant for call to worship.
The Lord inspired my heart to open up service with: Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
Romans 12:1-2 – 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. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
True worship is mind and body. Thank you for your studies.
Praise the Lord! Wonderful blog, brother. Thank you so much for writing this, I just listened to a beautiful urdu christian worship song with English subtitles, this is so beautiful and made my morning full of blessings and peace, Must Listen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV_fQuKr0pw
Thank you for sharing! I love the video. Every tribe and tongue will worship Jesus. Be blessed!
It would actually be nice to have those special occasion call to worship scriptures like you mentioned in the first paragraph. Great read. Thanks
Looking for passages of scripture to go along with this theme “Pray In These Unprecedented Times” Thank you