Chris Tomlin - Holy Roar Bible Study Guide: Seven Words That Will Change the Way You Worship

A few years ago, a woman went on vacation with her family to a well-known theme park. One evening, they all decided to take a break from the heat and long lines and watch a stage version of the infamous movie-turned-musical The Lion King. Like everyone else around them, the family was enamored with the costumes and props, as well as the singing, acting, and dancing.

Near the end of the musical, when the new Lion King appeared on stage in celebration, the sold-out audience erupted in applause. Everyone stood to their feet, hands raised, dancing and singing along with the cast of characters in celebration of this beautiful story. At that moment, with her arms raised high, the woman heard a faint whisper: So you can raise your hands for the Lion King, but you cant raise your hands for the King of Kings?

As the crowd continued to cheer, the woman sat back down in her seat. You see, she had grown up in a well-meaning church, where the preference during worship was for the people in the pews to hold on to their hymnals instead of raising their hands in celebration. Lift your voice, not your hands was the subtle message the woman had heard and seen modelled by her fellow church-goers. Any sort of praise celebration was meant to be personal and internal... anything else was just too distracting to her fellow worshippers.

Perhaps you can relate. If you have spent your early years influenced by this mentality of praise, it can lead to you feeling uncomfortable with outward displays of emotion and enthusiasm. And, certainly, there are times when you should be silent, listening and reflecting on a message and expressing your praise in a quiet manner. As the apostle Paul instructed his churches, Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way (1 Corinthians 14:40).

But when we explore the Bibleand especially the worship practices in the Old Testamentwe also find people offering enthusiastic praises of passion to God. This should lead us to conclude there are times when God wants us to outwardly express the celebration we feel in our hearts as we consider his greatness and express our praise to him. As King Solomon wrote, There is a time for everything... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4, emphasis added).

In the book of Psalms, there are seven primary Hebrew words translated into English as praise. Each of these wordshalal, shabach, yadah, barak, tehillah, zamar, and towdahhave distinct, important, and praise-altering implications. This study is an attempt to share the depth of meaning found in those seven words as we explore them together.

We pray this study, and the accompanying book of the same name, become a resource to help you better understand just what it means when the Bible says, Praise the Lord! We hope it changes the way you worship and gives you permission to join in the practices of the praise. We pray it urges you to join in and become a part of the holy roar of Gods people.

Are you ready? Lets jump in.