Understanding Worship: Biblical Foundations for Delighting in and Feasting on God

by Sam Storms

Step into a deeper understanding of worship with Understanding Worship by pastor and scholar Sam Storms. Storms challenges conventional perceptions of worship, encouraging readers to approach God with a heart ready to receive all his goodness as we find our delight and satisfaction in God's love.

Through compelling biblical examples, Storms demonstrates how worship can lead to a profound experience of freedom and joy as you better

The demon-defeating, heart-healing power of praiseHow to worship without insulting GodThe contrast between new covenant and old covenant worshipThe place of money in worshipA Revelation vision of the throne of GodHow charismatic worship is similar and different from other types of worshipStorms includes several addendums and appendices as well that address tough topics like the wrath of God, the question of spontaneous baptism, and the question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

Genres: Christian

368 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

(Some early works written as C. Samuel Storms)

Sam has spent 39 years in ministry as a pastor, professor and author. He was visiting Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College from 2000-2004, and is currently Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. He has authored 22 books and founded Enjoying God Ministries. He's a graduate of The University of Oklahoma (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M) and The University of Texas (Ph.D.). He and his wife Ann have been married for 40 years and are the parents of two grown daughters and have four grandchildren. On a more personal level, Sam loves baseball, books, movies, and anything to do with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Reviews

[Jessi-Leigh Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stormsy’s my GUY when it comes to learning about how to marry my deep desire for a charismatic expression of faith and a thoroughly reformed theological view of scripture and the christian life. This book is no exception and inadvertently makes the argument that reformed christians should be the most charismatic individuals on the planet! The guts of this book is so rich with scripture that I found myself marvelling at the splendour and glory of God and praising Him for his instituting of christian worship and its benefits to the soul of the believer. I’ve often focussed too much on what I’m giving to God in worship, which upon reflection is actually nothing. I bring nothing to the table but my depraved but contrite heart. But God in His marvellous might and power gives us mercy and grace and hope for a life fully fulfilled in the person of Christ. A few spots were a bit contentious for me, particularly around his critique of comments made by other reformed theologians around a churches song choices and what churches should and shouldn’t permit in worship but I think he made a handful of robust points. He’s also making a critique of a critique of a critique so sometimes I think these dudes need to calm down a bit. Otherwise, FAR OUT this book was good! If this review isn’t convincing, stay for the appendix where Storms quotes a testimony from Jonathon Edwards’ wife Sarah getting absolutely nailed by the holy spirit for like 3 weeks straight.. Unreal. Our triune God is good.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biblical defense of understanding worship from a Reformed charismatic perspective. Written charitably, it challenges a more traditional Reformed understanding of worship. He takes seriously the practice of all the gifts of the Spirit, the importance of the affections of the heart and physical expressiveness in worship, and the planned as well as spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in worship. I would love for our church to continue growing together in this area.

Below is his definition of worship. I thought it was pretty comprehensive, and I appreciate how he keeps the distinction between the climax of worship— praise and thanksgiving —and the way worship is expressed in our lives lived before God.

"Worship begins with deep, biblical thoughts about God, robust and expansive truths about who he is and his greatness and glory, thoughts that in turn awaken passionate affections for God such as joy and gladness and delight and gratitude and admiration and love and fear and zeal and deep satisfaction in all that God is for us in Jesus. These in turn find expression in all of life, whether in singing or speaking or acting or the decisions we make or the way we live life in general." - Sam Storms

[Philip Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yea, overall I liked this. It's a welcome addition to Storm's "Understanding..." series that touches on some key aspects of corporate worship that—in my experience—evangelicals in my context of NZ are weak in: Christian Hedonism, the ordinary means of grace, the sacraments (including a Reformed view of the supper etc. etc.), giving. The defense of credo-baptism was good. The word study stuff was real good and worth another look at. I also liked his exploration of worship in the book of Revelation, and his unpacking of the Mount Zion passage in Hebrews 12. Storms is a Charismatic believer, which makes the book a unique contribution to the literature on worship. In my opinion, this aspect of Storm's approach strengthened and weakened the book. It strengthened it in that I think the book could be a real contribution to bridging the gap between Reformed Protestants and Charismatics/Pentecostals. Storms criticises the inadequacies of both groups in a way that I think brought clarity and understanding. I think he defended the best elements of Charismatic worship ably. I like that he interacted with Scott Aniol's interesting critique of Charismatic worship theology at the recent G3 Cessationist conference. It weakened it in that—in my opinion—some aspects of Charismatic worship that are curious and unnecessary (I'm being nice) were defended by Storms. For example, in Chapter 18, Storms responds to an article arguing that we should not use worship songs from theologically questionable churches. Some of his points were fair: It's impossible to completely avoid "supporting" things you don't agree with, at least indirectly. Some of the questionable lyrics are defensible (I think he demonstrated this well in the lyric "You didn't want heaven without us.") Some of the most celebrated Christian theologians and songs have skeletons in the closets, etc. etc. At the same time, I think the article had some good points that aren't so easily dismissed. I didn't think the defence of "Reckless Love" was as persuasive. Giving Bethel's music a pass because their statement of faith is technically orthodox falls into their trap. They are not dangerous because people are consuming their statement of faith. They are dangerous because what they are exporting and promoting goes far beyond what their statement of faith addresses. I'm not convinced by his argument about "spiritual songs" (though I'm open to being persuaded otherwise). I beg to differ with Storms on the regulative principle (though practically speaking I think we'd say a lot of the same things).

All in all, I really enjoyed this. At the very least, readers will come away from it thinking Sunday mornings through a whole lot more, and this would be a win.

[Samuel Springs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love a Sam Storms book. The section I found most illuminating was the last few chapters on “How Charismatic’s Worship.” Felt myself agreeing with most of what was said, and his interpretation of the meaning of “spiritual songs” in Ephesians 5 was interesting!

I do wish Sam had a slightly higher view on sacraments and liturgical participation. However, there’s a bit at the end where he is critical of the fact that much of the charismatic/non-denominational world is functionally gnostic, and he makes the point that a higher emphasis on the embodied nature of the sacraments would be good counter balance! I long for much of what Sam has articulated in the vision of worship.

This book fills out the charismatic worship elements that are spoken of in Andrew Wilson’s 10/10 “Spirit and Sacrament.” I am happy to be a Eucharismatic Christian!