Worship

From the very first worship service I ever attended, in 1985, I have encountered the presence of God in praise and worship. Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. We can literally usher in the presence of God when we make the choice (and it is always a choice) to begin to worship Him. Amazing things happen in the presence of God! Bondages are broken, heaviness is lifted, discouragement and disillusionment are defeated, sadness is turned to joy, peace is given in place of turmoil, spiritual, psychological and physical healing takes place - all because when God is present, He will act in ways to bless His people.

Examples of God responding to worship are found throughout the Bible. Vast armies determined to destroy God's people were defeated when those people chose to worship God in the face of desperate circumstances. The walls of Jericho fell when the people of God raised up a shout to the Lord. The Shekinah Glory of God filled the Temple when the people lifted their voices in praise to God and sang, "He is good, and His love endures forever". Even the evil spirit that harassed King Saul had to cease activities and flee when God was being worshipped by David on the harp.

Amazing things happen when God's people worship Him in sprit and in truth, with all of their hearts, minds, souls and strength! I personally have seen many people rush to get saved when no one had even shared the gospel message - people were responding to the authentic worship that was taking place. I have also seen people receive physical healing as they worshipped before the Lord. My hearts cry is that we, as a church family, will be the type of people who will worship God so passionately, so purely, and so purposefully that He cannot help but respond by pouring out blessing after blessing after blessing! It is unto this goal that I offer myself each and every Sunday morning to lead this congregation into the throne room of God with song.

I want to offer a few thoughts that may help us build a better vision for the 'Wonder of Worship' in our church. Worship is a state of the heart, not a state of the art. What I mean by that is this: It should not matter if we are singing a hymn, an older chorus by Maranatha, Hosanna Integrity, a newer chorus by one of today's popular worship leaders, or a song written by a church member. It also should not matter if the musical style is classical, country, jazz or even rock. It further should not make a difference whether we have 20 people in a worship band playing many diverse instruments and having many vocal parts or if it is just one leader with a single instrument (or even NO instrument). Worship as a state of the art says, "If it isn't just the way I like it, I can't get into it". Worship as a state of the heart would say, "It's all about Jesus, and I will worship Him regardless of my personal preferences"

As one who is entrusted to lead this congregation into worship week in and week out, I want to make the following pledges to you. Firstly, while there are a lot of songs out there that are sung by a lot of churches, I will never select a song to sing in worship that does not directly worship God Himself. There are a lot of songs that sing about God, but I desire to sing love songs to Him. Secondly, recognizing that we are a diverse group of people who have different likes and dislikes, I endeavour each week to include a little something for everybody. I realize that some may find it easier to worship with a hymn than with a chorus, and others are more at ease with older worship songs, while still others are wanting worship music that sounds like modern top 40 radio play. I am more than comfortable worshipping Jesus with any and all of the above styles, and try to incorporate them into our worship times. My prayer is that we would experience a greater freedom in our worship, and a greater focus on the One we worship!