WORSHIP
While many of the spiritual disciplines are practiced privately, worship is often a corporate act. It is our natural reaction to God’s goodness, our way of responding to God’s love.

Worship often occurs in a community of believers where there is great love for one another. This provides a rich background for the worship of God.  As we learn to live with and accept each other, we form bonds that can deepen our experience of worship.

Many times, we are tempted to think of attending a worship service with the goal of “recharging” our spiritual batteries. We go to church, we watch the participants as if they are performing for us. We might even rate their presentation based on fluency, content or musical quality. Worship becomes a spectator sport, something we go and watch.

A more helpful paradigm, however, is to think of ourselves as the performers and God as the audience of one. As we participate in worship through music and prayer, we might imagine ourselves standing, along with our church family, on a huge stage--performing for God on His throne. This changes the focus from receiving to giving and can completely revitalize our worship experience.

Tips on Worship:

• Cultivate a private daily worship. This will place you in the habit of praising God and listening to His voice and prepare you for public worship.
• Participate in many types of worship experiences. Gather with a group of friends and experiment with ways to worship God.
• When going to church, prepare your heart by arriving early and praying for God’s Spirit to be present in you.
• Absorb distractions. If children are making noise, pray a blessing on them. If someone up front is stumbling over their words, pray that God will bless others through them.
• Develop a discipline of worship—even if you do not feel particularly full of praise.