​From our Worship Pastor, John Talley:

Worship
In its simplest form we worship God by responding to Him. He created us to fellowship with and spend time with Him! He has and continues to initiate communication with us through His Word and His works. It’s up to us to respond, and we have opportunity to respond individually and corporately.
Individual response can and should happen daily. It happens intentionally through devotion, quiet times, Bible study and prayer. It can also happen as a part of daily life. We can worship and honor God through our work, striving to honor Him as we serve our employers and companies. We can worship through our play as we respond in God-honoring ways to competition and recreation. We can worship God through our responses to His beauty in creation by admiring and thanking Him for the sights and sounds of all creation. We can also worship Him through our reactions to adversity by responding with the inner and peace and joy that only He can give.
Corporate worship happens when we gather for the opportunity of honoring God. We have often made worship about us and what we receive from the hour of attending church, but worship is about and for God. It’s like attending a birthday party. When the cake is presented, everyone sings and most of the time the singing is followed by applause for that person. Worship is a lot like that! Our standard acts of worship include singing, clapping, raised hands, standing, praying, preaching/teaching and opportunities to respond. Biblical responses to God include those along with kneeling and even dancing!
When you attend “worship” this week, I challenge you and me to do what we do for God and in response to His goodness and love! Stand for Him. Sing to and for Him. Clap in response to Him. Pray to Him. Learn from Him. Respond to Him. The simple act of worship, responding to Him, includes a change in our heart AND LIFE to where we become more like Him.
See you Sunday in worship?
John