How We Worship

We still sing out of hymn books; songs like Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, and Joy to the World are cherished songs because they are timeless. Music in church should have the focus being on God, not on self. The songs we sing out of the hymn book focus on the timeless truths rooted in the Word of God. 

Don't worry if you feel you can't sing good enough, Psalm 100:1 says, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord..." God doesn't care if you can sing well or not, He just wants you to sing to Him with your whole heart. 

"And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." - Matthew 26:30

"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;" - Ephesians 5:19

The word "psalm" comes from a Greek word meaning "song" and Psalms are a collection of 150 individual sacred songs and poems written by various authors across Israel's history, most notably King David. God inspired these men to write Psalms to provide a way for us to reflect and express our hearts to Him. Psalms serve as prayers, expressing deep human emotions, like love, joy, peace, sorrow, betrayal, and guilt.

When we read a Psalm during the services, all stand for the reading of God's Word, the pastor then reads a verse, and the congregation reads the next verse with him. We do this so that the congregation in engaged in the service of the Lord. When we're involved in not only hearing His Word, but speaking His Word, truths in the Bible make a greater impact in our minds and hearts. After the Psalm, or section of a Psalm, is finished, we pray over the truth and bow in worship to Him. 

Worship means to voluntarily humble/prostrate oneself before a person to attribute their worth. A worship service would have to include a time of worship (bowing) before God in order to be truthfully called a “worship service.” When we bow before the Lord, it affects us at a psychological level because we voluntarily put ourselves in a state of vulnerability. We're indicating to the One to Whom we bow, it to be ascribed worth and trust. 

During this time, we shift focus from ourselves to the One Who gave us every good gift. In this time of worship, everyone personally prays to God: we try our best not to bring a list of requests for what we want God to do for us, we give thanks for what He has done for us, and we praise Him for Who He is. 

According to Nehemiah 8:1-12, one of the biblical patterns for a public service is this: the people assembled (V1), based on the “Book”(V2), God’s man and assistants lead the public assembly from the pulpit (V4), God’s people stand in honor of His Word (V5), the leader blesses God, who is the object of honor and worship (V6), the people lift their hands and bow to worship Him (V6), a preaching service of proclamation, interpretation, and application (V8), invitation (V9), and benediction (V10). 

We strive to preach the whole Bible, no matter how hard or socially unacceptable it may be. Truth doesn't change, neither does God or His Word. If God says something, that settles it, it doesn't matter if we agree with it or not. We preach firmly, but in love, wanting others to hear how much God's Word impacts every aspect of life. When you come to our services, you may hear about what God says about how to know 100% we're on our way to Heaven when we die, what God says about how to be free from addiction, or what God says about the meaning of life. 

We preach out of the King James Version of the Bible. Some people prefer the 1611 text, but most "KJV" Bibles you encounter today are based on the 1769 version, which fixed some printing errors and updated spelling and punctuation, all while maintaining the original wording. Though it can be a tougher read than other translations, it has been labeled as the "gold standard" of English translations of the Bible. More information about why we use the KJV will be coming to our website soon.

After the preaching, we have a time where we invite people to reflect on what we have heard, pray to God, get right with Him. The praying is done in silence, out of respect for others, but people are encouraged to come forward to talk to the preacher if they want to know how to be saved. 

In our western culture, we dress for the occasion, and dress up for the things that are very important to us. If we're going to a job interview, we don't show up in a tank-top and shorts; if we're invited to a child's violin recital, we'd expect people to dress appropriately and not indecently; if we're invited to meet the Governor or the President, we wouldn't want to show up in sweats. 

When we come together as a church, we come together before the Lord our God. We ought to dress in a way that doesn't draw attention to ourselves, but in a way that shows reverence and respect for Him. If the best you can do is jeans and a button up, just know God sees your heart and still wants you to come before Him. Don't let your clothing stop you from coming to our services, it's better that come as you are but leave with your heart different than how you came.