1. Definitions of worship - learning to worship lead becomes easier if we know what it is that we're leading. Why do we worship the way we do? What can the bible teach us about worship.

2. Practical tips for leading worship in the cell group.

1. Today, worship is synonymous with music. However, to the ancient Israelites, worship was not only expressed in music, it was more often expressed in the act of building an altar for sacrifices and offerings.

2. Leviticus and Deuteronomy are actually books of worship. They go into great detail how the Israelites were to express their difference from the other nations around them. God called them to "be holy, as I am holy." Set apart, reserved for a special purpose. Their lives were to be constantly filled with reminders of God's presence in their lives.

3. What this tells us is that worship is a lot more than what we do on Sundays mornings. It refers to how we live our daily lives, our behaviour, our attitudes, our actions. It means there is to be no dichotomy between spiritual and secular in our lives.

4. It can be said that all Christians worship - just badly or well.

5. Worship, therefore, is simply the expression of God's presence in our lives and our lives present in God.

1. The Presbyterian catechism - "What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever". The experience of worship is to be one of pleasure, for both God and humans.

2. God seeks worshippers in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). While we are often told to seek Him, we need to be reminded that God seeks us too.

3. God does not need us to carry out His will or to worship Him (Luke 19:40). But he chooses to do so to have fellowship with us.

4. Pleasing worship can move the heart of God. When Noah worshiped after the Flood, God promised never to wipe out all humanity in a flood again (Gen 8:20-22). A single act of worship was to have a huge beneficial effect afterwards.

5. God referred David a "man after His own heart" (1 Sam 13:13-14) No other OT personality was honoured with such a description. This was because of David's deep understanding and love of worship.

1. We tend to associate worship as a communal event rather than a personal one. Jesus himself however frequently withdrew to spend time in personal worship, and he recommended the same for us. He told believers to eschew public displays of devotion, but to treat our relationship with God as an intensely private thing. Worship begins from the inside, and expresses on the outside.

2. In his earlier life, Abram built an altar whenever God appeared to him (Gen 12:7). Whenever he had an encounter with the Lord, he worshipped in response.

3. In later times, this is not mentioned much. Possibly, Abram had shifted his attention to another precious thing in his life: his son Isaac.

4. God valued that encounter so much, that He had to ask Abram to face up to the two loves in his life and choose which was more important.

5. No one wrote more about the event of encountering God than David. For David, meeting with God was like a meeting of two people deeply in love. He fulfilled all the ritual requirements of the Law, yet he took it a step further.

6. David's worship was intimately linked with his circumstances. David found in worship his sustenance, his joy, his pain, and his reason for living.

7. 2 Sam 7:18-29 - The Lord refutes David's desire to build Him a house, saying instead that He will build David's house. This is an example of the close relationship that David enjoyed with his God. Psalm 27:4 - David desires to dwell in God's house all the days of his life.

8. The style of personal worship that David inaugurated - documented in the psalms became the foundation of Jewish and eventually Christian musical worship for nearly 3,000 years till the present day.

1. 2 Chr 20:21 - when King Jehoshaphat is confronted with imminent destruction by the Moabites and Ammonites, he decides to pursue a proactive faith. He places the musicians in front of the army to sing praises. As the people worship, it is the Lord who defeats the enemy without Judah having to do a thing.

2. Noah's single act of thanksgiving in worship had far-reaching benefits for the people after him - they would never again live under the threat of imminent destruction.

1. To the early Israelites, worship meant primarily one thing: building an altar for sacrifices and offerings. Worship could never be separated from its sacrificial nature, even today.

2. Our relationship is meaningful to God because to enter into it, we have to give up something of ourselves, like Abram.

3. We are no longer called to present burnt sacrifices and offerings. David makes it clear that it is not our physical possessions or our acts of service that God desires, but us (Ps 51:16). Paul that the very least we can do is to offer our lives as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1).

4. Matt 16:23-25. Jesus said that to be followers of Christ, one must die to oneself. If we don't die, we can never be filled with the spirit of Christ. The power of God to resurrect, to produce fruit a hundred times only comes when we willingly sacrifice ourselves.

5. The lives that we live are the supreme act of worship that we can give.

1. You can't lead where you haven't been yourself. If you worship lead, it's a good idea to spend some time in worship yourself. You must encounter God yourself if you want to lead other people to encounter Him.

2. The role of the worship leader is to lead the people into a time of intimacy with God, then get out of the way. Don't feel like you have to say something between each song a la Hosanna Integrity. Silence is a great way to spend time with God.

3. Worship from where you are. "Worship from where you are" story. What David understood was that God never intended the many OT rituals to become a cause of emotional detachment. David's poured out his soul to his God through his act of worship - it did not matter to him whether his state of mind was "appropriate" to approach God with. He did not believe in having an "attitude of piety". He came to God as he was, regardless of his emotional state.

4. Give room for the Holy Spirit to move in your worship. Don't rule out the fact that God will minister to people (including yourself) during the act of worship. You can adapt your worship to suit if you feel that God wants to move in a certain direction.

5. Know your congregation. A worship leader must know his/her congregation. Choose your songs with the congregation in mind. Too many new songs makes it difficult for them to worship, and re-using the same songs over and over can make it stale. Introduce 1, at most 2, new songs at a time. Keep introducing it to get it into the collective memory.

6. Use a variety of songs. Don't limit yourselves to songs from a particular era or group. Like in romance, variety is the spice. You can use hymns, liturgies, Hillsongs, Hosanna Integrity. Choose songs for their content, not just for musical soundness.

7. Explore themes. You can use your song list to highlight certain themes - The joy of the Lord, God's love, Christ's Sacrifice etc. Let the progression of songs say something meaningful to you.

1. Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is an important act - it takes our attention off the many distractions in our lives, and focuses on God as the giver of all the good in our lives. Paul tells us to give thanks in "everything" (1 Thes 5:18). That is, in all circumstances, good and bad (Hab. 3:17). When we make the decision to thank God despite bad circumstances, we proclaim His authority over even the bad situations, and give Him the opportunity to reverse it.

2. Praise. Praise is roughly equated in the charismatic church as rejoicing. Luke 10:21 says that Jesus "rejoiced in the Spirit" - the Greek word used has connotations of shouting and leaping in joy. Joyful worship is taken for granted in the OT. Wherever communal praise is mentioned, it is often depicted as a jubilant occasion rather than a quiet, meditative one. Making a decision to be uplifted and joyful is much more difficult than deciding to be quiet and meditative. But considering that Christ promised to be wherever two or three are gathered in His name, it qualifies to be an occasion to celebrate His love. Praise/fast songs are great for warming up the congregation, but they are also important as an expression. The worship leader is a visual encouragement for the congregation. Do encourage them to sing joyfully, to clap hands, to move freely.

3. Worship. Equated with personal, meditative worship. While important, it shouldn't be the sole aim of communal worship. Do include a time for quiet meditation, which is great for those who don't have the habit. Don't be afraid to sing the same chorus over and over again. You can use repeats as an opportunity to flow with what you feel the Spirit is leading.
   

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
It's all about You Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You Jesus