Worship Central

Noel shares deeply from his own life and describes how it is possible to turn petition into praise, no matter what the circumstance we face. He reminds us too that children model this kind of faith, this simple-hearted praise: ‘Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger’ (Ps 8.2).

We begin by exploring the crucial theme of intimacy in worship. Worship enables and encourages an openness in our hearts to the heart of God. Kees Kraayenoord shares his own story of vulnerability before God and encourages us to do the same: ‘It takes the real you to step into intimacy with the Father. Not the “spiritual you”, the “you” you want people to believe you are.’

Lyn Weston from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity expertly leads us through themes such as worship and justice, and how worship must overflow into action, as well as offering some really practical guidance for being a fruitful Christian in our everyday life. She leaves us with the challenge: ‘What is happening in the 110 hours a week where we are not worshipping at church? How do we worship God in those places?’

Why come together to worship and sing? What does singing do? How is physical expression linked to worshipping together? How does worship foster a greater sense of community? Lou inspires us to come to corporate worship with faith and expectation: ‘as you lift your voice, as you declare truth again over your life, as you lay your worries before him, God will meet with you!’

We begin by opening the door on the ‘private’ space of our lives. How do we invest in our own personal devotion? What are some of the crucial tools to help us worship when no one is looking? In this episode, Graham encour- ages us to develop rhythms of worship in our day-to-day lives that will last a lifetime. He invites us to be ‘self-starters’, not depending on others to lead us but rather leading ourselves first and foremost to live authentic, sustained lives of worship.