Worship Update

We're now six weeks in to the new 3 service structure. It seems to have flown by already! I think on the whole, the feedback that we've been getting so far has been overwhelmingly positive. There are clearly still some things that need ironing out, but it is an amazingly exciting time, and God is definitely leading us in an exciting direction!

Firstly, I want to pay tribute to our amazing team, and on behalf of the church, say such a massive thank you for all the hard work you've put in to making this happen. Chris and I are the most privileged worship leaders in the world! All the other worship leaders, musicians, PA and projector operators have been coming down to church from 3.30pm and staying through to 9.30pm, serving St George's in leading worship. Please do thank them for their commitment to worshiping God and serving the church.

This term we have seen two new worship leaders join the team. Kayla Weisman and James Tomba have both led worship in our church for the first time recently, and it is testament to what God is doing at St George's, that new, young, developing worship leaders are coming through. We praise God for their gifts and their heart for worship.

The Worship Ministry at St George's is centred on this vision: 'To know God, and make Him known.' We want to be people who are passionate about having the close, intimate relationship with God that is possible because of Jesus dying on the cross. And as we get to know Him more, so we will be changed more into His likeness. And when we see more of His greatness, we won't be able to help but spread the word about our amazing, glorious God.

However, this isn't exclusive to the people involved with leading worship. If we all got behind this as a blueprint for our lives, I can only dream about what might happen.

We all know that worship is about more than singing songs. But let's remember that our songs have such significance too. The Bible speaks a lot about singing, but why do we do it? Check out this link for more info. But let's remember that through singing we are encouraged in our faith. Our eyes, hearts and minds are enlightened to more of God's greatness, so that we cannot help but share what we experienced of Him. We need to be constantly mindful that worship is as much a part of mission, as mission is an expression of our worship.

We're also two weeks away from Easter. What an amazing time of year! We have so much to be thankful for, and so much to celebrate over the coming weeks. I pray that this would be a great time for us as a church, that we would all grow in the knowledge of God's love for us, that He would send His Son to die in our place, and be ever more inspired to respond with praise and thanksgiving for the wondrous message of the cross and the resurrection!

A song that you might find helpful at this time of year is a new song by Ben Cantelon called 'Saviour of the World'. It's a great song which unpacks who Jesus is and what He came to do. (You can download it from iTunes for just 79p!)

In our evening services, we have the chance to have some slightly more extended times of praise. I'd encourage us all to continue to develop an expectation and excitement to worship our amazing God as we prepare to come on a Sunday. Let's allow ourselves to respond to what God is doing in our lives with passion and growing intimacy, and as we come to know Jesus more by surrendering our lives and our will to Him, let's rejoice in the freedom that we have and celebrate the fact that we have 'counted ourselves dead to sin, and that we are alive to God in Jesus Christ' (Romans 6:11).

Sim Walker, 24/03/2010