Worship moves far beyond singing a song during a specific corporate time. At the most fundamental level, worship is a simple agreement with God about who God is. When we receive revelation of who God is, the most natural response is to worship Him through it. Worship is essential to who we are as the people of God, and its value in the corporate arena is significant.
For this reason, a large portion of our time on Sundays at River House is spent in corporate sung worship. Because worship is an agreement with the revelation of God that He Himself gives, our expression of worship can ebb and flow significantly from week to week. At times, our worship exudes celebration and joy, while others are more reverent as many kneel before Jesus in awe. Whatever the external expression looks like, the internal posture of our hearts remains one of purity and submission to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Below is a short description of four core practices that define our rhythm of worship at River House:
Thanksgiving and Adoration: The practice of thanksgiving (Psalm 100) and adoration will often be at the beginning of our times of worship. These practices help us set the focus and intention of our hearts and minds to worship Jesus in the midst of any circumstance or emotional state we find ourselves in.
Praise: Praise is a core practice of worship. Praise is the act of highly exalting God for who He is and what He has done. This takes place through many physical actions such as singing, kneeling, raising hands, dancing, silence, laughter- the truth is there are as many forms of praise as there are attributes of who God is.
Intercession: This practice of worship usually occurs after times of thanksgiving and praise, when, through receiving revelation from God, we intuitively start to understand His heart and thoughts toward a given situation. When this happens, we joyfully agree with God and pray for His will over the situation.
Worship at River House happens in the context of community- meaning we do not worship the Lord solely as individuals. We have been given the extraordinary gift of community, where we grow and learn together how to worship the Lord in a way that truly ministers to His heart (Psalm 134). Together we offer gratitude, together we adore Him, together we praise, and together we intercede. These gifts of worship actually minister to God and are beautiful expressions of worship, like incense rising before the throne of God (Psalm 141).