1. Sunday morning Worship really begins as my family and I carefully choose our clothing for Sunday morning services. We have rarely attended churches with specific dress codes, however we strongly believe that it's appropriate to put on "good" clothes for going to church. For us this means no sweats, shirts with collars, and rarely shorts or blue jeans (only if they are quite nice ones, or if they are necessary for "costume" for a play or reporting on summer camp, etc.). As a woman I won't wear certain things that I feel are not appropriately modest for church (though I do prefer slacks!). Of course some families and churches may have standards which vary from ours, but it's the act of rising to meet SOME sort of standard that is the act of Worship imho.
2. When we arrive at church we try to "put on" the attitude of Worship as we leave our petty issues in the car and try to greet our church family with a smile and a word of joy or encouragement! Notice I did specify "petty"--for serious issues there is no better place than the house of God, so bring it!
3. Once we arrive in the sanctuary, (in most churches) music will start to announce that it is time to find your seats for the beginning of the formal service. I always try to think of the words if I recognize the song, because to me much of the worship of music is in the lyrics themselves, but if I don't know the song I will just enjoy the tune and try to quiet my spirit. (Any "special music" later would be similar to this--it's just passive listening to music, and preparing your heart and mind for what's coming next, but without any active participation.)
4. Our current church does announcements first thing, so we Worship God by celebrating various events and functions that the church family has coming up in the future. It's always exciting to me to see the different things going on and places where we can serve God, joyfully!!
5. Now we come to the song time. I personally receive the most enjoyment and depth of feeling from the classic hymns, though there are some modern "praise" songs I like very much also. :) For me the most worshipful songs are those with deep and meaningful lyrics. I also really enjoy those times when the people on the sound board turn the mics down (or off) on the music leaders (with or without dropping the instruments also), so that the congregation can get caught up with the wave of music around and behind us, all singing as "one body" together (especially when there are people singing in parts!).... love that. :)
6. Now that we're done working out some wiggles with music, it's time for the Reading of God's Word. I've been to churches where they make you stand up for this, but personally my preference is to sit (because I can concentrate on what it's saying better that way). But either way, I don't think anyone can deny that diving into the Word of the Living God is definitely a form of worship (provided you are focusing on what those words are saying, of course!).
7. Let's not forget worship in Prayer! Most churches pray several times throughout the service, of course, but what a joy and privilege an incredible power there is in speaking to the Creator of the Universe. It doesn't get any more Worshipful than that!!
8. And of course eventually we turn to the Worship of the Pastor or speaker sharing a message with us (or lecture, or sermon, or whatever you prefer to call it). Some sermons reach me better than others, of course, and I confess I'm also terrible about allowing my mind to wander some days. But it's still part of the total worship experience, and after the first 7 steps of preparation even if I'm not listening as well as I ought I'm at least contemplating things that relate to my God.
9. Closing Blessing. We pray and sing too, as most churches do, but those aspects of worship were already covered in #6 and #8 above. My current church adds a thing I really love--we all hold out our hands and receive God's Blessing in a farewell word from the Pastor (or special speaker). It's something my family all adores, and hope to find again when we move. :)
10. Child care. Yes, I see this as an act of Worship too, absolutely!! Some churches (like mine) dismiss the younger kids right after song time, so that the small children can learn to participate in (at least part of) church services right from the start. But smaller children and infants can't sit still or focus for messages yet, so providing appropriate care for them in another room allows them to relax and be themselves, and more importantly it allows the parents of such children to focus on the Bible reading and enjoy the message without being forced to divide their attention (which in my experience means 80% or more attention on the child!). Not everyone participates in this part of the Worship, of course, but I believe it is still a very important part for those who do--Service is worship too!!
11. Fellowship time. Of course we greeted several people when we first arrived, but after the official service is over, worship still continues as we have conversations with our church family. This is also often the time those serious needs and issues are shared, so we might pray for each other throughout the week. We check up on how people are doing, sign up for areas of service, and of course there's coffee... coffee is worship too, right? ;) (Ok, kidding on that one, but I do like having some available anyway LOL.)
12. Sunday School. I know not everyone attends, but if you do that exercise of learning together is absolutely still part of the worship experience. Sunday School is often where you get to have the most meaningful back-and-forth conversations with other Believers (on specific topics), and of course where there are Biblical lessons are designed for children at levels they can understand.
So, there's 12 different aspects of Sunday morning worship. And that doesn't even get into what happens the rest of the week--that's just Sunday morning through the end of services!! Notice that music is only 2 of the items. I love church music, and yes of course music can be an important part of Worship, no question. But the person in charge of music is imho better called Music Leader, UNLESS that person is in charge of setting the tone of the entire service, arranging the order of service, and taking charge over the entire Worship experience. Clearly this is not usually the case, and in fact many music leaders appear to simply choose their songs on a whim of their own preference, not bothering to consult the topic of the sermon, the announcements, or even the suitability of the music for congregational singing. And saying "ok it's worship time now" really puts me off center when I've already been worshipping for quite some time... I wonder where that person has been all morning, that s/he is just now joining the rest of us in Worship! ;)
