A Community That Worships Together

by Sylvia Gaston

Two weeks ago, our church was part of an amazing community-wide worship experience held in the heart of the city at Hanford’s Civic Park. Several individuals from throughout Kings County, representing different churches or no church at all, came together for the 2nd Annual Kings Worship Night.

I was personally blessed to witness over 2,000 people attend this free event and worship God together. A few reasons for my blessedness was because I saw:

1. Several worship teams and choirs from different churches used their talents and different styles to worship the one and only God.

It took hours of meetings, rehearsals, promotion, and prayer to make this event happen. I was blessed to know that, despite our different church denominations, styles, and size, we really are ONE church…a church that loves and worships the one God that restores all.

“…then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” – Philippians 2:2 (NIV)

2. Hundreds of families, young and old alike, came together for an evening of praise, worship, and food on a beautiful night under the stars.

The evening was full of peace, joy, smiles and singing in a safe and secure atmosphere. I witnessed no judgment of the various expressions of freedom - from sitting to standing, from clapping to shouting, from observing to dancing. All types of different people were celebrating God and paying attention to one another.

Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’ –Matthew 22:37-39 (ERV)

3. I was captured by what our entire community could look like – neighborhoods of people that worship and pray together despite our vast differences in age, color, gender, and status. All of us the same in our daily challenges, love for our families and desires for a healthy and prosperous life.

“I urge you, my brothers and sisters, for the sake of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree to live in unity with one another and put to rest any division that attempts to tear you apart. Be restored as one united body living in perfect harmony. Form a consistent choreography among yourselves, having a common perspective with shared values.” -1 Corinthians 1:10 (TPT)

There in the heart of our town, with strangers and family, I experienced closeness, comradery, friendship, and agreement. That is the hometown I desire, contend for and pray for. With our differences and similarities, coming together as a community that worships together. I saw a glimpse of it that night. It was a beautiful thing.

Thank you, every one of you, who were there and who made this happen. It blessed me with a stirring insight of what our neighborhoods can be. More importantly, TYJ! (thank you, Jesus)!

Keeping It Wild

by Candace Cortez

One of my favorite things about God is that He never runs out of ideas. Looking at the faces of people as they pass by me in a store or on a street, I am amazed that God has it in Him to design, create, mold, each set of eyes, each different shaped head, and each heart full of layers we can’t fully grasp even within ourselves. God is a wonderous creator. In the unique way we were created, I believe each believer has a specific gifting that delights God when it is used in worship. I believe there is a way that I can worship Him, that nobody else can, and it is delightful to God, while simultaneously I can sing with the angels who will sing “Holy Holy Holy” for eternity. I believe God hears and loves all of those voices. I believe you have something to give to Him that is different, specific, and a sweet aroma to Him. The thing that unifies us, believer and non-believer, is that we were made to glorify Him.

Even though I know and believe all of that, after following the Lord for a while, it’s possible to find yourself in a spiritual rut. Numerous times, I have experienced a distance from God’s perceivable presence, even though I was doing all of my normal prayer, worship, and Bible reading times. This always brings at least an eyelash worth of doubt: is this all real? Is God there? Does it matter?

This morning I read the story of King David in the Bible, in 2 Samuel 6, when the ark of the Lord was on the way back into the City of David. David was so thrilled to have the presence of God back in his camp that he worshiped, danced, praised until his robes fell off. There was no other time in scripture that describes David’s worship exactly like this. There were times he sang, there were recorded times of playing instruments. There were examples of obedience and times of humbled repentance. I believe this dance is an example of how David kept it wild. He did not allow his worship style, habits, or timing to be solely dictated by past experiences, present pressures, or hopes for his own advancement. The recorded nature of David’s praise to God is dynamic, mirroring the dynamics of God Himself.

God has it in Him to listen to the same song on repeat by the angels and make billions upon billions of different faces and spirits. Yes, sing the songs you know and love, but also, take time to intentionally breathe creativity into the ways, postures, and places you give honor and praise to the Lord. Keep it wild! This will not only add some fun to your walk with the Lord, but you will also keep from getting too deep in the rut. Staying out of the rut will combat the doubts and lies of the enemy that sneak in during distant times.

I’m not an expert, but here are some ways to switch it up, if your creative worship wheels are rutted too deep to begin. 

• Read the Bible outside (Preferably with a view! Hello, mountains! God likes long walks on the beach.) to give a backdrop to the One who made it all.
• Gather a few friends and sing some songs, pray for each other, and ask some of the more challenging faith questions you’ve had rolling around in your heart.
• Turn off your phone! Spend a crazy amount of time listening, reading, and writing the things God does when the distraction count is significantly lower.
• Go to a store with a monetary gift, and pray for someone to bless in Jesus name.
• Write down your personal testimony. Sometimes we need to think about all the things God has done and actually write those things down!
• Make something! Anything! God is an artist and likes when we act like Him. This can be a blanket, a painting, a cake, or a plan.

It’s ok to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone, or even our talent zones. Just because you are not talented in a specific way to worship, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it out. The author of 2 Samuel didn’t tell us that David danced well, we read that he danced with all his might. Stay engaged. Remain faithful. Keep it wild!