Engaging Our Hearts and Minds in Worship




What makes a worship service great? Is it the music, the preaching, the lighting? Or is it something more?

According to the Book of Common Worship, “Worship is at the very heart of the church’s life. All that the church is and does is rooted in its worship. The community of faith, gathered in response to God’s call is formed in its worship. Worship is the principal influence that shapes our faith, and is the most visible way we express the faith. In worship, through Word and Sacrament, the church is sustained by the presence of Christ. “

When we come together to worship our Lord, we bring him our love and adoration through prayer, music, Scripture, the Sacraments, and the preaching of the Word. In the book of Revelation the host of Heaven worships him with great praise and declarations of His Glory, Majesty, and Power. We have the opportunity to gather together as one Body and offer him our worship with hearts fully focused on Him. In Psalm 22:3 the psalmist says that God's throne is the praise of his people. "Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel."

This past week I had the pleasure of sitting with the congregation during worship, and was thinking of these things when the service started. I found myself hoping for Christ to be present in the room and in my spirit as we moved through the songs and prayers. I thought about Christ singing our praises to the Father with us, and the Father hearing his perfect voice declaring our love and praise, and was reminded of the wonderful grace that covers our sins and allows us to freely sing before the Lord, and marveled that all of Heaven might be singing with us.

"To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God."
William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury

My heart is challenged to consider these things as I enter to worship this week. I pray that my mind and heart would both be engaged so that I might truly experience God’s holiness, truth, beauty, love, and purpose. May it be so for all of us.

Come, Let us Worship...

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under His care. (Ps. 95:6-7)

"God is not moved or impressed with our worship until our hearts are moved and impressed by Him." Kelly Sparks, worship leader, Raliegh, NC


Each week we meet together to worship our Lord and Creator. Sometimes the service is upbeat, other times reflective, but each time we strive to give our adoration, praise, and love to the Lord of All.

This blog is to help the worshipper at Orangewood know more about our planning process, the members of our team, and the thoughts and ideas we have as we craft each week’s service. We hope it will also serve to help the Body of Christ at Orangewood come expectantly into the house of God, hoping to experience the presence of the Lord in our midst as He inhabits our praise.

Because of God’s great love for us, we have the ability to honor and bless the Lord in our worship. Just as a loving child brings joy to a parent’s heart, so we can bring the gift of our love and worship to our Heavenly Father when we worship Him out of hearts filled with love and gratitude. He is with us and rejoices over us.

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

Be encouraged, He truly does sing over us.