The music starts, the lights come up, and the singing begins. Whether on stage or in the crowd, it is a time of coming together to give God glory and remind our hearts of truth.
Worship refreshes our souls and reminds us of His love for us. It exposes our need for constant dependence on God and creates a perspective that is rooted in hope. Worshipping the living God brings life.
Awaken Worship, the music ministry at Southeast, loves coming together with the congregation to worship God. However, the amount of time spent at church each week worshipping through song is relatively short, and there is much more to worship than the songs that are sung at a service.
Each member of Awaken Worship—from the singers and musicians on stage to those offering support behind the scenes—spends time individually and collectively preparing.
“As a worship team at each campus, we take time to rehearse the music, of course, but we also take time to have a meal together. We have team prayer and devotional time. We take communion together. We pray for each other and listen about the things going on in our lives,” said Sara Rodriguez, a member of Awaken Worship.
“One of the greatest things I have learned about choosing to live in proximity like this," Sara added, "whether it be in a particular ministry or just in life, having people around me that are seeking the Lord is one of the greatest ways to come back to Him when I have lost my way.”
Individual time with the Lord is a must. Reading and studying the Bible, along with prayer, repentance, time in God’s presence, and meditating on who He is, are all important. Intimately knowing the God who we worship not only opens us to be changed by Him, but it is the very thing that keeps us connected to Him.
In John 15, Jesus teaches that He is the Vine and we are the branches. He talks about the importance of abiding in Him and bearing good fruit. There is always fruit produced from walking with the Lord and with others who are doing the same.
Galatians 5 tells us of the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These all require the work of the Holy Spirit and living in connection to the living God. Growing in these together and worshiping the Lord for the very work that He does in us, for the very fact that He is all of these things, opens our hearts to worship.
We are to take time to be in God’s presence, study the Bible, pray, and walk with and carry each other’s burdens. As we sing with one another during a worship service, we are to do so from a place of knowing who God is and what He has done for us. He is worthy of it, and in our surrender we will grow more and more as branches connected to the Vine that bear good fruit.
Click here to discover music from Awaken Worship
to encourage you in your walk with Jesus.