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5 Proven Steps in Leading Worship for the First Time

Leading worship is not an easy task. It could be very overwhelming, especially if you’re just starting out as a worship leader in your church.

Here are five tips to help you lead worship well:

1. Prepare – Don’t just prepare for the worship set you’re leading. Build a lifestyle of worship. Develop your personal moments with God in worship.

2. Listen – Take time to listen to what the Lord is saying in the place of rest.

3. Practice – Master the songs well and rehearse with your band.

4. Coordinate – Coordinate with your pastor or worship service coordinator regarding the topic of the sermon and program flow.

5. Be authentic – Be real in your worship. Make sure you’re actually worshipping God and connecting with Him as you’re leading in worship.

If you want to dive deeper about these 5 tips, watch this video that I made a few years ago. (And don’t forget to subscribe in my Youtube channel!) It has now garnered more than one hundred thousand views on Youtube and it has helped a lot of people improve in leading worship. I hope this helps you as well.

 

Image by Edward Cisneros

 

Immersing in a New Culture

Immersing in a New Culture

Every time I travel to Singapore, my way of speaking automatically adapts to Singlish, the Singaporean way of speaking English, in a matter of days or even hours. I am amazed and surprised when I automatically say “la” at the end of my sentences, the way a typical Singaporean does. This is the power of immersion. Our brain automatically soaks up the culture that we’re immersed in, influencing and changing us.

When Jesus said his last words, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, I think he was not just talking about baptizing people like John the Baptist did. I believe he’s also saying that it’s important for us to baptize or immerse people in the name and identity of the Father, in the name and ways of the Son, and in the name and culture of the Holy Spirit.

We are transformed when we are immersed in the identity and ways of God. If you were given a chance to stay in heaven with the Heavenly Father for a few days, wouldn’t that change the way you speak? What about if Jesus were to hang out with you every single day for a month, wouldn’t that change how you behave? What if you get to have the Holy Spirit as your best friend, wouldn’t that change your schedule and your priorities?

Just think about all those possibilities. They can be your reality. Start immersing yourself in the reality of who God is today.

 

Image by Joshua Ang

 

Change Your Worship Posture

Change Your Worship Posture

Worship doesn’t start when we sing to God. It doesn’t start when we raise our hands up high in praise and adoration. It doesn’t start when we do something for Him. Well, worship doesn’t start with us. It starts with God.

Everything starts with God. He created all things, including us. Worship is our response to all that He has done for us. We worship Him because He is so good. We give Him thanks because we’re so grateful for all the things we receive from Him.

If you want to grow in worship then you need to grow in how you respond to God. And we respond better when we receive better.

Everything in God’s kingdom is to be received, not achieved. We must learn to become better receivers so we could steward well all that God gives to us. We’re so used to trying to work harder to achieve more. If this is our mindset when we worship God, then we’re missing the mark.

We need to change the posture of our hearts when we worship. Instead of trying to do something or trying to give something to God when we worship, why not try to receive first from Him. He already gave so much. Just open your heart and remember all that He has done. You will be amazed how effortless it is to worship God after all. When our focus is on receiving His love and not trying to love Him by our own strength, then loving Him back and worshiping Him will just be a natural response of who He is and what He has done for us.

 

Image by Giulia Bertelli

 

You are not Your Mistakes

You are not Your Mistakes

We all make mistakes. We fumble and fall. We slip up. But we are not our mistakes. And we are not defined by our sins.

Whether you believe it or not, you are special. You were created for a purpose. Your creator made you just the way you are for a reason. And you are His masterpiece.

You are not defined by what you do, but rather, what you do is defined by who you are. “But who am I, really?”, you may ask. You are who you think you are. Your identiy is defined by how you see yourself.

No one knows you better than the one who created you. If you really want to know who you were meant to be, then you need to look at your maker and you will see in His eyes your true reflection. Through His eyes of love, you will see your perfect reflection—the way God sees you. Nothing is more important than seeing yourself as God sees you.

 

Image by chuttersnap

 

Why Do We Sing to God?

Why Do We Sing to God?

Have you ever really thought about why God wants us to sing to Him? We get the point of why we need to pray and talk to Him. But singing, really?

There are more than 400 references in the Bible about singing and 50 direct commands to sing to the Lord. Singing must really be important to God. Well, He actually sings! In Zephaniah 3:17, it says that He rejoices over us with singing.

If our God sings, then we might as well sing because we want to become more like Him. But I think singing in worship should be more than something we need to do or we must do in order to please God. It’s something that we get to do because we love God.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God (Matthew 22:34-40). Loving Him is our response to Him loving us (1 John 4:10). This is what worship is all about. It’s our response to what He has done. We thank Him in response to His goodness. We sing for joy because He is good!

Singing is a way of expressing what we feel. And if we are to love God with every passion of our hearts, with all the energy of our being, and with every thought that is within us, then, by all means, let us sing to Him in worship as an expression of our love and devotion to Him.

 

Image by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen

 

Guest of Honor

Guest of Honor

The Holy Spirit is your guest of honor. But are you treating Him like one?

May we never become so familiar with the Holy Spirit to the point that we don’t honor Him any longer. Yes, He understands us and is very gentle to us. But this doesn’t mean that we can take Him for granted.

How are you treating your guest of honor today?

 

Image by Clark Gu