How do you lead worship? The Holy Spirit, as counselor and as guide, directs the worship through the worship leader. The leader acts as a conduit through which the Holy Spirit can flow. The great part about it is that God uses ordinary people just like you and me. He directs the worship through the worship leader, and in turn the worship leader leads the people into the presence of God....

By the end of the first century, Christians had developed a clearly defined way of worshiping. The Church was growing fast and was becoming increasingly involved with the world beyond its Jewish roots. As it did so, it had to grapple with a stream of theoretical and practical questions....

What does it mean to praise the Lord? What place does praise have in our worship of God? Many have different answers....

Any program of worship education will need to have several areas of focus. The content of worship can be taught to children in some manner regardless of age. The preschooler experiencing the season of Advent, for instance, can feel the sense of expectation, sing some of the songs, and learn the names of the major characters in the Advent drama. Each time Advent is approached thereafter, new layers of understanding and participation can be added. We as Christians never outgrow our potential for perceiving new meaning during the Advent/Christmas season. The same is true for other worship concepts....

It is difficult to determine the style of biblical music. Recent studies and discoveries, however, are resulting in an improved picture and expanded understanding of music in ancient Israel....

Broadly speaking, the contemporary renewal of worship in the Western world can be classified as follows: (1) liturgical; (2) traditional Protestant; (3) creative; (4) charismatic; (5) praise-and-worship tradition; (6) convergence; (7) the seekers’ service/believers’ worship pattern....

The Dismissal consists of those acts of worship that send out people from the assembly to love and serve God and their neighbors in the world. It should retains the celebrative mood of the Eucharist and adds to it the sense of being sent forth. Like any meeting, whether formal or informal, the Dismissal contains acts of departure or going forth. So naturally, public worship, which has a beginning, must also have an ending....

The choosing of hymns relevant to worship requires thoughtful planning and creativity. Here are several principles of hymn selection and use that contribute to an enriched experience of worship....

A key to building a united worship team is to have a clearly defined statement. This entry suggests ways to go about developing such a statement, including planning a retreat for this purpose. Start beforehand by asking the right questions of your pastor. Determine what goals the team will have in your church, and work to define team values....

The Mennonite Church is heir to a radical Reformation understanding of the Lord’s Supper and baptism as ordinances, not sacraments. Mennonites, however, approach these ordinances with serious reverence because of their communal significance. Two dominant styles characterize the Mennonite approach to worship and these ordinances—charismatic and free form. The charismatic style emphasizes freedom of expression by worshipers and leaders. The free-form style emphasizes the use of a prototype of worship adapted for each week’s service....