Psalm 150:6 NIVUK

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Colossians 3:17 NIVUK

This is one of the more common reasons (or excuses) that I hear from people who are struggling to worship God. Whatever it is, singing, dancing, playing an instrument or simply speaking out, some of us seem to think that we can’t connect with God via praise and worship unless we have a Britain’s-God-Talent-worthy skill to give back to Him. This is completely not true, and the fact that mankind was created to worship and commune with God, should tell us that we all have it within us. Most of us are able to move our lips and talk, so for us there’s no excuse not to sing either!

I want to now dispel the myth that worship is only something you can do by singing or dancing, or something you can only do in a church building. Praise and worship is a lifestyle. With a humble and righteous heart, we can worship God in everything we do, as long as our attitude, work ethic, and standards we strive for glorify Him.

That’s right, you can worship God at work by being diligent, meeting targets, working as a team, being submissive to authority (bearing in mind that God is the ultimate authority!), and going the extra mile to be kind and helpful to customers or clients.

You can worship God at home by upholding God’s principles, treating family members how the Word commands us, and providing a warm and hospitable environment for guests (including those we don’t like!)

In essence, living a Kingdom lifestyle – that is, living as a child of God with integrity, obeying His word, living in victory, and showing His love to all around us is what we’re put on earth to do. This is showing God that we put Him first. This is the true meaning of worship.

That doesn’t mean to say that church worship is pointless. The Bible specifically encourages the coming together of people in corporate worship. I know that some of us may find it uncomfortable at times, but we do it together to encourage one another to be free as we praise in one accord, and what’s more we get the benefit of seeing God move on a much bigger scale! We also build are faith as we see God move in other people’s lives.

Finally, for those of us who do have God-given giftings in music or other creative artforms, we have a responsibility (as with any other gift) to use them for the glory of God, and not for the glory of ourselves! Challenge yourself today to use everything you have for God’s glory, and nothing else!

“‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”   ‘But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”   ‘I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’”

Luke 18:10-14 NIVUK

The post I can’t… first appeared on Elim Church Leytonstone.

Luke 6:45 NIVUK

When we speak of true, sincere praise, we’re not talking about something which is forced or merely a show (for others’ or even our own benefit), but rather an overflow of the heart. This means you cannot really honour God properly while harbouring negative or bitter thoughts within, or by ruminating on other stresses or worries.

And it’s not just worship that requires an open attitude. In the same way, a good relationship with God and communion with the Spirit requires constant refreshing and renewing of the mind, which only God can bring.

Therefore, praise and worship must be an active choice in our daily lives. We need to seek God’s grace and mercies every day. We need to seek renewal from Him. We need to develop a closeness to Him that makes comunication with Him and worship of Him, effortless.

Sounds simple right? If only it always felt that easy! Typing this out is a lot more effortless than doing it sometimes.

So here’s what might help: did you know that sacrificial praise has the power to transform you? It can uplift you when you choose to let go of the negativity and let the presence of God in. And there, He can transform your heart.

Praise is a two-way street. Whilst we have responsibilities to ensure that we enter into praise with a humble sincere attitude, God promises that He will always inhabit our praises, and we know that where His presence dwells, there is the opportunity for growth and transformation.

Finally, sometimes we can have superficial or selfish motives when we worship God. It’s surprisingly easy to get carried away with the performance aspect of the act of worship (e.g. How good your singing voice is, your creative or artistic talents, or your own achievements) that we can forget the reason for it in the first place! Praise and worship must always be 100% about God. Nothing else. Yes, you can strive for excellence in it, but the moment that becomes your main focus, you need to recognise it and reconnect with God. Remember God listens to the quality of your heart, not the quality of your voice!

So I challenge you now, and every time you enter into a time of praise and worship: what is your heart full of? Is it full of me, me, me? Is it full of the world and all its negativity, or is it full of joy, gratitude and love? Let your mouth, mind and spirit speak of only these things when you glorify God.  And I really encourage you too seek out prayer if this is something you struggle with a lot, but start with the verse below.

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,  Lord , my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Psalm 19:14 NIVUK

The post What are you full of? first appeared on Elim Church Leytonstone.

This is an age-old problem isn’t it! And it just gets worse as our lives get busier and busier. Balancing our jobs and busy work life, hectic home and personal lives, the struggle to take time out to relax for ourselves, or meet up with people important to us, AND find time for God, delving into the Word and prayer, the concept of adding daily praise to our schedule seems like an impossible task!

Well I’m not going to try and convince you that it’s important – see my previous post! Instead, I want to give you a few extra reasons to try, and a few tips on how it can very easily be done.

1. Worshipping and exalting God is literally the reason for our existance. God made us firstloy and foremostly to have a relationship with Him – i.e. more important than say, TV, or social media, or the Internet, games, or even dare I say, money or your work. At the end of the day, everything we occupy ourselves with during the day amounts to nothing without God at the centre.
2. Praise makes you more efficient! Personally I have found that worship time with God is a valuable investment in all areas of my life. Praising God brings joy, and peace, and clarity of mind that I think makes us better at our work, and is a great opportunity to ask God to guide our steps that day.
3. Praise brings meaning to life. Through praise, we discover who we are, and who God is to us. He reveals His plans to us, and equips us to fulfil them. Doors are opened. Strongholds are broken. We can claim our victories through the act of praise!

So how can we do it better?

1. Build yourself a lifestyle of praise. This should be our ultimate goal, where we’re so God-centred that every spare thought turns back to praise. No preparation needed of our hearts or bodies. No music required. Try to practice a culture of praise in your life, and you’ll find it so much easier.
2. Seize every opportunity. Those boring journeys to or from work. Your coffee breaks. Waiting for dinner to cook. You’ll be suprised how much time of the day we’re just waiting or existing – and wasting! Try to give God the glory while waiting for the kettle to boil, or when you’re on the train. Try putting some Jesus music on in the car. Try building some devotional time into mealtimes. Be imaginitive; make God part of your routine.
3. Quality is better than quantity. Try not to get hung up on time and schedules. If you can stick to a certain time every day where you can actively seek God, then that’s great – keep it up! I know from personal experience, that it sometimes became for me more about the religious performance of having God-time, rather than actually making it meaningful. Empty time with God, where your heart is not in it, is frankly a waste of time, if you havent met with God or have something to take away from it. This is not right. Learn to wait on God. Make every time with Him special.

The post Finding Time first appeared on Elim Church Leytonstone.

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him”
Lamentations 3:25 NIVUK

Do you ever feel like you can be trying your best to sing and worship God, and at the end of it, you feel exactly the same as before? Do you struggle to understand why we worship God, or even what worship is in the first place?

God doesn’t need worship. He is Almighty and All-sufficient. Even though God created us to worship Him, He doesn’t require praise from people to increase His power. Whether you choose to sing or not on a Sunday won’t affect who He is. It does however affect who we are – in a big way. The fact that we are fundamentally worshippers at heart is evidenced by the fact that if we choose not to worship God, we end up, intentionally or unintentionally, worshipping other things. Worshipping means spending time with, honouring, glorifying. How often do we “worship” celebrities or TV shows? How often do we find ourselves worshipping our jobs or schoolwork by giving them a higher priority than God? We can also worship our friends if they become a common reason why we miss out on meeting with God.
We are worshippers. There’s no getting around it! And the first 2 commandments; “love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and soul” and “have no other God but the Lord” are the fundamental principles we need to live by. That doesn’t mean you should neglect the other parts of your life, but you need to be aware of who and what you are choosing to honour in your day-to-day life. If God is not first on the list, then I challenge you to re-examine your priorities. Because God offers us unconditional love and grace, so should our offering of worship be to Him.

So the point of worship is foremostly an act, or should I say, a continuous act of obedience and recognition of who we are as children of God. That should be reason enough!

However, God gives us so much more, and uses the opportunity of our worship to meet with us and impact our lives. When we say God ‘inhabits our praises’ we mean that He is present whenever we glorify Him. For those of us who live our lives as one big never-ending sacrifice is worship, He truly never leaves us. These are all promises founded in scripture. So we benefit from worship a lot more than God does! A single act of praise can change your life – and how much more will daily or continuous worship! Through praise, we are uplifted and empowered. We can offload our burdens, and celebrate with our ultimate friend. We find everlasting unparalleled companionship, as well as advisor and comforter. God can be all of these things and infinitely more to us, when we accept who we are as worshipper children of God, and act out of obedience and expectant faith. It’s not that difficult when you try, so give it a go!

The post What’s the Point? first appeared on Elim Church Leytonstone.

First of all, welcome, and thank you for taking a look at my new blog.

Having been a worship leader for several years, and part of the worship team for over half my life, it’s fair to say that it’s a calling that I feel God has firmly placed on my heart. I love it! I have found my most special moments with God have been during times of worshipping Him. I cannot speak enough of the joy that comes from connecting with God in this way.

However, I know that it’s sometimes not very easy to worship. For some of us, worship may seem like a daunting or confusing concept to understand. For others, the thought of singing in church may invoke feelings of anxiety, dread, apathy or boredom! I believe that these emotions are a lie of the enemy, trying to stop us from reaching our potential with God and becoming the people we were made to be.

My aim for these posts are to encourage you to develop your worship lifestyle, explore new realms of worship, and ultimately build a stronger connection with our Lord. I’m going to try and dispel some myths, provide some food for thought, and challenge you to take that next step of faith. I’d love to spark a conversation, so feel free to comment, ask questions, and continue the conversation.

I pray that God speaks to you through what is posted here, and I pray that Elim Leytonstone will become a family of true worshippers, eager to draw closer and closer to God!

God bless,

Dan Collins (Renewed Leader)

PS: I’d like to say a big thank you to my mum, Jan, who has always been my inspiration, and band members for challenging and supporting me – thanks especially to Lesley and Tope for all your hard work and contributions to this.

The post Welcome to the Worship Blog! first appeared on Elim Church Leytonstone.