What is worship?
God wants two main things from us - that we treat him right, and that we treat everyone else right. These two things are what WORSHIP is all about. You might think that it is all about hymns, scripture, prayers and sermons - and you would be partly right - because these are the tings we do to prove that God is Number 1 in our lives. Hymns are sung thank-yous, scripture (the Bible) is God's guide book for us, prayers are chats with God, and sermons are Bible explanations and application. The rest of worship is about the rest of your life - keeping God in that No.1 spot every day and treating everyone else in the right way too.
Chatting with God: God created the world and everything in it, so he loves each one of us and wants to be part of our lives - and that includes hearing from us at the start of the day, or catching up at the end, or whenever we have something good to say, trouble to share or advice to ask. Prayer is our direct line with God - like a phone call. You don't need to kneel, close your eyes or fold your hands - but it may help you to focus. Thank God for everything he has given you; apologise for things you've done wrong (he'll forgive you if you mean it); tell him your needs, worries and cares - he wants to help - and he will. You are allowed to ask for yourself, for your friends and family, or for whole countries. Be honest, open, sincere and confident. Click on the links below for prayers from one of the oldest Church of Scotland prayer books:
Morning: Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Evening: Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Reading the Bible sounds complicated - but it is easier if you know where to start - and this site can help take you through it a little bit at a time. You can read from a paper copy using these instructions, or read online, or set up the site to send the readings direct to your email or dowload to your computer or phone. Scripture Union offers a more interactive daily reading and prayer programme and will help you to meet with God in fresh ways.
Meeting together is important because everyone in the Christian Family has a job to do - from making tea to leading the service and nobody can do everything. Everybody is equally important which means that you are valuable to us. At Downfield South Church, we meet on Sunday mornings, with a formal service lead by a Minister or Reader, starting at 10.15am (you'll need to be seated by 10:10am) and lasting for approximately 60 minutes. This service includes a choir which sit at the front right (while everyone else sits in pews facing forward), hymns which are accompanied by the organ, a special slot for the children aged 0-16(after which they leave for creche, Beginners, Sunday Club and Explorers) prayers and a sermon. We also meet for a reflective service on alternate Tuesday evenings (from October - April) at 6:45pm and lasting for 30 minutes, with music played on CD, the theme explained using photos, videos, stories and texts. Both services are open to the public.