WORSHIP
Worship is at the centre of Christian life. In Scripture, worship is the whole of our lives offered to God and shaped by God’s love. It is the story we live in, the posture of our hearts, and the way we seek to honour God in the everyday. Worship is broad and all-encompassing, touching work, relationships, rest, justice, prayer, silence, and more.
Within this wide vision, the church has always gathered to sing. For centuries, the people of God have lifted their voices together and made music together to praise, to lament, to remember, and to hope. Singing is not a side activity for Christians. It is one of the most powerful practices of spiritual formation, shaping our hearts, renewing our imaginations, and grounding us in the story of God’s kingdom.
When we gather and lift our voices, something profound happens. Singing engages our bodies, our emotions, our attention, and our desires. It draws us into God’s presence, it holds us in seasons of joy or sorrow, and it forms us as a community who belong to one another.
Sung worship helps us slow down and attend to God. It gives us language for the things we struggle to express. It roots us in God’s story when the world tells us many others. It strengthens our courage to love our neighbour, to pursue justice, and to embody hope. And it reminds us that we join a much larger worshipping family, from the great cloud of witnesses to the heavenly chorus that proclaims God’s holiness.
On this page you will find resources to help you explore sung worship as a spiritual practice.
TALKS
Our four-part series on Worship explores how singing forms us as apprentices of Jesus.
Worship as Counter-Formation
Worship as Presence, Connection and Expression
Worship as Mission: Becoming People of Love
Worship in the Dark: Lament, Hope and Courage
Missed any talks? All our talks are available as podcasts.
Catch up on talks here
Worship: An Adventure in Reality - A talk by Daena Dooley
In an age of entertainment & skepticism, where we have been culturally conditioned to simply consume, how do we cultivate biblical habits of worship? This talk is an exploration of public & private praise and the ways in which we experience an eternal reality through worship. It is a talk by a friend at a different church, but the talk is recommended.
Recommended reading
You Are What You Love - James K. A. Smith
A compelling look at worship as formation and the way habits shape our desires.
Transforming Worship - Rory Noland
Planning and leading Sunday Services as if Spiritual Formation mattered
The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse World - Sandra Maria Van Opstal
A powerful exploration of worship, culture, justice, and how the global body of Christ enriches our sung worship.
Ancient-Future Worship: Proclaiming and Enacting God’s Narrative - Robert Webber
A thoughtful exploration of how worship draws the church into God’s unfolding story. Webber invites readers to recover worship that is rooted in Scripture, rich in symbolism, and shaped by the practices of the historic and global church, helping communities proclaim and embody God’s narrative in contemporary life.