We believe that praise and worship are necessary, vital and extravagant acts of love towards God. It is the posture of the believer in submission to his Lord and Savior, willingly giving glory, honor and thanks to Him. Our relationship with the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ gives us this privilege, it involves each part of us; the use of spirit, soul and body in praise and worship.
Further, we believe that praise and worship are to be alive, vibrant and fresh. It is the Holy Spirit who inspires the believer into true worship and thus, true praise and worship will always be participatory - not a Christian spectator sport. The Word of God, the Bible, has much to say concerning praise and worship.
The use of the mouth in praise:
- O, sing unto the Lord a new song, (Ps 98:1).
- I will give thee thanks in the great congregation, (Ps 35:18).
- I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding, (I Cor 14:15 ).
- Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing, (Ps 126:2).
The use of hands in praise:
- I will lift up my hands in thy name, (Ps 63:4).
- Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord, (Ps 134:2).
- The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice, (Ps 141:2).
- Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands (I Tim 2:8).
The playing of musical instruments in praise:
- Praise the Lord with the harp, (Ps 33:2).
- Upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to thee, (Ps 44:9).
- Praise Him with trumpet sound, (Ps 150:3-5).
- Praise Him with harp and lyre, (Ps 150:3-5).
- Praise Him with timbrel and dancing, (Ps 150:3-5).
- Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe, (Ps 150:3-5).
- Praise Him with loud cymbals, (Ps 150:3-5).
- Praise Him with resounding cymbals, (Ps 150:3-5).
The use of dancing in praise and worship:
- Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing, (Ps 30:11).
- Let them praise His name in the dance, (Ps 149:3).
- Praise Him with the dance, (Ps 150:4).
- And David danced before the Lord with all his might, (II Sam 6:14 ).
Walking and leaping in praise:
- And he leaped up, stood, and walked, and he entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God, (Acts 3:8).
- David leaping and dancing before the Lord, (II Sam 6:16 ).
The posture of standing in praise and worship:
- You that stand in the house of the Lord, (Ps 135:2).
- Bless the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which stand by night in the house of the Lord, (Ps 134:1).
Bowing and kneeling in praise and worship:
- Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker, (Ps 95:6)
- I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Eph 3:14 ).
Periods of congregational/individual meditative silence in waiting upon the Lord:
- Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our God our maker, (Ps 95:6)
- I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Eph 3:14 ).