The Worship Ministry at First Baptist Ridgeland fuels the mission of the church—to glorify God as we make disciples of all nations.  When we come together in a worship gathering, we praise God for what He has done and is doing in our lives and the lives of others, we petition Him in prayer and hear His voice as we pray, and we learn God’s vision for our lives and how to follow His direction through the study of His Word.

Corporate worship is a rhythm of revelation and response.  That is, when we gather, we listen to revelation from God’s Word through music and teaching, and respond not only with our voices, but with our lives.  The Worship Ministry at First Baptist Church Ridgeland is dedicated to facilitating opportunities to worship and to respond to God’s Word.

Teaching on Worship Gathering

The five non-negotiables:

HUMILITY

• God is the absolute center of our worship.  Not only does God desire our worship, He deserves our worship.  In worship God draws us to Himself.  As believers, we want our lives to be so identified with Christ that God gets great glory through us both individually and as a Faith Family.

HONESTY

• God requires that we worship Him in spirit and in truth.  In a culture where appearances are everything, it is all too easy for us to redefine worship according to external circumstances.  We forget that God is more pleased with our purity than our professionalism.

Jesus defines worship according to internal circumstances through the reality of His presence and the response of our hearts.  In His grace we realize that Jesus desires to cover our sin and comfort us in sorrow.  Because of this we can then worship in spirit and in truth and come openly and honestly before the throne of grace.

CLARITY

• God has given us clear directives in His Word about worship.  The Word is to be primary in our worship.  Worship is a rhythm of revelation and response.  God reveals Himself through His Word and we respond to that revelation.  When the Word is absent in our worship our response is manufactured and the results are pleasing to us.  When the Word is apparent in our worship, our response is authentic and pleasing to God.

COMMUNITY

• As a Faith Family, our goal is to know Christ and become like Him.  We desire to worship God and bring Him glory personally through our every thought, action and attitude.  As a community of believers as we gather together for the purpose of worship.  We are not just individual worshipers; we are a community of faith.  As a community we die to our individualistic attitudes and we engage together in spiritual battle.

DIVERSITY

• There is one driving passion behind our worship; we desire the glory of God in Christ (Philippians 3:10).  We must get over the different styles of worship that divide the body of Christ and get lost in the love God has for every nation, tribe and people.  Worship reflects the unity and diversity of heaven.