Calvary Christian Church believes that "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24) We believe that the Bible is the infallible revelation of God's ways to mankind. Therefore, if we are to worship in spirit and in truth, we must pattern our worship after the Scriptures and not our personal traditions.

It is very possible that our worship service will be different than many others you have attended. We are often asked by visitors to explain, from a Scriptural standpoint, some of the practices they have observed in our services. Our purpose in presenting this page is to introduce you to the Biblical basis for what we do. We seek to be led by the Holy Spirit each time we meet together; consequently, not every service is the same. Therefore, you may not observe all the different aspects of worship that we explain, but we want to answer the most common questions.

1. Why do we clap hands and shout praises?
The Scripture clearly teaches that the clapping of our hands is an expression of worship to our great God and King. The Bible says, "Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!" Psalm 47:1 (RSV). Clapping of the hands is a universal expression of praise and joy. It is used extensively to express adulation, appreciation, praise, delight, approval, recognition and joy. We display it in everything from concerts to basketball games. We believe that if there is a valid reason for clapping, it is because we want to honor our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through
obedience to His Word. We are told in Psalm 32:11 (NKJV), "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!"

2. Why do we lift our hands?
The Apostle Paul said, "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." (1 Timothy 2:8). The lifting of hands expresses various things. It reveals hunger and desire for the Lord; "I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land." (Psalm 143:6). It is an act of worship, "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord." (Psalm 134:2). It is a universal expression of surrender. Also, like clapping, it is used throughout public gatherings to express joy, praise, adulation, approval and delight. Whatever it may mean to each individual as they lift their hands, it is an expression of worship that is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments.

3. Why are the song services so lengthy?
We emphasize singing and worship because it delights the Lord and causes His Presence to draw near. As we praise the Lord our hearts are prepared to hear His Word. Worship is not a spectator activity, but an activity that all should collectively participate in. Psalm 69:30-32 (NKJV) says, "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord...The humble shall see this and be glad." Psalm 22:3 in the King James Version declares, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." The New King James Version renders this verse, "But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel." Psalm 47:6-7 (NKJV) commands us, "Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding."

4. What are the different kinds of songs we sing?
Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:19 (NKJV) "Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." We practice all three types of singing that are mentioned in these verses.
Psalms – Psalms are verses directly from the Scriptures. The Psalms were the songbook for Israel and have always been sung by God's people throughout history.
Hymns – Hymns are songs written by godly people. They are not divinely inspired as the Scriptures are but have been recognized as anointed by the Holy Spirit, and are therefore spiritually edifying. Jesus sang hymns with His disciples according to Matthew 26:30.
Spiritual Songs – The third type of singing mentioned is spiritual songs. This may be the first time you have ever been exposed to this expression of Biblical worship. Please remember that many things which are unfamiliar to our past spiritual experience may at first seem confusing. Pause a moment and notice that there is a glorious harmony of hearts and voices that are glorifying the Name of Jesus together. In the Scripture, this manifestation of worship is called the Song of the Lord. "And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel." 2 Chronicles 29:27 (NKJV) Both the Old and New Testaments call this singing a new song unto the Lord. Psalm 33:3 says, "Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy." In Psalm 40:3 David writes, "He has put a new song in my mouth; Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord." Psalm 149:1 exhorts us, "Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints." In Revelation 5:9 we are told, "And they sang a new song." (See also Psalm 96:1, 98:1, 144:9, Revelation 14:3.) Paul the Apostle mentions singing spiritual songs in 1 Corinthians 14:15 when he said, "I will sing with the spirit." In this context he was referring specifically to singing in unknown tongues. The divine expression of "speaking in other tongues" is mentioned throughout the book of Acts. Paul mentions it in 1 Corinthians 13:1, where he writes about speaking "with the tongues of men and of angels..." Tongues is the supernatural ability, given by the Holy Spirit, to sing or speak in a language not known or understood by the one speaking. Paul devotes an entire chapter (1 Corinthians 14) to this gift of the Holy Spirit and its use in the church.


5. Why do we bow?
Again, we desire to worship in truth, and the Scriptures tell us to bow before Him. Psalm 95:6 exhorts, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." Paul writes in Ephesians 3:14, "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." He writes further in Philippians 2:10-11, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."


6. Why do we use a variety of musical instruments?
We believe in using all the instruments mentioned in the Scriptures. Psalm 150 refers to a large list of instruments that we are commanded to use in praising the Lord. It says, "Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel, Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals!" We would like to also mention that we do not make use of any instruments that are not mentioned in the Scriptures, such as drums.


7. Why do we dance as we do?
We don't want to be redundant, but we dance because the Lord through the Scripture tells us to dance. Psalm 150:4 says, "Praise Him with the timbrel and dance." Psalm 149:3 states, "Let them praise His name with the dance." There are many references to the people of God dancing for joy throughout their Biblical history. (Exodus 15:20, Psalm 30:11, Jeremiah 31:13) As Ecclesiastes 3:4 says, there is "a time to dance." The dancing you may observe will not be sensual or practiced. Spiritual dancing will not be pleasing to the flesh or natural man, as we can see from the response of Michal, the daughter of King Saul and wife of King David. 2 Samuel 6:14 tells us, "David danced before the Lord with all his might." The response of Michal is given in 2 Samuel 6:16, "Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling (literally "dancing") before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart." One of the Hebrew words translated "rejoice" in the English Bible actually means to "jump up for joy."

8. Why do individuals spontaneously speaks out?
Paul tells us that the Body of Christ has been given different gifts of the Holy Spirit, and that these gifts are "for the profit of all." Among them are gifts that are manifested by someone speaking to the congregation by the unction of the Lord. (Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.) Often the Holy Spirit will direct a person to pray for a specific thing. Other times, the utterance will be in the form of prophecy, where the Lord gives a word to the entire congregation or to an individual. 1 Corinthians 14:26 encourages us to exercise these gifts. Paul tells us, "How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." Romans 12:6-8 says, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith, or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness." Paul encourages the public expression of prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14:1 where he writes, "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy." He becomes quite emphatic on the matter in verse 39, where he says, "Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues." Later, in his letter to the Thessalonians he plainly commands, "Do not despise prophecies." (1 Thessalonians 5:20)

9. Why do we anoint a person with oil?
We are obeying the command of the Lord through James when he says, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." (James 5:14 NKJV) We believe our omnipotent Lord hears and answers these prayers in His perfect and sovereign way.

10. Why is no offering taken?
We do not pass an offering plate because it tends to interfere with the spiritual flow of the service. When worship has opened the hearts of God's people to hear His Word, we don't want to interrupt that process. The New Testament supports this method in Mark 12:41 where it is recorded, "Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury." We have placed two offering boxes on the back wall for the purpose of worshipping the Lord with tithes and offerings.