5 Tips for Worshiping at Home

Due to the pandemic, most believers find themselves in unfamiliar circumstances, especially with respect to worship. We suddenly find ourselves unable to engage in many lifelong habitual yet meaningful practices.

Having to worship at home may be discomforting to many of us. We might find it difficult to concentrate. It may even feel awkward. And in hindsight, we might even say it feels like we never really worshiped.

These, indeed, are all legitimate challenges we may be facing. We live in unsettling times. However, while we long to return to normalcy, allow me to offer five suggestions that may help you while you are worshiping at home.

• Open your Bible and follow along. In addition to your Bible, grab a pen and notebook to write down points derived from the sermon. This will help you stay engaged.
• Remove distractions. Stay off of social media, ESPN, and the news. In fact, I would encourage you to not even use your electronic devices to avoid the temptation. Silence your phones just as you would if you were at the church building. Also, if you have pets, put them away. If your pet is like mine, she will try to demand your constant attention.
• Don’t neglect your giving. The work of the church must continue, whether we are gathering at the meeting house or not. We have missionaries and many good works that depend on our support. At Karns, you can conveniently give online, or you can drive to the church building and drop off your contribution through the drive-through.
• Remember, we are still worshiping. Though it may feel more informal, we are still approaching the throne of God and offering him our praise and adoration. Anything less is unacceptable, no matter where we gather. Prepare yourself and your family mentally to set the atmosphere.
• Remember, you are a participant and not the audience. Watching things on a screen may make it easier to feel like we are onlookers rather than participants. But we must remind ourselves that, whether at home or the meeting house, we are the participants, and God is the audience, looking on with interest at our involvement.

Hopefully, these tips will help enhance our worship while we are temporarily separated physically. However, we are still the church! We still have an important agenda to pursue. May God help us to brainstorm and find new ways to be a reflection of Jesus in this world!