Church of the Cross, Salina, Kansas

To celebrate God's love as we surrender our lives and discover His will; empowering us to share the message, grow together, and connect with others in faith.

As we develop worship experiences for our church, we make every effort to uphold this purpose to make sure we are on track with whom we are and what we want to accomplish. This statement was developed based on the elements of Worship, Ministry, Evangelism, Fellowship and Discipleship in an attempt to make our worship purposeful and vital for the lives of the congregation

The Heart of Worship

We lived in western Kansas for a while and shopping places were at a minimum and I do mean minimum. We were limited to the local hardware or farm supply store for any type of gift purchasing if you didn't plan a month ahead of time. Anyway, I didn't plan very well and our wedding anniversary was coming up at the end of the week. Since I was severely limited on gift purchasing and time, I decided to do the wise thing and buy a traditional gift according to the years we were married. I was in luck because, the year called for something in copper - if I got that right. Anyway, after deciding copper tubing from the hardware store would not put me in the best graces of my wife, I located an antique copper pot wall hanging. It had a little bow someone had tied to it and was quite unique. So, I made an executive decision and had them wrap it up in the prettiest anniversary paper they had. My goal had been achieved and I had a gift to give to my beloved. The day arrived and we presented our gifts to each other. I don't recall what my wife gave me probably because of the look that was on my wife's face when she opened it and the fact that my kids immediately asked "Why did Dad buy you that old Pot?" That old pot has been with us since then to remind us or me of that time. We all look back and laugh now over that experience.

But you see I had not considered the receiver of the gift. My focus was on getting the goal accomplished in my time without having to go to the extra effort it would have taken to drive to a different town and spend time looking for a different gift.

Are we offering in worship a gift we enjoy and figuring God will like it?

The Heart of Worship asks of you to surrender your life to our Creator - He's not asking for a copper pot - he wants you.

You have a great opportunity to join the ministry teams of worship by stepping up and presenting yourself as a living offering to God.