A Practical Guide To Praise & Worship
Used as a text internationally, Exploring Worship is a "must read" (according to Judson Cornwall) for worshipers. It lays a scriptural foundation for understanding what praise and worship really is, and then provides a practical framework for implementing praise and worship in the local church level. This is one of the foremost worship texts used today by Bible Schools, Universities, and local church worship ministries. This newly-released "Revised/Updated version" makes Exploring Worship once again a relevant equipping tool to today's worshipers.
Pages: 300
Retail: $15.00
ISBN: 0-9621185-1-6
"I am totally unaware of a more comprehensive treatment of this subject in any book, including those of mine. It should be read by all worshipers, and should be required study for all who aspire to lead congregational worship."
- Dr. Judson Cornwall, from the foreword". . . truly one of the important books of this generation, it establishes balance, a strong theological base for the worship experience, along with very practical down to earth guidelines for developing worship within the local church."
- Thomas F. Reid, Pastor of The Tabernacle, Orchard Park, N.Y.EXPLORING WORSHIP ranks at the top of the 'must read' book list. . . a great resource for training and teaching local church music teams to flow in the spiritual and practical applications of praise and worship."
- Kent Henry, Psalmist, Songwriter, Teacher"This book is a resource for me personally and has been used as a textbook for the International Worship Leaders Institute."
- LaMar Boschman, Author, Dean of the International Worship Institute
Here you can read a chapter from Exploring Worship (revised and updated ).
The chapter excerpted below is Chapter 6,
"THE FULL PURPOSE OF CONGREGATIONAL WORSHIP"
Inherent in the question, "Why worship?" is another question: "What do we hope to accomplish in and through our congregational worship?" This is especially significant when we consider how much time and energy we give to this activity. Church leaders will admit that time is one of the most valuable commodities on Sunday morning. There usually doesn't seem to be enough time to accommodate everything that needs to be fitted in. And yet some churches will spend 30 to 50 percent of their congregated time in worship. We must formulate a philosophy of congregational worship that adequately defines why we devote precious blocks of time to this corporate activity and what the result of this outlay of time and effort should be.
Every pastor and local fellowship must determine this philosophy for themselves. It is no longer adequate to defend our worship services by saying, "Well, we've always done it this way." It is equally insufficient to conceive of our worship time as "the preliminaries," something to "condition" the people in preparation for the truly important part of the service: the sermon.
Since these reasons are inadequate, what reasons should we have for congregational worship? The answer can be divided into three general spheres in which our worship services minister. There is the vertical aspect of worship, the level in which the worshiper communicates with the Lord; there is the horizontal aspect of worship, the level in which the worshiper communicates with others in the congregation; and there is the inward aspect of worship, where the worshiper is personally affected by the worship service. Each of these areas helps us to understand better the role of worship in the congregation.
THE VERTICAL ASPECT
The foremost reason for worship is to minister unto the Lord. The basic posture of the worshiper is not "Bless me, Lord," but rather "I will bless the Lord!" Most of us will affirm that this is not an unfamiliar concept, and yet we must admit that there are times when we go home from a worship service and complain because the worship did not do as much for us as it did the previous week. If someone asks us how the worship service was, we might answer, "Well, on a scale of one to ten, I'd put it right around five." But if the main purpose for worship is to bless and glorify the Lord, then why am I upset when it does not seem to bless me? The question is not whether the worship service blessed me but whether it blessed God. It is not what I thought of the worship service that counts—it is what God thought of it that truly matters! How did it rate on his scale from one to ten? Did he approve? Was he pleased with our "sacrifice of praise?"
Granted, when we bless the Lord, we get blessed in the process. There is an old Korean saying that goes like this: "If you want to smear the face of others with mire, you will have to smear your hands first." And the converse of this is true: if you bless another, then you too will be blessed. Proverbs 11:25 says, "He that watereth shall be watered also himself" (KJV). When we truly bless the Lord, we are automatically blessed. But the important thing is our motivation. We must minister to the Lord not with the ulterior motive of receiving a blessing but rather with the motive of blessing him whether he blesses us or not. If we will bless him with the proper motivation, he will also bless us!
We must guard against being sidetracked from this primary purpose of worship. There are many things that can pull our attention away from the Lord if we are not careful. We can become so caught up, for example, in "What is God saying?" that we can miss the opportunity to minister to the Lord. If God wants to speak, he will; but our first priority is to minister to him. Or we can be diverted by the question, "Is there sin in my life?" Some introspection can be good, but we can become so engrossed in introspection that we neglect the priority of blessing the Lord. The worship service is not the time for me to get into myself; it's the time for me to get into God! The problem with too many people is that their lives are completely self-centered, with everything revolving around personal interests, desires, and concerns. The worship service provides a welcome reprieve when we can forget about self and get taken up with God.
We can also be distracted by outside factors in a service. In some churches, the people must concentrate so much on following the worship leader that they are never able to lift their hearts unto God. Admiring a dynamic leader is never a substitute for a personal encounter with Christ. I can recall a certain lady approaching me after a Sunday service to say, "Bob, I just love the way you play the piano! I could just sit there for hours and listen to you play!" I thanked her politely, thinking that was a nice thing for her to say. But in retrospect, I saw that it was not a compliment at all. In actuality, that lady was so taken with my piano playing that she had not worshiped. My flourishing musical style had become a distraction to her, causing her to get her eyes off the Lord! I can no longer consider it a compliment when I realize my piano playing has distracted others from their primary ministry unto the Lord. Conversely, parishioners must avoid the tendency to get distracted with their admiration of talented human elements in a worship service. Those talents are being expressed exclusively as a stimulus to direct the worshiper Godward.
Sometimes we catch ourselves thinking, "The worship leader just isn't in the Spirit tonight." How easy it is to become a picky analyzer of worship—some of us are veritable connoisseurs of worship services—and bypass our heavenly ministry. We may be the sharpest spiritual detectives of all time, consistently hitting the nail on the head, detailing every flaw in the leadership, and imagining the perfect solution, but our negligence in worship would displease God. Let us not even allow our so-called ministry of "discernment" to deter us from blessing the Lord.
What can I give unto God, that he should repay me? What can I offer him that he does not already have? As awesome and marvelous as it seems, the Scriptures make it clear that I have something I can bring him. I can bring him my praise and blessing. I can bless the Lord! How amazing, that such a creature as I can bless the Lord God Almighty! I do not understand how that can possibly be, but I choose to believe it! Therefore, I will take frequent advantage of that blessed privilege, to minister unto the King of kings and Lord of lords!
We also worship in order to better realize the manifest presence of God. The Scriptures reveal that God is everywhere at all times (omnipresent), but yet there are different degrees to which God manifests his presence. He manifests himself on one level "where two or three are gathered." But when a group of God's people congregate to sing his glorious praise, he "inhabits" those praises and reveals his presence in a very particular way among his praising people (see Psalm 22:3).
Exodus 33 records an interesting conversation that Moses had with God. In this divine encounter, Moses was given a unique glimpse of the Lord such as no other man has ever had. God covered Moses in the cleft of a rock and then removed his hand to reveal his back to Moses. Before this took place, the Lord promised Moses, “‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?’” (verses 14-16).
This same question can be asked today. What distinguishes the church from the world? What makes our church services any different from the meetings of a Rotary Club or any other social organization? Is it because we are happy? They are happy, too. Is it because we have good fellowship? They have good fellowship, too. The difference is God's presence! The presence of God is the earmark of the church! If we do not have God's presence in our services, we may as well dismiss and have a picnic instead. But when sinners experience the presence of God in our midst, they will know we have something different.
Luke 5:17 speaks of an occasion on which "the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick." In the presence of God the power of God is revealed. As God's presence is realized among his worshipers, we should expect to experience a tremendous unleashing of his power. There is deliverance, cleansing, the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and much more when God is present in power. I once read that when a certain church experienced problems with its electrical system, the following notice appeared in the church bulletin: "Due to the lack of power, there will be no worship service tonight." But in many churches we might amend that slightly to read, "Due to the lack of worship, there will be no power in our services today."
A third reason for congregational worship, in this vertical sphere, is to provide an atmosphere or seedbed for the expression of the gifts of the Spirit and various spiritual ministries. The gifts of the Spirit are apportioned according to the sovereign will of God, and our praises do not cajole God into releasing his gifts. But a worship service will provide an atmosphere that is most conducive to the operations of the gifts of the Spirit. Without an atmosphere of worship, the gifts seem rarely to be manifested, but in a worshipful context the Spirit is able to operate more freely.
For instance, prophecies rarely come forth at the beginning of worship services. This is not accidental. First we worship, and then spiritual ministries begin to operate. God is not unwilling to speak prophetically to his people at the outset of the service, but often we are not ready to receive what he has to say! God has much to say to his people, but he waits until we are ready to receive his word. As our spirits become sensitive to the Spirit of God in worship, we become ready to flow in the gifts of the Spirit.
Finally, we worship to open up the channels of communication between us and God. Christians can look deceptively spiritual in their Sunday attire, but inside they can be feeling alienated from God. Some have not prayed or worshiped or communicated with God since the last service they attended. Perhaps we would be shocked to know how many Christians forget to read their Bibles or spend quality time in prayer in a given week. Others may come to a meeting harassed by guilt and depression. The worship service is their opportunity to find new strength in the presence of God.
We can be a fairly incommunicative lot before the Lord! He longs for our time and attention, but we are often too busy with life. There is a beautiful verse in the Song of Solomon that gives us insight into the heart of God: "My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely" (Song of Solomon 2:14). The Lord calls us his "dove" because the dove is somewhat nervous and is easily frightened. In this verse the Lord pictures us, his dove, as hiding in the clefts of the rock. And how much we really do try to hide from God! We are afraid of making ourselves vulnerable to his gentle hand. There is a pleading note in his voice as he says, "Show me your face! Let me hear your voice!" To many of us the Lord would say, "Show me your face!" We hang our heads low in the worship service, burdened with cares and concerns. He would be the lifter of our heads (see Psalm 3:3)! And he would add, "Let me hear your voice!" Some are afraid to lift their voice above a whisper for fear someone might hear them. But God delights in hearing our voices! He longs for us to open up and give expression to our feelings in his presence.
THE HORIZONTAL ASPECT
A great deal of interaction takes place vertically between us and God in praise and worship, but insufficient consideration has been given to the horizontal aspects of praise. These horizontal dynamics of praise comprise an integral part of the congregational experience—an element that is critical to the life of the believer, and yet absent in one's personal devotional life. Within the following points, the terms "praise" and "worship" are not used interchangeably. Some of these horizontal elements are operational in worship, but most are expressed through praise. Let us look at six ways in which worshipers interrelate in the context of congregated praise and worship.
As a first consideration of the horizontal dynamics of our services, we praise and worship in order to enhance the sense of unity within a body. From passages like Psalm 133, we begin to understand how important unity is to the Lord and how it pleases him. Since praise and worship contribute to unity, they must hold a special place in God's heart.
Singing can in itself unify a group in mind, activity, and stance, because when a group sings a song together, they are all saying the same words, doing the same thing, involving themselves in the same activity. Worship takes that natural medium of singing and becomes even more effective as a tool for unity.
Consider, for example, what happens when believers from various denominations, backgrounds, or churches come together for an ecumenical convocation. They cannot talk doctrine together, nor can they discuss church structure or government, and there may be little else on which they can agree. But one thing they can do together is to unitedly sing praises to the Lord! All believers have this one thing in common: they love the Lord Jesus Christ and can express their mutual faith together in song. How better can we catch a glimpse of the unity we truly have in Christ than to gather the saints together to praise God?
The bonds of unity we feel as brothers and sisters together in the body of Christ are strong and meaningful, but there is an even greater sense of unity that can come between co-worshipers. "Let me be one in heart with those who revere thy name" (Psalm 86:11, NEB). Sometimes in prayer services, as we see others expressing the depths of their hearts in worship, we sense a great rapport with them. As we see a sister crying openly in the presence of God, or a brother worshiping with great feeling, our hearts leap within us. These are worshipers indeed! After worshiping, we could have gone around and given everybody a warm embrace! That is the bond that can grow between people who are not afraid to open their hearts to God before others.
When we let down our guard and open our hearts to the Lord, we begin to realize properly just how much a part of one another we truly are. We do not feel a strong rapport with others when walls of insecurity and self-protection are erected, but we do identify strongly with the true inner person of other saints. Our fear of becoming vulnerable holds us back from being that open and transparent before God and others. We know that as we make ourselves vulnerable to God, we become vulnerable to others as well—our brothers and sisters will see us for who we truly are, without the spiritual facade. Since God knows all things anyway, we may not be threatened by the idea of becoming vulnerable before him. But before others? Why, we have a reputation to maintain! We would not want others to know the truth about our spiritual needs. But until we are willing to become vulnerable before men, we will not know a full openness before God. There is a level of unity that will never be realized until we learn to become completely open and vulnerable before both God and his people.
The Bible makes it clear that there is a distinct relationship between our love for God and our love for our fellow believers: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). The principle is this: our love for God can never transcend our love for one another. Put another way, we can never enjoy a measure of worship that exceeds the quality of relationship we have with our brethren. It is not possible to have a dynamic, personal relationship with God and be at odds with other Christians. If we are growing in loving worship of God, we will inevitably grow in our love for others, for worship causes us to grow in love and unity within the body of Christ.
Not only does worship cause us to grow in brotherly love, but it also gives us opportunity to minister to one another. There is no better time to minister to others than in the context of the worship service! To his admonition about brotherly love, the apostle John added, "And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:21). Worship in the congregation is intangible and somewhat ethereal. So God says to us, "You say you love me? Okay, prove it! Minister in love to your neighbor." That is the proof of our love for God. We should not tell God we love him if we are unable to show that love to others. When we congregate, we find ample opportunity to express our love for God in a tangible way to others.
We praise, further, in order to teach and reinforce spiritual truth. Notice how Paul worded this concept: "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). In another place Paul said, "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" (Colossians 3:16, KJV). Paul made this horizontal function of praise very plain! He said clearly that we speak to one another in the songs we sing, and he specified how this happens, for we teach and admonish one another through praise.
Many of the songs we sing are actually intended to be sung to one another. We sing songs such as “Come, now is the time to worship,” or “Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing!” These are songs we sing to each other, exhorting each other to lift high God's praises. How often in our singing we admonish one another to "praise ye the Lord!" And it is right and proper for us to do so.
Much instruction is inherent within the lyrics of the songs we sing. How wonderful it would be if our children could gain an understanding of the inspirational content of the songs in our hymnals. As we sing Scripture songs and hymns, we are educating our young people to the truths of our faith. With many of the choruses we sing, we are actually memorizing Scripture, and what better way to memorize God's word? (Some folks, in attempting to better memorize the Scriptures, will actually compose melodies for large portions of the Bible—not for the purpose of public singing but for private memorization.) My brother, Sheldon, has said that the songs we sing are in essence teaching our children the practical theology of the church.
As a fourth consideration, our praise provides believers with an opportunity to profess their faith before others. Congregational praise helps us become more vocal in expressing our faith, because praise is simply giving vocal affirmation to our love of and faith in the Lord Jesus. When we sing, “I belong to Jesus,” the next step is to make that same confession outside the walls of the church building. If we will confess the name of Jesus in the worship service, we will find increased boldness to declare his name before unbelievers. If some are too shy to confess Jesus' name aloud among believers, they will never summon the courage to share their faith with unbelievers. As we lift our voices in the congregation, the Lord will increase our ability to vocalize our faith to others.
The fifth point is related to the fourth, for we praise in the congregation to declare the glories of God before unbelievers. The unsaved actually do visit our worship services, and they give us the "once-over" when we praise. Often we need to be reminded that we are under scrutiny in our worship services! What impression do sinners get when they listen to our praises and watch our countenances? Do they respond by thinking, "I've got enough problems of my own already, without joining up with this morbid bunch?” Or do they witness a level of vitality and enthusiasm that convinces them we are participating in something genuine?
When unbelievers come into our worship services, they need to experience the reality of the glory of the Lord. Sinners do not need to understand everything they see and hear so long as they sense God's presence. We cannot worry about unsaved visitors misunderstanding our praise. Explanations of why we praise the way we do will not improve their first impressions, particularly if they are determined to be critical from the start. Sinners do not need to understand our praises; they simply need to experience the reality of him whom we praise!
Psalm 108:3 declares, "I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples." God never intended that his praises be confined to the ears of believers. For too long God's people have been bashful about their praise. Some may think, for instance, "I'm not going to bring my neighbor to the Sunday evening service, because our church really gets carried away on Sunday nights, and I don't want my neighbor to get turned off." But a worship service can be the best place to bring an unsaved friend, because when God manifests his presence in the midst of his people, unbelievers will be apprehended by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and drawn to the Lord.
Some churches almost give the impression that they are checking ID cards to make sure that all who enter are Christians. Then, when all the Christians are huddled together in a small circle, the door is locked, the shades are pulled down, and the praise service is started. No! Open up the doors of the church, lift the shades, prop open the windows, crank up the sound, and sing his praise before the world!
Hosea 6:11 says, “‘Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed.’” Since Judah means praise, the Lord was saying that praisers will reap a harvest. A large, thriving, evangelistic church is not too likely to have mediocre worship services, because when a church becomes a praising church, it will begin to reap a harvest of souls. Praise is evangelistic! Praise is intended to draw souls unto God. Modern sales managers have learned a principle that God knew all along: advertising works! When we praise, we are advertising our faith before the world. We are telling others about God's goodness, faithfulness, holiness, righteousness, mercy, gentleness, love, and so on. There is no better way to tell our unsaved friends about the great God we serve! As we lift high his praises, we are assured that the appointed harvest will come in.
As a final consideration, we find that praise and worship foster a receptivity for the word. I have asked a number of pastors across the nation, "Do you find it easier to preach after your people have opened up in worship?" The answer has invariably been an overwhelming yes! In the first place, after a pastor has worshiped with his people, he will gain a greater sense of the anointed presence of the Spirit. But more importantly, by worshiping, the people will become more open to receive the word of God.
There is a phrase in Hosea 10:11 which reads, "Judah shall plow" (KJV). We could read this as "Praise plows." Praise plows the soul of our hearts so that we are prepared to receive the implanted seed, the word of God. When a seed is planted, it requires immediate watering. David sang unto the Lord, "You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth" (Psalm 65:9-10, NKJV). We experience the river of God in worship when his Spirit flows over our hearts and washes us anew. God's river and his heavenly showers soften the soil of our heart and prepare it to receive the word. That word will find a hearty reception in true worshipers, for they have a voracious appetite for it.
Music and worship also fulfill a role in preparing the pastoral leadership for the delivery of the word. The third chapter of 2 Kings tells an interesting story of a harpist being brought to Elisha to calm his troubled emotions. As the harpist played, Elisha's emotions were soothed, and he proceeded to prophesy. Preachers find the worship service very necessary in preparing their own hearts prior to pulpit ministry. Many other concerns flood their hearts and minds, but getting caught up in the Spirit enables preachers to get their emotions in tune with the Spirit, and they are readied to proclaim, "Thus says the Lord!"
THE INWARD RAMIFICATIONS OF WORSHIP
Having looked at what takes place vertically between the worshiper and God, and horizontally between co-worshipers, let us now consider what worship accomplishes inwardly in the individual.
The first thing worship does in this inward sense is to release God's people in an uninhibited expression of their inner selves. The key word here is "uninhibited." The Lord desires that we worship him without any holding back or any inner hindrances.
Some folks feel that if we do not dance, we have not experienced a full release in worship. Others react against that attitude and refuse to dance at all. I am not suggesting that everyone ought to dance all the time, nor am I saying we should refrain. The point I would like to make is this: no matter what outward form the worship takes, we should do it with all that is within us, without inhibitions. Some folks who never thought they were dancers may be the most extroverted in their expressions when they get to heaven, to make up for all their conservatism down here!
We will be completely uninhibited in our worship when we get to heaven—nothing will hold us back! So why should we not be that way down here, now? Uninhibited worship does not take any specific outward form, but it will allow us to be as completely transparent before the Lord as we will be in heaven.
We are so proficient, it seems, at barricading ourselves from the Lord and from one another. Psalm 24:7 says, "Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in." To what gates does the psalmist refer? They are the gates to the heart—barriers that each of us has put up inside. Our culture trains us to be self-protective, so we are preconditioned by society to erect walls of insecurity toward anyone who might try to get close to us. When God attempts to explore the recesses of our hearts, the barriers instinctively arise. If we would be willing to lift off those ancient gates that barricade our hearts, the King of glory would come in!
Worship also provides a verbal expression of the feelings of our heart. Some of us struggle with not always knowing how to express our feelings to the Lord. It can be difficult to vocalize just how much God means to us. At such times we need a little help to express ourselves, and congregational worship provides that. We have many hymns and choruses written by poets and writers of many ages who had a particular knack for expressing themselves with a pen. When words fail us, we can echo the words of Martin Luther: "A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing!" Thank God for men like Charles Wesley, who have left us a tremendous heritage in their great songs that have been preserved throughout the years. By singing these great songs of the church, we find that our feelings are provided a vocabulary, where choice words are coupled with an enhancing melody, and the song becomes a meaningful expression from our hearts to the Lord.
As a third element in the inward ramifications of worship, we find that worship increases our faith. When Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection, "When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted" (Matthew 28:17). The sad fact is that much of our worship is also mixed with doubt. But praising and worshiping God is one way to increase our faith.
We know that faith comes by hearing the word of God. Often when we praise God, we are speaking the word of God that we have learned. As we begin to confess God's word in praise and confess God for who he says he is, we will find that our faith will begin to rise to the level of our confession. We will truly begin to believe that God is as great and marvelous as our praise indicates! This world would be different if all Christians everywhere truly believed that God is as awesome and wonderful as they claim in their singing. His praises should be allowed to stretch our faith!
As we worship, we also grow in holiness: One of the best adjectives to describe God is "holy," and his holiness should become a part of our lives through worship. Psalm 115 talks about the false gods of the heathen who cannot see or smell or walk or talk. It then adds that "those who make them will be like them" (verse 8). We learn a valuable principle here: we become like that which we worship. This is also true for the Christian, for as we worship the Lord we are changed into his very likeness!
Someone has said, "You are the company you keep." Those who spend enough time with the Lord will become like him! Some couples have been married so long that they begin to walk alike, talk alike, and even look alike! Oh, that we might know that quality of relationship with the Father!
Second Corinthians 3:18 is a beautiful verse about worship: "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory." When we worship with an uplifted countenance, we truly reflect the Lord's glory, and it is then that we are changed little by little, becoming more like the holy God whom we worship.
"Well, worship doesn't change me," some might say. "I go out of church the same as when I went in." If worship does not change a person's life, the reason is simple: that person has not unveiled his or her face before God! Those who will lower their inner barriers and pour out their hearts to God with tears of repentance and contrition will know life-changing worship.
The Bible gives us the assurance that "when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). Worship is seeing the Lord. And when we see him on that day, we will be like him! But I do not believe this verse is speaking exclusively of the hereafter. This verse also comes to us as a promise and guarantee that if today we will see him in worship, we shall be like him. It is healthy to keep the goal clearly in mind. Perhaps we would be tempted to despair in our Christian walk if we did not have the encouragement of knowing we are becoming more and more Christlike. The end of the book of Revelation is so encouraging, because it gives us insight into the beauty of the final product, the perfected Bride. John describes that glorious Bride of Christ as being "clear as crystal" (Revelation 21:11)—clear, without any shadow of sin, totally spotless in the holiness of God himself! That is the divine destiny of the worshiper!
Further, worship inspires a greater commitment to a life of worship. It is one thing to worship in the congregation, when the saints are gathered in joyful assembly, musicians are playing their instruments, and everyone is united in glorious praise; it is quite another to live a life of worship throughout the week, when the music is gone and the charged atmosphere is forgotten! Our congregational worship is intended to help inspire us to a consistent life of worship all week long. When the worship on Sunday is vibrant and real, we gain new impetus to go forth and live that during the week. The church service is practice time; out in the world we discover if we truly learned the lesson.
Finally, worship prepares us for the new thing God wants to do. There is no doubt that God is continually doing new things (see Isaiah 43:19), and he wants to prepare us to flow with him in that. What is holding God back from sending his final outpouring that will see the culmination of the ages? Is God preparing the President of the United States, or is he trying to deal with Communism first, or is he waiting on the world economy? No, but God is preparing people. Luke 1:17 reads, “‘…to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’” God is preparing his people, his church! The church is the only thing that is holding God back from bringing the fullness of his kingdom to earth.
Praise and worship have preparatory effects. “‘He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God’” (Psalm 50:23). Worship softens our hearts and sensitizes our spirits, so that when God moves, we will know it. When God does something new, it often comes in an unconventional or unexpected form. If we are not closely attuned to the Holy Spirit, we can easily reject the new thing God wants to do. But if we will behold him steadfastly in worship, we will see when he moves and which way he goes.
I am not suggesting that "worship" in and of itself is the complete endtime message that God yet needs to speak to the church in order to inaugurate his second return. But I do see worship as playing a vital role in preparing us so that no matter what God does, we will be ready to move with him. God wants us to be prepared, but that involves some initiative on our part. Revelation 19:7, speaking of this prepared church, says, “‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.’” It would be a mistake for us to wait for God to do in our lives what we alone can do. Let us choose to become the worshipers God wants us to be. As we surrender our wills to him, he will make us into worshipers who are prepared to move with him.
It is possible for us to know what God is doing in the earth today. The writer of Psalm 73 complained about how the wicked seem to prosper and the righteous seem to suffer. He said, "When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny" (Psalm 73:16-17). In coming into God's sanctuary the psalmist gained understanding. And this is how we today gain understanding in the ways of God: by worshiping in his sanctuary, in the congregation. When we congregate to worship, one comes with a word, another with an exhortation, another with a prophecy—and a picture begins to emerge and take form. By putting together the contributions of all the saints in the body, we can gain insight into what God is saying and doing in the earth today!
Psalm 77:13 reads, "Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary" (KJV). An alternate marginal reading is, "The understanding of your ways in the place of worship." Truly we begin to understand God's ways in the congregation, as praise and worship ascend to him! And one of the beautiful expressions we find in this congregational praise and worship, to teach us God's ways, is a flow of the prophetic ministry.
Section One: The Heart of Praise and Worship
1. What Is Praise?
The Essence of Praise; Judah and Praise; Why Should We Praise the Lord?; When Should We Praise?; Where Should We Praise?; How Should We Praise the Lord?
2. Entering the Presence of God
Our Approach to God's Presence; Individual Versus Corporate Worship; The Responsibility of the Individual Worshiper; The Sacrifice of Praise; The Cost of Praise
3. Praise: A Weapon for Spiritual Warfare
The Scriptural Basis for Warfare Through Praise; The Shout in Warfare; High Praise; The Sound of War; The Role of Faith; A Word From God; Preparing for War; Engaging in Battle
4. What Is Worship?
Differences Between Praise and Worship; A Misconception; The Essence of Worship; The Holy Spirit and Worship; Worship in Spirit and in Truth; The Simplicity of Worship; Exclusive Worship
5. Becoming a Worshiper
Worshiping Without Guilt; Hindering Attitudes in Worship
6. The Full Purpose of Congregational Worship
The Vertical Aspect; The Horizontal Aspect; The Inward Ramifications of Worship
7. Moving Prophetically in Praise and Worship
Prophetic Worship; The Scriptural Link Between Music and Prophecy; The "Song of the Lord"; Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs; This Is For Everyone!; Taking a Step of Faith; Guidelines—Things to Do; Guidelines—Things to Avoid
Section Two: The Leading of Praise and Worship
8. The Art of Leading Worship
The Need for a Worship Leader; Qualifications of a Worship Leader; The Leader's Musical Expertise; Musical Excellence in Worship; The Leader's Preparation; General Guidelines; The Worship Leader/Musician; Leading, Not Controlling; The Worship Leader's Chief Duty; Getting—and Losing—Control; The Art of Exhortation; Dealing With Difficult Times in Worship; Standing in Worship; Dealing With "Ruts" in Worship; Setting Goals for Worship
9. The Worship Leading Team
The Benefits of Team Ministry; The Role of the Pastor; The Role of the Worship Leader; The Pastor/Worship Leader Relationship; The Chief Musician; The Musicians; The Singers; Other Team Members; A Perspective on Team Ministry
10. Planning the Worship Service
The Need for Planning; Finding a Balance; God Uses Human Leadership; A Theme for the Service; Preparing a Song List; Variety in the Service; Sing a New Song!; Writing New Songs; Teaching New Songs; Enhancing Elements; With a Look to the Future…
Appendix 1: Sources for New Worship Music
Appendix 2: Chord Progressions in Worship
Chordal Hand Signs
Appendix 3: A Master Song List
References and Resources
Music Theory Texts