Creekside Community Church

Putting together a worship service is not easy if you take it seriously.  It helps for everyone to understand what goes into a worship service.  In the third section of Bob Kauflin’s book Worship Matters on Healthy Tensions, he looks at nine critical areas that must be embraced and kept in balance.  Before we look at those areas, Bob makes some good points I’d like to amplify.
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• We need to realize that God has something to say about what he wants in a worship service before we do “whatever we want.”  Some examples are:
  • We’re to pray together (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
  • Pastors are to preach and explain God’s Word (2 Tim. 4:2).
  • We’re to sing praises to God (Col. 3:16).
  • There’s a proper way to participate in the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 14:29; 11:17-34).
• There are three principles that are a good “rule of thumb” in putting together a service:
  • Do what God clearly commands.
  • Don’t do what God clearly forbids.
  • Use Scriptural wisdom for everything else.
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Now, let’s take a look at the many “tensions” involved in a worship service:
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Transcendent & Immanent

God is so much beyond us we cannot fully understand Him and His ways.  He is huge!  He is “God of god’s, Lord of lord’s, the great, the mighty, the awesome God” (Duet. 10:17).  Because of this, reverence is essential for worship (Heb. 12:28-29).  He is holy and we are sinful.  But God has made Himself reachable and near to us because of His deep love for us shown in the incarnation of Jesus.  God became human to laugh, eat, sleep, and interact with those He created.  The radical fact for Christians is that He is not only with us but He dwells in us.  Can you get any closer than that?  He is both majestic God and our friend (John 15:14-15).
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Head & Heart

Churches can have a hard time connecting the knowledge of the mind with the passions of the heart.   God desires us to set our minds on the things above (Col. 3:2).  In Colossians 3:16, Paul tells us an important reason to use Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is to let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you.  Truth must be prevalent in all we do.   Yet in many churches, it’s passionate worship from the heart that needs attention.  Godly affections are deep and the result of focusing on what God has done and who He is.  God’s transcendence causes us to feel awe.  His holiness evokes sorrow for our sin.  A view of his mercy leads to gratefulness.  The knowledge of his sovereignty brings great peace.  Many times we can feel wonder and joy in response to God.  God intends for us to remember that neither biblical truth nor deep emotion is out of place when we worship God; they’re meant to be together.
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Internal & External

God looks upon the heart (1 Samuel 16:7) and the state of our heart is of primary importance because “from it flows the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).  In Scripture, the heart encompasses everything from what we think to what we feel to what we choose.  It’s not enough that people just attend meetings, something must be stirring in their desires, thoughts, and feelings.  While heart worship is most important, what we do with our bodies isn’t irrelevant or unimportant.  Physical responsiveness to God in worship is encouraged and modeled throughout Scripture.  Various physical actions can bring God glory, including clapping, singing, bowing, kneeling, lifting hands, shouting, playing instruments, dancing, and standing in awe.  We must help our congregations understand that God is worthy of our deepest, strongest, and purest affections…and that our bodies should show it.
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Vertical & Horizontal

Worship, from beginning to end, is about God.  He is complete in every way.  When we worship God, we join an activity that began in eternity and will continue forever - the triune God valuing His beauty and worth above everything else.  God’s nature is to give and He created the world so we could share in the joy of knowing Him, ultimately for his glory.  God’s glory is the end of our worship, and not simply a means to something else.  Biblical worship is God-focused (God is clearly seen), God-centered (God is clearly the priority), and God-exalting (God is clearly honored).  The horizontal aspect of worship is about the importance of our interaction together as we worship God.  We are not to neglect our meeting together so we can build one another up and “stir up one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24-25).  We are “teaching and admonishing one another” (Col. 3:16).  Worship is not about us, but includes us.  Ephesians 5:19 reveals the perfect balance as we sing to the Lord we are speaking to each other, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.”  Worshiping together is a time for us to be built up, all for His glory.
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Planned & Spontaneous

I’ve been in situations where worship leaders don’t plan the service until 5 minutes before it.  Others will have such a detailed plan that even the prayers are written out in advance.  We need both planning and spontaneity.  Planning can’t replace dependence on the Holy Spirit.  Planning also can’t ensure we’ve made the right plans.  Our goal should be to plan wisely, humbly, and prayerfully, fully expecting that God may provide fresh and unexpected guidance during the meeting.  Plans are meant to serve us, not rule us.  It can make us aware of our need for God before the meeting.  It can cause us to clarify our goals and how to meet them.  It can help us use variety and contrast as well as use God’s Word more consistently.  It can help prepare all the team members for their contributions.  But spontaneity is important as well when it brings freshness to the meeting.  Gifted leadership is seen on the spot and in the moment.  We can plan for spontaneity by playing through a simple progression at the end of a song, singing a line of Scripture, sing a prayer using a familiar tune, etc.  Playing spontaneously gives us one more musical tool to help people see the glories of our great God and Savior.
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Rooted & Relevant