Time of Preparation
Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?
When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.
Encounter With God
In this first movement, we simply seek to see God for who He is: the One worthy of worship.
“I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen”
—1 Timothy 6:13-16 (NIV)
One of my favorite movies has this remarkable, highly memorable line of dialogue:
“Son, in 35 years of religious study, I have only come up with two hard, incontrovertible facts: there is a God, and...I am not him.”—Father Cavanaugh in “Rudy” (1993)
The opening movement of worship highlights these two truths: that God exists, and that he exists as completely “other,” meaning he is far beyond the realm of our understanding. The 50-cent theological word for this is “transcendent,” meaning that God exists completely outside and independent of our mortal existence.
And yet in worship this transcendent One invites us into his presence—in Christ, and in the power of the Spirit, he has made himself immanent. We worship the God who has revealed himself to us, which is an absolute wonder. By entering worship with a moment of pure, God-focused, vertical praise we are acknowledging this unbelievable truth: the God of the universe is in relationship with us.
Many classic hymns highlight this “otherness” of God, but perhaps note quite so poetically as “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise.” Below you’ll find two recordings for today’s moment of worship—first is a traditional performance of the hymn, followed by a modern worship song by Laura Story based on the hymn.
May these songs invite you into the presence of the transcendent yet immanent God.
TRADITIONAL SONG OF ENCOUNTER: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (lyrics here)
MODERN SONG OF ENCOUNTER: Immortal, Invisible (lyrics here)