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.
“You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.”
—Nehemiah 9:6 (NIV)
Today we are invited to consider God as Creator, the source of all that is or ever will be.
The 9th century Irish church father John Scotus Eriugena referred to creation as a “sacred text.” In his theology, God spoke through two “books”: the book of Scripture and the book of creation, and he believed it was important for us to pay attention to both. By encountering God in Scripture, we come to know the intimate voice of the One who loves us. By encountering God in creation, we learn see his hand at work in the beauty of our world and the wonders of the universe.
How have you encountered God in the wonders of creation? How have you seen his hand at work in the beauty of our world? Take some time in silence to reflect on how God has revealed himself in what he has made, and how that stirs your heart to worship.
SONG OF ENCOUNTER: For the Beauty of the Earth (lyrics here)