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.
“Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.”
—Psalm 24:8 (NRSVUE)
Some of the most powerful songs of worship are built around a question.
That’s surprising when you think about it. Worship is usually the language of declaration: God is holy, God is faithful, God has saved us. We sing what we know. And yet again and again the Church has found itself singing what it asks.
The pattern is ancient. Psalm 24 stops mid-song to ask, “Who is this King of glory?” and then answers its own question with a shout: “The Lord, strong and mighty!” It is as if all creation leans in to ask, and those who have met God are given the privilege of answering.
The Church has never stopped singing that way. Think of songs like…
What Wondrous Love Is This?
What Child Is This?
Who Is There Like You?
Who Am I?
Is He Worthy?
Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
Each one draws us in with a question we can’t help asking, and leaves us standing on an answer we didn’t invent, but instead has revealed itself to us personally.
We live in a world full of questions. Many of them are honest, some are anxious, and some keep us up at night. Worship doesn’t ask us to pretend they aren’t there. Instead it brings our questions into the presence of the One who not only knows the answers but, in the end, is the Answer.
SONG OF ENCOUNTER: Who is This King? (lyrics here)