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Lesson 1 

"Good Reasons for Good Worship"

Welcome!

With this issue we are beginning a new resource. This is the first of lessons for study and discussion that we will provide monthly.

We have found it important for the worship committee, which meets regularly to supervise the worship life of the church, to be involved in study together on a regular basis. Because of their responsibilities most committees or teams are not able to devote more than a half hour for study at each meeting. But if you meet monthly, and study for a half hour at each meeting, your group will have spent six hours each year in study and discussion on issues of worship! Your work together will surely show the benefit of such study.

The lessons we provide will deal with issues and Scripture passages that are relevant to your work as a worship leader, planner, or evaluator. We aim to provide some thoughts to spark your study and discussion; we'll point you to other resources that will be helpful; and we'll provide some questions as discussion starters. During the first six lessons we'll focus on our reasons for worship, the participants in worship, the uniqueness of Reformed worship, the pattern of worship, writing a worship statement, and some of the issues of worship renewal in churches today.

We are convinced there will be great benefit for your group in studying together. You will gain insight in how to think biblically about worship; you will gain more knowledge of the issues; you will bond together as a team; and you will deepen your understanding of your task.

You are free to print these lessons and make copies for the members of your group. We encourage you to plan ahead and provide a copy for each member with the meeting agenda, so that preparation can be done before the meeting.

These are provided for your use by Norma de Waal Malefyt and Howard Vanderwell, Resource Development Specialists for the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. They also provide weekly worship services and resources for your aid. Check them out at the CICW website and click on Resources, then on Leadership. If you have suggestions or questions, you may contact them at norma.malefyt@calvin.edu or howard.vanderwell@calvin.edu.

Scripture: Revelation 4 and 5

Before you come to the meeting, spend some time with these two chapters from Revelation. As you read these chapters, remind yourself that while John is an exile on the island of Patmos he receives this revelation from God (see Rev. 1:9-20).

You are getting a view of the throne room of heaven. Notice the throne, the One on it, the crowd around it, and the nature of the worship they are bringing. Then notice (in chapter 5) how the focus shifts to the Lion/Lamb.

Reasons Matter

Our reasons for doing something are critically important. They will shape both how we do something and what we expect to get from it. People worship for many different reasons:

Surely you can think of many other reasons people worship.

What Is Worship?

Historically, we've defined worship as a group or corporate conversation between God and his people. There are a number of considerations inherent in this definition:

  1. Worship happens at God's initiative and invitation.
  2. God speaks to us through his Word of blessing, forgiveness, and instruction.
  3. We speak to God in words and acts of confession, adoration and praise, commitment, and intercession.
  4. Together we celebrate the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

God is the center of our worship, the focus of it all. If we forget that, we are in danger of twisting the intent of worship and using criteria for its evaluation that are illegitimate.

It is wise for a committee or planning group to return to a discussion of this definition of worship regularly.

Motivations in the Throne Room

Carefully examine the worship activity in the passage from Revelation 4 and 5. As you do, you will notice multiple reasons for worship embedded in this story. While this passage does not give us an exhaustive list of all the reasons, it provides some needed reminders.

  1. Worship God for who he is. Notice how the worshipers give adoration to God for his perfections. Read the description of the beauty of Christ described in Revelation 1:12-16, and the description of God in 4:3-6. Note the acclamations in chapters 4 and 5: "Holy, Holy, Holy . . ." ( 4:8), "You are worthy . . ." (4:11), and "Worthy is the Lamb . . ." (5:12).
  2. Worship God for his act of creating. Read the entire acclamation in 4:11. "You are worthy . . . to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." An awareness of Genesis 1 and 2 and the world around us will shape our adoration of the Creator.
  3. Worship God for the sacrifice of Christ. In chapter 5 the Lamb is identified as the Lamb "who was slain." His identity comes from his sacrifice. And his adoration also comes from that fact. "You are worthy . . . because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation" (5:9).

Tips for Discussion Leaders

You can best prepare for leading this discussion by reminding yourself of a few things:

  1. Your time is limited because of your meeting agenda, so it will be necessary to keep the discussion on course.
  2. It is important that all members of the group enjoy the right to be heard and make their contributions.
  3. Your role is to monitor the discussion and keep it on track. The purpose of a study/discussion like this is not to bring things to a conclusion or consensus as you would with an item of business, but to create a setting in which all the members of the group will have an opportunity to think through a subject and gain new insight.

On this issue particularly, be aware that there will be a variety of other reasons for worship that group members might raise. Don't be caught off guard. Recognize that all of these may well have value in the right place and at the right time. But many of them come as byproducts of good worship, and are not the primary goals of worship (as Rev. 4 and 5 give us).

On several of the questions below the group will probably suggest widely varying answers and comments. That's OK. Not everyone has to agree. That's the benefit of a group discussion. Aim for openness.

In most of these discussions it is not necessary to arrive at any conclusions that require action. However, it would be helpful for the leader to watch for themes that occur through the discussion or matters on which there seems to be consensus, and summarize those for the group at the end of the half hour. It may be wise to keep a record of such consensus statements for further reference and planning.

Discussion Starters

  1. What reasons for worship do most of your worshipers come with? Can you identify them? How do they express those reasons? Are they proper reasons or not?
  2. What assumptions about worship do you work with as a committee or planning team?
  3. Examine several of your recent orders of worship. What do they reveal about your reasons for worship?
  4. Have your reasons and expectations for worship changed over the past ten years? In what way? Are you comfortable with those changes?
  5. What corrections in your work and/or education for your congregation should be considered? Make a list of the possible ways in which that could be done.

Further Reading
Authentic Worship in a Changing Culture. Grand Rapids, MI: CRC Publications, 1997, pp. 35-78.

Next Month: "Participants in Worship: Seen and Unseen"