Should worship lead into the Word or respond to the Word?
I've been pondering this question for a while, perhaps ever since I read "Facedown" by Matt Redman. There he talks about how worship is a response to the revelation of God. Which I think is true, when we catch a glimpse of who God is - we respond in worship. How do we catch a revelation of God? One of the biggest ways is through His Word I would say. That causes me to think, and I've been hearing it from other people as well, that our worship should flow from a response to the preaching of God's Word.For years I've been taught the opposite. I've been taught that worship softens people's heart for the preaching of the Word, and I even heard this taught at a pastors' conference I was at last week. Here's the scripture the preacher used to make that point ...
Hosea 10:9-13
9 "Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah? 10 When I please, I will punish them; nations will be gathered against them to put them in bonds for their double sin. 11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh; so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground. 12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. 13 But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors
Here's what he had to say about this scripture:
Worship, then the Word; Seeking, then Sowing
Judah (meaning "praise") shall plow! Judah is the ministry of praise, prayer, worship, and the seeking of the Lord. We must pull the plow of the Spirit through the soil of our hearts in order to prepare the earth for the planting of the seed. As we are faithful in plowing (praise and worship) and planting (ministry of the Word), God will send rain and provide a plentiful harvest.
Is it just me, or is using this Hosea text as a key to how we should order our worship gatherings a bit of a stretch?
Do you know of anywhere else where it mentions that worshipping God leads to the preaching of His Word? What are your thoughts on this?
posted by Jesse @ 11:04 a.m.
8 Comments:
I think it's a stretch, and I was at the same seminar...
The most glaring thing about this (mis)use of Hosea is that he didn't bother translating "Jacob". Jacob means "he deceives." Here's what it would look like if he did:
"Praise must plow, and deception must break up the ground."
Now, how do we incorporate that into our Sunday morning worship times?
Setting this aside and coming back to the main thrust of your post, Jesse, I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do it. I've done both: singing first, then sermon and vice versa. To me, there's no reason to put all your eggs in either basket and claim one to be more appropriate than the other.
And when you add the observation that worship is so much more than the time we spend singing in church, the discussion becomes rather beside the point. E.g., if I'm worshipping God on Saturday and Sunday morning before I go to church, then I'm ready to dive into the Word right then and there, whether we sing or not.
Further, if we read our Bibles in our personal quiet time, should we then spend time in worship/singing before we actually read? Hmmm...
["Praise must plow, and deception must break up the ground."
Now, how do we incorporate that into our Sunday morning worship times?]
That's great Derwyn, I hadn't thought of that!
[Setting this aside and coming back to the main thrust of your post, Jesse, I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do it. I've done both: singing first, then sermon and vice versa. To me, there's no reason to put all your eggs in either basket and claim one to be more appropriate than the other.]
I don't think there's "one right way" to do things either, there's lots of room for flexability. I guess I react to the thought that I've been taught that "worship soften people's hearts to the Word", for as long as I can remember, and I'm not sure there's any biblical basis for it. That's not to say that worship can't be used to lead up to a sermon, in the most basic sense, that's been our pentecostal litergy for quite some time, and it's doubtful that it will change wholesale anytime soon.
What is it that Matt Redman says... "When we face up to the glory of God, we find ourselves facedown in worship."
I'm no scholar but I think that little phrase sums it up. When we realize who God is, when we encounter him in a personal way, when we apply his word to our lives, we can't HELP but worship.
Does that make any sense?
I've always thought of worship as something that is intimate... it's also interesting to think that some of the most meaningful worship times in my experience anyway... have come AFTER the word has been spoken. Like God's word has won it's way into my heart and now I have to fall down to worship him. We call this the "ministry" time. We've been ministered to by God's word, heard his revelation, and worship is our response.
Yeah?
Heck yeah! :-)
"We've been ministered to by God's word, heard his revelation, and worship is our response."
I think that summs it up very well. It's great to know that our worship can also extend beyond music to obedience, to respond to God's Word in obeying is perhaps the most powerful expression of worship!
On the musical side, it's sad how little time we tend to have to corporatly respond to the Word, at least it's been my experience. Usually I'm asked to do one song after the sermon, and everybody goes home. I guess that's where the "old sunday night service" was useful. Extended times of prayer and worship were expected in those services.
Hey Jesse,
I think you should check out Soul Survivor's new release, Love Came Down.
I just bought it, it's fantastic.
Sweet! Where can I find it? I've been singing "Love came down" for a few months, ever since I heard it on worshipcentral's site - and I love it!
Have you heard the studio version of "Happy Day" yet? I think it's labled under "Worship Together Favorites" on Itunes, or a name close to that. I'm really hoping to teach it to the church in time for Easter.
I actually just ordered straight from the UK, it's not too exspensive and it's free shipping... www.soulsurvivior.co.uk
I've only heard the live version of "Happy Day", but I really like it. You could probably order that from Soul Survivor too, if you needed it.
I'm so jealous that your church knows "Love Came Down". That song is changing my life and there's no way to share that with MVA right now...
I think it's a stretch BUT only in the sense that music FIRST is THE only way to do things. And only in the sense that Judah(praise) is to be translated praise. Jacob was also more than a deciever so I don't think that's a fair interpretation either. He worked the ground for 7 years to get Rachel (Gen 29:18), that's an impressive feet of determination to recieve a blessing (rachel). He happens to also be Judah's father (Gen 35:23). And then there's also the new name of Jacob... Isreal (Gen 32:27,28). But I think there's a spiritual truth to be told in Verse 12.
A side note here... other than the glaring difficulty of finding the right terminology for things, that being "Worship" equaling the musical form of praise and adoration to God. I've tried to write not using it as the mode of worship through song, but in the broad sense of the meaning.. worship is worship :)
Verse 11
Is not God describing punishment (nations gathered against them...put a yoke). Verse 12 is God's plea to repent. 'break up the ground' (our hearts? our minds or spirits?)... eitherway it sounds like God wants to bless and thus we should make our full potential available to recieve (through obedience and God's promise).
I think this verse is showing us a common truth that's given throughout scripture... mmm now would be a great time to quote some scripture refs. Sorry none come to mind (I need to hit the hay... anyone think of any verses?). I am not a hebrew scholar by any means but could not the verse be stated... 'Obey his commands, recieve the blessings of his promises, and surrender all areas to him; wait on the lord for he is comming, to make you holy as he is holy.' These are common themes found through out the bible right?
So, does music "plow the mind" does it quiet the spirit? Yes, so using music as a peacemaker to internal conflict is a great solution to recieving His words/seed. It sets the emotional stage of our mind. But this musical structure is NOT the ONLY means of worship or required to make ready paths for revelation or intimate connection (as stated in the previous blogs... nature, bible reading, sermons prior to music). I think music was designed to be ONE medium for initiating a response to internal/external conflict (listening to some great classical Bach is one of my favs), for memory enhancement (we remember more songs than sermons don't we), for use as a response to God as well as a form of communication from God (sometimes my spirit is renewed when it recieves an encouragement that was braught on by the song). (Mmmm need more scripture here.. sorry).
This blog is way to long... in short lets use music as a tool for worship, a tool to prepare our minds and spirit for seeds(the Bible), and a form of personal response... amung a few other uses.
Peace,Alex.
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