Worship & Creative Arts Pastor Chris Gambill on worship planning:
Do we presume to respond to God before hearing from or about Him?
An incredibly simple, yet piercing, question.
Sure, by including a well-crafted call to worship, we can hear about God and His character. But if the essence of worship is responding to a holy God who is with us and who is revealed to us through Jesus Christ and His Word, should not the bulk of our worship take place after the primary declaration portion of our corporate gathering time?
Our tendency though (including mine) is to place the bulk of worship before the message. But in doing so, are we faithfully responding to God as He is or as we think Him to be?