"...If a man has need of penitence and confession, if affliction or temptation has overtaken him, if he has been persecuted or delivered from the plots of his enemies, if he is in sorrow or trouble, or if he wishes to praise and give thanks and bless the Lord, he finds instruction in the Psalms..." - St. Athanasius
If we ever want to decide which book in the Bible is the single biggest influencer of modern worship, it'd be hard to look beyond the Book of Psalms.
The Psalms are the source for the essence of today's worship. Some Psalms on their own can teach us the features of a regular worship session. My favorite among such Psalms is Psalm 66:
- Glorify the Lord loudly (up-tempo songs work well here). "Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!" - Verse 1&2
- Rejoice in the Lord as we sing of His greatness and what He has done for us. "...Come, let us rejoice in him." - Verse 6
- Bow in reverent worship before the Lord of Hosts. "All the earth bows down to you..." - Verse 4
- Surrender to the Lord in a sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving and worship. "I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you - vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble." - Verse 13 & 14
- Pray to Him to breathe on us again and revive us. "we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. " - Verse 12. A song of the Holy Spirit could fit in well, at this point.
- Listen to God giving space to Him to speak and minister to us. "Come and listen, all you who fear God..." - Verse 16
- Close the session with praise. "Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" - Verse 20
If we take songs based on these themes and put them together, we'll have the set-list and the progression for an entire worship session. Do try it some time!
Can you share your tips on developing a worship set-list?
