Ed Stetzer: What Should Worship Look Like? 3 Questions to Ask When Planning a Worship Service

We serve a God who is worthy of worship and praise, and we must wisely consider three factors in planning worship.

I've always loved worship.

As a failed worship leader (every church planter has to play guitar, right?), I found worship both meaningful and powerful. Some of those times are when I am by myself—worship dominates my personal prayer time. Then there is corporate worship, which can be a great opportunity, but also a great challenge at times.

For many of us, few things are as meaningful and formative as moments spent in corporate worship. Churches spend countless hours and dollars to create environments where voices can be raised in song and hearts lifted in prayer.

My church intentionally plans and, probably, so does yours.

The prominence of worship in our churches is no accident. We serve a God who is worthy of worship and praise. In the Old Testament, they prepared and planned for worship and we should do no less. Often, though, these times of praise and worship become forums driven by consumerism rather than gratitude, and opinion rather than orthodoxy.

Much can be said about worship and I won't say it all here, but I've been thinking about some of the challenges in planning worship services. In my view, churches that embrace God-centered worship are thinking through ways to encourage people to engage in biblical worship.

To do that, I encourage you to consider three questions.... Keep reading

Also see

Stuart Townend: Do We Really Need More Worship Songs?