Themes, Lyrics, Prayers and Exhortations

Next time you worship corporately, I challenge you to pay closer attention to some of the elements of worship such as the set theme, song lyrics, transitional prayers and exhortations from the platform (and in some charismatic circles from the "crowd"). Sometimes a worship leader will design a set of songs based around a certain theme or interweaving themes. For example, this past weekend I led a set of songs based around the theme of Creation since we were talking about Creation that day. So three songs that made up that theme were How Great Thou Art, Creation Calls and Your Beloved. It sometimes helps to get a sense of the theme which can add much more impact to your time of worship. It's seeing the big picture.

Lyrics are a very powerful part of the corporate worship service. The poetic flow of a song can really help the human spirit express deeper thoughts, devotion, prayers and praise. Take an old familiar hymn Amazing Grace for example, the simple thought is that we've been saved but the poet and author of the song expressed it as Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see. Lyrics can be very powerful and help put more depth and emotion to the thoughts that we sing about.

Prayers during times of transition within the musical part of a worship set can also help us to draw deeper meaning from our times of corporate worship. A transitional prayer can be done by the worshipper as a private conversation between them and God or it can be led by someone on the platform. This prayer usually takes the theme or a specific part of the song that was just sung and applies it to the worshipper's life. An example of this is praying a prayer to ask God to help us to not just sing songs but to be compelled to move into action as a further expression of our worship (which could be prayed after the song God of Justice.

Finally, exhortations are mini-sermons, thought-provoking statements or just simple encouragement and edification to help worshippers draw deeper and closer to God during the time of corporate worship. I don't always feel the need to give an exhortation, but more times than not I share at least one small thought if not a few more words to help connect the congregation. Exhortations can be planned if you like that sort of thing, but the ones I give are usually spontaneous (at least for the first worship service). Exhortations can range from testimony, to personal reflection or devotions, to Scripture application to challenging the congregation to some standard or calling. Exhortations aren't meant to take the place of the teaching or preaching, but rather help people connect during a time of corporate worship through music and the arts.

New Blog Series: How to Worship Corporately