*Gospel-shaped worship is a way to describe an order of service which moves us through the progression of the gospel from the beginning to the end of a service. In every service, we want to see the glory of God, humbly come to him in our need as finite, sinful, broken men, see and embrace God’s grace in Christ, and respond in faith and trust and consecration to Christ. For all the distinctiveness of each worship service, it is our goal that each service would move us from GOD to MAN to CHRIST to RESPONSE.
[Click here to read Gospel-Shaped Worship: God]
Gospel-shaped worship starts with a vision of God Himself. The prophet Isaiah tells us that he saw God, and that God was enthroned as the King, clothed in majesty, three-times holy, and overflowing in glory. What was Isaiah’s response to this vision? When Isaiah saw God, what happened to him?
“And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!'” (Isaiah 6:5)
When Isaiah saw God, God’s glorious holiness clearly exposed Isaiah’s own sinfulness and lostness. Isaiah knew in that moment, in the light of who God is, who he truly was – a man of unclean lips, lost in his own sin. In the previous chapter, Isaiah was functioning as God’s mouthpiece, pronouncing to the wicked, “Woe to you! God’s judgment is coming to you!” Now, as he personally encounters the glory of God and the holiness of the Holy One, he cries out, “Woe is me!”
When we clearly see the greatness of our God, we inevitably are reminded of who we really are. When we clearly see the transcendent holiness of the Lord, we also clearly see our smallness and our sinfulness.
Why is this important for Gospel-Shaped worship? Because the Gospel is God’s provision of grace for sinners. And if we lose sight of the holiness of God, we will lose sight of our own sinfulness. If we lose sight of our own sinfulness, we will no longer sense our dire need for grace. And if we lose our grasp on our need for grace, then the Gospel is no longer good news to us.
This is why in every worship service, we begin by looking up to God, and then we confess our weaknesses and sins to Him. We may do this through silent confession, or through a particular song, or in the pastoral prayer. Whenever we gather, we express our absolute need to our great and holy God, in anticipation of the grace He is ready to give to those who humble themselves before Him.