SWBC Worship Small Group #1

Tonight was great...we're going through Bob Sorge's book, Exploring Worship, as a team small group. Since we just handed out the books tonight, we haven't begun reading. This night was special, though, because we could share our thoughts on our worshipping experience and how we worship in our personal and corporate times.

Before our discussion, we watched the first module of his video series. The focus and idea behind the talk was the fact that worship and all facets of worship (praise, petition, supplication, etc.) go under the umbrella of prayer. It's like one of those "duh" moments, you know. I knew it all along but tonight was the first time I was brought to light about that fact.

Think about it though...if you and I came to a worship service and actually anticipated that it would be actual prayer time, how much different would your worship be? What might we do differently? How might we alter the way we worship?

In all my worship experience, I have never really seen it for what it is; intimate, true, and heartfelt communication with God. As a worship leader, I often think about how I might lead a congregation to the throne of God. But I think when I talked it over with him, Paul Koonce (tbc's Min. of Music) said it best (I'm paraphrasing a bit here): "Worship first, lead second." It is surely true. Going to the throne of God is most important. We can't lead the congregation there without going on first. It is surely true.

Prayer is the aspect of communication with God. When we see it for what it is, all other parameters come in to focus.