Steps Into Worship

These notes parallel the section in Vertical Church entitled "Where Is This Service Going?"

Both the tabernacle in the Old Testament and the temple that replaced it provide us with visual clues to guide our worshipful approach to God. The spaces represent our adjustment of attention and attitude. An ascent, a gate, a courtyard, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies make up the five separate steps in a tabernacle/temple worship experience.

1. Worship as We Arrive

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”38 From wherever we begin our journey until we join in a call to worship. This step is intentional preparation for worship.

2. Worship at the Gate

 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving”41 in our hearts. Those first moments when we are gathered with other believers and lift our voices together in praise.

3. The Courts of Testimony

“One generation shall praise your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”43 Here our worship team frequently stops the singing and has some element of “body life.” It could be a live testimony or a powerful story enhanced by onsite video that reminds everyone of the real-world God we are exalting.

4. The Place of Preparation

“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”45 In the Holy Place, after the focus upon testimony in phase three, the content of what we sing and say in this part of the service again turns to the Vertical. The songs are noticeably more about God Himself and laying hold of sovereign God and His sufficiency.

5. The Place of Holy Presence

In Holy of Holies worship, we experience what the hymn writer described as “lost in wonder, love, and praise.” Nothing about me, everything about God; nothing about God’s actions on our behalf, only about His exalted splendor and surpassing beauty.