TWLL #10: Sit In His Story

read time: 5 minutes

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When you lead worship you will sing to Jesus more confidently and more naturally, the better you know His story.

And when I say story I don’t just mean the story of Jesus in the Gospels- though that is a significant part.  I mean the story of Jesus starting pre-creation and going to the end of Revelation.  

Today, I want to give us a vision as worship leaders to go deep into the storyline of Jesus, and share some key passages that will help you get to know His story in a greater way.

Why You Need To Know The Storyline Of Jesus

When you lead worship you’re doing several important things- leading a room, leading your band and singers, guiding everyone through the song list, but primarily you’re singing to Jesus.

So if singing to Him is the primary thing you’re doing when you lead worship- it only makes sense to go deeper offstage with Him by familiarizing yourself with His story.

As you get to know the storyline of Jesus in a deeper way, it will change the way you see Him and the way you interact with Him- first and foremost as a follower of Jesus, and secondly as a worship leader.

The story of Jesus is epic, and today I’m just highlighting a few parts of the storyline- but I strongly encourage you to take these passages as a starting point, and begin to delve deeper into His story.

Jesus In Pre-Creation

In John 17, as Jesus is talking with the Father shortly before going to the cross, He says something interesting.  He asks that the Father would glorify Him “with the glory which I (Jesus) had with You before the world was.”  

It moves on from there, but that brief section gives us a little window into life between the Father and the Son before Creation.  It tells us that they were there before the world was made, dwelling together in community. 

And it tells us that the Father and Son were living in, and sharing in glory.

I encourage you to take this passage, and sit in it.  Reflect, think about, and even pray into that holy picture of the Father and the Son- dwelling together and sharing glory, before the creation of the world.

Jesus At Creation

John 1 says that all things came into being through the Person of Jesus.  That nothing that exists came into being apart from Him.  

Reflecting on this long enough will blow your mind.  John is saying that the little Baby in the manger, born to a poor Jewish couple, is the same Person Who laid the foundations of the earth.

He’s saying that the Man in the boat on the Sea of Galilee who brought the storm to a dead stop, is the One Who actually made the wind and the waves.

Sit in this space of seeing Jesus as the Creator of all things, and find yourself marveling at the mystery, majesty, and greatness of Who He is.

Jesus In The Psalms

MANY parts of the storyline of Jesus are depicted in the Psalms.  They’re not organized in chronological order- but they give us much insight into His story and into His heart.  Here are a handful of Psalms about Jesus that you want to become more familiar with…

Psalm 2 - His return, His kingship, and the Father’s confidence in His Son and His plan.

Psalm 16 - The resurrection of Jesus, and the promise of the resurrection of the saints.  Peter references Psalm 16 as he preaches after the Holy Spirit is poured out in Acts 2.

Psalm 22 - The death of Jesus.  Unbelievable depth and detail when you consider it was written about 1000 years beforehand.  I think it also gives us a stunning window into some of what was going on in Jesus’ heart as He was on the cross.

Psalm 45 - Epic.  The beauty of Jesus.  His kingship.  The Father’s commitment to the Name of Jesus being remembered in all generations.  Referenced by the writer of Hebrews.

Psalm 61 - The redemptive, restorative role of Jesus, which He Himself quotes as He reads the Scripture in a synagogue.

Psalm 110 - Quoted many times in the New Testament.  The ascension of Jesus, and a clear description of where Jesus currently is.

Conclusion

There are so, so many passages in the Old and New Testament that give understanding and insight into the storyline of Jesus, and I’ve shared just a small fraction of them here.  

Go through these passages I’ve highlighted.  Read them, pray through them, and let it put a hunger in you to search and know the storyline of Jesus throughout the Word.

As you become more familiar with His story, you will get to know Him in a deeper way, which- again- will change your life first and foremost as a follower of Jesus, and then secondly as a worship leader who leads the room in song to Jesus every week.

That’s it for now.

See ya'll next week.

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Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you: 

1. The Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship Course.  If spontaneous worship has been a struggle, you might want to check out Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship.  It's a self-guided, self-paced course that empowers you to lead spontaneous worship with confidence, enables your musicians to flow with you, and helps your room engage.  

2- Join A Zoom Group.  Every 3 months I host small zoom groups- one focused on worship leading and one on songwriting.  Each group meets once a week for an hour on Zoom over a 12-week period, as we walk through the process of learning to leading worship/write songs out of connection with Jesus.  For more details about the next upcoming zoom group, including schedule & cost, email me at [email protected]