There are several reasons why God’s Word is so prominent in worship. First and foremost, God has chosen to reveal Himself as the Word and by the Word. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word." Here God identifies His Son, who Himself is God, as the Word. The Son of God is the Word of God. He is God’s means of communication to the world.

In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul tells us that God has chosen to reveal Himself by the Word. In other words, He speaks to us and reveals Himself to us and interprets His works in history for us by the inspired Word (2 Peter 1:20, 21). All Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are God’s revelation of Himself to us.

Second, God performs His work by His Word. How did He do it? God does it through the act of our worship. Worship is a response to His work, and the Word of God is the means by which He works in the world. This is the way it was in the beginning when God created the world by his Word (Hebrews 11:3; Genesis 13, 6, 9, 11). And this is the way it has been ever since God created the world by His spoken Word.

In the Gospels, we read that Jesus simply spoke and things happened. He spoke and the seas were calmed (Mark 4:39), fevers were cooled (Luke 4:39), demons were cast out (Mark 1:25), sins were forgiven (Mark 2:10), the blind received their sight (Luke 18:42), and the dead were raised (Luke 7:14). Miracles happened simply by means of His spoken Word.

Paul speaks of the way in which God brings about the good works of His people by the Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This is why Jesus said that men will see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16; 1 Peter 2:12). God works by His Word to do his works through His people in His world (1 Peter 2:10).

Psalm 1:3 reminds us that the man who meditates on the Word day and night will be "like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." So the Word brings fruit and makes a person prosper in the will of God.

The writer to the Hebrews speaks of the penetrating power of the Word (4:12). The Word is God’s agent in the great work of conviction and judgment (Romans 7:7). Jesus knew the sanctifying power of the Word. He prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17). He said to His disciples that they are clean through the Word which He has spoken to them (John 15:3). Yes. God’s Word, indeed, sanctifies us through and through. The sanctifying work of God is seen in His Word and performed by His Word. Therefore, the Word is prominent in worship.

Third, God brings about new birth by means of His Word. Peter said, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." Worship depends on the spiritual miracle of the new birth. Paul tells us in Ephesians that Christians are people who were dead in sin and trespasses (2:1), but now have been made alive spiritually by the regenerating work of the Spirit of God by means of the Word (John 3:3, 8). Consequently, there is spiritual life in him and spiritual worship through him.

Now, being made alive spiritually is one thing, but striving to keep alive spiritually is another thing. Is there a means to sustain our spiritual life? The means to sustenance is by feeding on the Word – not just once, but over and over again (1 Peter 2:2; Romans 10:17).

That is why Life Church has put the Word of God at the most prominent place in worship. God reveals Himself as the Word and by the Word. He does His works in the world by His Word and gives new life by His Word and sustains it by His Word. Without the Word, there would be no life, no faith, no work, no revelation and no worship. The Word is to worship as air is to breathing.

Immediately after Paul’s declaration on the inspiration and benefits of the written Word (2 Timothy 3:16, 17), he charged Timothy with these words, "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:1, 2). To Timothy, preaching was to be a prominent activity. Preaching is not just for evangelism in the street corner but it is also for Christians who need reproof, rebuke, exhortation and instruction.

So the pastor is called to preach because 2 Timothy 4:2 says he should. But why is it so fitting in God’s plan that preaching be so prominent in worship? The answer is PRECEDENCE. There is biblical precedence for explaining the Scriptures in public worship. One good example in the Old Testament is Nehemiah 8:6-8 – "And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." Ezra blessed the LORD. The people lifted their hands, bowed their heads and worshipped the LORD. There was not only the reading of the law, but men were called and appointed to give the sense of the law and helped them to understand it.

In the New Testament, Jesus is a good example. He came to Nazareth early in His ministry and entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and read from the prophet Isaiah about his own coming. Then He sat down and began to give an explanation to the people (Luke 4:16, 21). This was the typical synagogue pattern. The Word was read and then an interpretation and application of the Word were given (Acts 13:14-31).

Preaching ought to be central in the church because it was the pattern established in both the Old and New Testaments.

Furthermore, there are two reasons for the prominent place of preaching in worship. They have to do with the twofold essence of worship, namely, understanding God and delighting in God.

Jonathan Edwards aptly explains it: "God glorifies Himself toward the creatures also in two ways: By appealing to their understanding and in communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in and enjoying the manifestations which He makes of Himself. God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart."

So there are always two parts to true worship. There is seeing God and there is savoring God. The two cannot be separated. You must see him to savor him. And if you don’t savor him when you see him, you insult him. In worship, there is always understanding with the mind and there is always feeling in the heart (1 Corinthians 14:15). Understanding must always be the foundation of feeling or all we have is baseless emotionalism. But understanding of God that doesn’t give rise to feeling for God becomes mere intellectualism and deadness. This is why the Bible continually calls us to think and consider and meditate and remember on the one hand, and to rejoice and fear and mourn and delight and hope and be glad on the other hand. Both are essential for true worship.

When Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2, "Preach the word," he was telling him to "herald" or "announce" or "proclaim." It is what a town crier did: "Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear ye! The King has a proclamation of good news for all those who swear allegiance to his throne. Be it known to you that He will give eternal life to all who trust and love His Son." Some call this heralding "exultation." Preaching is a public exultation over the truth that it brings. It is not disinterested or cool or neutral. It is passionate about what it says.

Nevertheless this heralding contains teaching. In 2 Timothy 3:16, the Scripture (which gives rise to preaching) is profitable for "doctrine" (i.e. teaching). And in 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul exhorted Timothy to "preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." So preaching is expository because it deals with the Word of God. True preaching is not voicing the opinions of a mere man. It is the faithful exposition of God’s Word.

Now you know that the reason why preaching is so prominent in worship is because worship is not just understanding but also feeling. It is not just seeing God, but also savoring God. It is not just the response of the mind, but also of the heart. Therefore, God has ordained preaching in worship not just for explanation to the mind and stimulation to the heart. Rather the Word is for teaching the mind and reaching the heart; showing the truth of Christ and savoring the glory of Christ; expositing the Word and exulting it.

That is what preaching is. And that is why it is so prominent in worship. Therefore, preaching happens most and best where recipients of the Word are praying and spiritually prepared for it. Where there is prayer in the pew; there is power in the pulpit.