Planning a worship set is one of the most important things a worship leader does every week. Songs are sermons that people will remember for years and years. (See “What happens when people sing”) And, worship leaders, we are putting the words into the mouths and hearts of our people. There are no Bible verses with instructions on how to craft a perfect worship set, but there are some practical things we can do to help make a pretty good one.

Here are some things to consider when crafting a worship set:

People know what they like and they like what they know. Sometimes, it’s hard to beat the oldie-but-goodie that everyone’s been singing for 50 years. I’m a sucker for a good hymn. Tis So Sweet and Great Is Thy Faithfulness are among some of the best! But if we only play the songs we know and love, then it’s only a matter of time before our worship sets are dull and devoid of emotions.

God is always doing new things worthy of new expressions of praise.  Psalm 96:1 says, “Sing a new song to the Lord..” Clearly, we are to sing news songs. But, on the flip side, if we only sing new songs, then we will lose engagement with our people. Nobody will sing because they don’t know the songs. Building a set with both new and familiar is usually a good idea.

Every congregation has left-brained people and right-brained. Some are academic types, and others are more feelers. Songs with dense lyrics are great for teaching and evoking thoughts, while songs that may be more repetitive and spatial are great for evoking emotions.

Since God wants us to love him with our heart, soul, and mind, then we must conclude that both are necessary for a worship set. Most songs don’t fit cleanly into one of these categories, but when looking the set as a whole, it is good to strike a balance of both lyrical richness and musical expression.

Most references in the Bible about singing are connected to joy. (Psalm 95, 98, etc.,) Singing is both an expression of joy and a means for stirring up joy where it wasn’t already. A worship set without joy might appropriate at times, but in general, a worship set should be joyful. As redeemed, adopted children of God, we have much to be joyful about.

However, God is also a God of awe and wonder. He is mysterious and severe. There is a gravity that comes with worshiping Jesus is heavy and deserving of our sober-mindedness. Finding a balance of songs that capture the joy of the Jesus and the weightiness of God’s glory strikes a good balance for a worship set.

In the book, Rhythms of Grace, author Mike Cosper talks about the pattern of worship that happens when we sing. “God speaks and we respond.” Our worship is always in response to a revelation of God.

There are songs about God and there are songs about how we relate to God. Both are good. But in a worship set, it is a good idea to not have one without the other. Singing songs about God and his holy attributes move us to respond.

God is worthy of our excellence and our creativity. Although God’s Word does not need us to dress it up, we don’t want our lack of musicality or creativity to be a hindrance to someone. Psalm 33:3 says, “Play skillfully to the Lord…”

However, there is a fine line between making something interesting and making it too complicated to follow.

The benefit of playing simply is that people can follow the music with ease and sing along. The downside is that people will get bored of it quicker. There are ways to make the music interesting while still keeping it accessible and simple enough to sing.

There are many other things to consider when crafting a worship set, but I hope these things help to set a foundation to build off.