What "Come Now Is the Time to Worship" means
"Come Now Is the Time to Worship" is Brian Doerksen's eschatological invitation, a song that understands the present act of congregational worship as participation in something larger than the Sunday gathering. Written from within the Vineyard tradition, the song draws directly on Revelation 4's throne-room vision and the universal confession of Philippians 2:10-11. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord: that is the song's eschatological horizon. The congregation is not waiting for that moment. They are anticipating it by doing it now.
In G (male) or C (female) at 84 BPM, the song moves at a comfortable, confident pace. It is not urgent in the anxious sense but urgent in the theological sense. "Now" is a loaded word here. The New Testament uses kairos to describe the appointed moment of divine activity, the time that is ripe. Doerksen's song borrows that logic: the time for worship is always now, always the moment of divine invitation.
The song's theological claim is that voluntary present worship is a foretaste of universal future worship. When the congregation sings "Come, just as you are to worship," they are practicing the thing that every created being will eventually do, not as compulsion but as recognition.
What this song does in a room
The room orients. That is the primary function of "Come Now Is the Time to Worship": it gathers the scattered attention of a congregation that has just arrived from the week and points it in a single direction. This is a song that knows it is beginning something, not arriving at the middle of it.
The explicit invitation language ("come," "now," "just as you are") does pastoral work that more declarative openers cannot do. It addresses the people who came to church ambivalent, tired, or uncertain of their welcome. The song meets them at the door. Before the congregation is asked to declare anything or express anything, they are first invited.
Over the years, "Come Now Is the Time to Worship" has become a song that carries congregational memory for many people who have been singing it for a long time. That memory is a pastoral resource. When familiar songs begin, the body often does something before the mind catches up. It settles into a posture learned over many repetitions.
What this song is saying about God
The song is primarily a statement about God's worthiness and God's desire. Revelation 4:11 provides the content of the worship to which the congregation is invited: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Worthiness is the ground of worship, not what we feel in a given moment but what God is.
The Philippian-Isaiah thread (Philippians 2:10-11, Isaiah 45:23) adds the universal dimension. Every tongue and every knee, not just the congregation that gathered this Sunday morning. The song places the local gathering inside the larger frame of cosmic worship that is coming and that, in some form, is already underway. That framing elevates what might otherwise feel like a small, local act into something with eschatological weight.
The "come, just as you are" refrain says something about God's nature that is theologically significant: God's invitation is not conditioned on the state of the person arriving. The invitation is prior to the preparation.
Scriptural backbone
- Revelation 4:11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power."
- Philippians 2:10-11 Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
- Psalm 95:6-7 Come, let us bow down and worship; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
- Hebrews 12:28 "Let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."
- Isaiah 45:23 Every knee will bow, every tongue will swear: the original Pauline source.
How to use it in a service
This song is ideal as a service opener because its text is an invitation rather than an act already underway. It works to gather a congregation at the beginning of a gathering, naming what is about to happen and inviting everyone (including the ambivalent) into it.
In evangelistic contexts, "Come Now Is the Time to Worship" is especially effective because it frames worship as response to God's nature rather than as a performance for God. First-time visitors who do not know the other songs will find this one accessible quickly. The melody is simple and memorable. The invitation is clear.
For services structured around Revelation 4 or Philippians 2, the song provides a natural musical entry into the text. It also pairs well with Psalm 95 as a call to worship in a more liturgically structured service.
Consider returning to the song at a transition point in the service, not just using it to open but coming back to the invitation language after the sermon, as a response. The "now" of worship is as relevant after the word has been preached as before.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
The simplicity of this song is its pastoral strength and its leading risk. Because the melody and lyric are familiar to many congregations, it can be sung on autopilot. Your job is to lead it in a way that keeps the invitation alive, that makes "come now" feel present-tense rather than routine.
One way to do this: vary the tempo slightly between the verse and the refrain. The verse can be slightly more paced, setting up a small release as you move into "come, just as you are." That variation keeps the song from flattening into predictability.
Watch the ending. Many leaders extend the refrain into a time of open worship, which can work well but requires intentionality about how you land. A long, indefinite ending can lose the congregation. Know where you are going before you start extending.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
Acoustic guitar and piano are the natural foundation for this song. The Vineyard tradition it comes from tends toward warmth rather than production, and the song serves that aesthetic. Start with just those two instruments in the verse, adding the fuller band as the song builds toward the final chorus.
The "come, just as you are" refrain sustains beautifully on repetition with simple vocal harmonies. If you have backup vocalists who can hold a simple three-part arrangement, this section benefits from the layering without needing to be complex about it.
Technical team: this is a gathering song and the front-of-house mix should feel like an invitation rather than a presentation. Keep room-filling reverb controlled so the sound feels close and warm. This is not a song that benefits from the large-arena treatment. Let it feel like it is happening in the same room the congregation is sitting in.