Regulative Principle of Worship (2nd Commandment)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 20

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

29 “When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ 31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

32  “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

This week we’re going to continue considering the second commandment, that “you shall not make for yourself a carved image.” As I pointed out previously, the second commandment deals specifically with how we worship God. The first commandment deals with who we worship, the second and third with how we worship, and the fourth with when we worship. Or as one preacher put it, commandments 2-4 teach us to worship God rightly, reverently, and regularly.

The first four commandments are vertical commandments, they directly address the relationship between God and man, they articulate man’s duty to God, or more specifically our duty to worship him, and him alone. Therefore, God is concerned with who we worship, that we have no other gods before him, and how we worship, that we’re only permitted to worship him in ways that he has prescribed, and not by any invention of our own imaginations. That we worship God on his terms, and not our own.

This was made clear in Exodus 32 when the Israelites fashioned for themselves a golden calf, not in an attempt to worship other gods, but to worship Yahweh, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt. They had fashioned for themselves a golden calf in order to worship Yahweh. They employed the worship practices of Egypt and the pagan nations around them to worship God, which is what God had clearly forbidden them to do in the second commandment, 12 chapters earlier in Exodus 20.

And we saw other examples like this, such as Genesis 4 when God rejected Cain’s offering, and Leviticus 10 when Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized (or strange) fire to the Lord and were immediately consumed by fire and died. Or, for example, in the NT when the Apostle Paul described the consequences of those who partook of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner in 1 Corinthians 11, and as a consequence had become sick and even died. In short, it’s abundantly clear that God takes our worship seriously, and therefore so should we. That we should be careful to worship God on his terms and as he prescribes.

The purpose of redemption, worship

In fact, one of the primary reasons our worship is so important is because worship is the purpose of our redemption, worship is the reason for our redemption. God redeems us, that we might worship him. Do you remember the preamble to the 10 commandments? “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,” therefore you shall have no other gods before me, therefore you shall not make for yourself a carved image, therefore you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, therefore you shall remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, because I redeemed you and brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, you will worship me. Again, it’s abundantly clear that God takes our worship seriously, and therefore so should we.

Old covenant worship

So, in light of this, I thought it would be fitting and beneficial for us to consider how we’re instructed to worship God today, to consider how we’re prescribed to worship him, especially in light of the new covenant. While we rarely look forward to reading the portions of Exodus and Leviticus that describe, in painful detail, the civil and ceremonial laws of the old covenant, one thing’s for sure, there was very little ambiguity as to how Israel was intended to live and to worship, every detail was recorded for them plainly. The prescriptions for their worship were very clear, down to the smallest detail of the tabernacle’s design and the sacrifices that were required.

New covenant worship

However, within the context of the new covenant those prescriptions aren’t nearly as clear. We know that God still takes worship seriously, but we also know that most of the worship practices of the OT were tied to the old covenant, and have since ceased after being fulfilled in Christ. Israel’s worship was purposefully designed to foreshadow Christ and his ministry, whether by the Temple, the sacrifices, or the other ceremonial laws, so once Christ had come the old covenant came to an end, and was replaced by the new covenant, or as the writer of Hebrews put it in Hebrews 8:13,

Hebrews 8:13 ESV

In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

So, what are our parameters for worship in the new covenant? Well, many Christians have concluded that those parameters are largely up for grabs. In fact, if you try to impose any parameters upon worship at all, eventually someone will object and say, “What are you doing? You can’t put God in a box!” How many of you had heard something like this before? Or maybe you’ve said it yourself? On the surface, the assertion sounds very pious, and many Christians who’ve said it have been well meaning.

Worship practices up for grabs?

But this question frames any effort to let Scripture regulate our worship as simply us “limiting” God. However, if the parameters that limit the scope of our worship practices are established by God himself, in Scripture, then it isn’t we who are “limiting” God but rather God imposing limits on our worship. We’re not “putting God in a box” when we seek to have him regulate our worship. Many of us mistakenly think that God cares only that we worship him, but the truth is he also cares about how we worship him.

Furthermore, if we don’t have biblical parameters for our worship then our worship will be determined by all sorts of other standards. Many Christians determine their parameters for worship by their experiences. I’ve had visitors come up to me and describe a powerful experience they had at another church when that church added this or that to their worship service, and so they ask me if we could implement similar practices here.

For example, a time of special music during a service might stir our emotions, but we don’t determine whether this is an appropriate form of worship merely by whether or not it stirs our emotions. No matter how much we thought we “felt the presence of God” when worshiping him in a certain way, our emotional experiences are not the standard by which we determine parameters for worship. And as we’ll see here in a minute, singing is clearly a biblical element of worship, but not all forms of singing or music are.

I’ve also repeatedly heard the phrase, “I feel like God wants to do something new!” used to justify novel forms of worship. However, when we make assertions like this we’re not only appealing to our own subjective feelings to establish worship practices, but we’re claiming that we’ve been given direct revelation by God to worship him in ways that have only been revealed to you privately. These are all dangerous standards by which to establish corporate worship practices.

No matter how well intending we may be, we’re not permitted to set the parameters for worship. Why? Because worship isn’t about us, it’s not about pleasing us, it’s not about our own preferences, but instead pleasing God, and his preferences.

Worship parameters guard against idolatry

Furthermore, it’s important that we understand that biblical parameters for worship are intended to guard and protect us from idolatry. Don’t forget, the second commandment reveals to us that any deviation from worshiping God on his terms inevitably results in idolatry. As one writer put it, “Would God be so careless as to leave the outworking of His purpose in redemption to the imaginations of an idolatrous people?”

Regulative principle

Therefore, in order to avoid idolatry, our worship must be regulated by Scripture. And historically, within the Reformed tradition, this has been referred to has the regulative principle of worship. The 1689 London Baptist Confession of faith, which parallels the Westminster Confession at this point, puts it like this in chapter 22, paragraph 1,

“… the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and limited by his own revealed will. Thus, He may not be worshipped according to human imagination or inventions or the suggestions of Satan, nor through any visible representations, nor in any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.”

The regulative principle asks this basic question, “What does God’s Word teach us about how He wants to be worshiped?” The regulative principle forbids worshiping God in any way not commanded by Scripture, worshiping God only by explicit command or necessary implication.

This principle is important not only to guard us against idolatrous worship practices, but it also prevents church leaders from imposing worship practices upon the church which are not explicitly commanded by Scripture. For example, this was the primary issue that motivated the Puritans to flee England and sail to America in the early 17th century. The church leaders were forcing ministers and church members to worship in ways that the Scriptures did not require. So, the regulative principle is also meant to prevent church authorities from binding the consciences of men where the Bible does not.

Normative principle

So, while the Reformed tradition has historically held to the regulative principle of worship, the Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist churches (and others) have adhered to what’s typically referred to as the normative principle of worship. Like the regulative principle, the normative principle seeks to employ biblical worship practices, however, the normative principle also argues that as long as a practice is not biblically forbidden then any church is free to incorporate that practice into their corporate worship. That whatever is not forbidden is allowed in worship.

But, not only does this lend to men inventing their own forms of worship and binding the consciences of Christians to worship in ways that the Bible doesn’t prescribe, but the normative principle tends to result, eventually, in pushing out the prescribed elements of worship, with extra-biblical practices, over time, crowding out the biblical practices in favor of men’s own inventions and preferences. Over time, the church’s liturgy will have less and less room for prayer and scripture reading, sermons will become increasingly shorter in length, and the Lord’s Supper practiced less and less frequently, all in an effort to squeeze in other invented elements into corporate worship.

Elements of worship

So, what should the elements of our corporate worship be? What does Scripture prescribe for us to do? How ought we to worship God? Well, the church has historically identified five primary elements of worship. Those elements include, 1) reading the Word, 2) preaching the Word, 3) praying the Word, 4) singing the Word, and 5) seeing the Word. These elements come from an examination of Scripture, carefully observing how the new covenant church conducted worship, and how Jesus and the Apostles instructed the church to worship.

The London Baptist Confession sums it up like this in chapter 22, paragraph 5,

“The elements of religious worship of God include reading the Scriptures, preaching and hearing the Word of God, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, as well as the administration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They must be performed out of obedience to Him, with understanding, faith, reverence and godly fear. Also, purposeful acts of humbling with fasting and times of thanksgiving should be observed on special occasions in a holy and religious manner.”

Reading the Word

So, what’s obvious is that the word of God is central to our worship, because if you recall, in our last time, we’re meant to see by hearing. Therefore, we find that reading Scripture is an essential element of our corporate worship. For example, when the Apostle Paul was giving instructions to Timothy, an elder in Ephesus, he told him in 1 Timothy 4:13,

1 Timothy 4:13 (ESV)

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture…

In other words, it was the early church’s practice in corporate worship to read Scripture aloud to the congregation. We know that Scripture is powerful, even when it is not explained. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, that,

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

and then in Hebrews 4:12-13,

Hebrews 4:12–13 ESV

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Therefore, it was the practice of the churches to read Scripture aloud, publically to the congregation. And this wasn’t a practice exclusive to the corporate worship of new covenant churches. This had been a normative worship practice within the Jewish synagogue for hundreds of years. You might recall in Luke 4:16-20, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when he attended the local synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath, was given a scroll of the prophet Isaiah, stood up, and read from aloud from it before the congregation. We read,

Luke 4:16–20 ESV

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

Similarly, in Acts 13:13-15, we’re told that the Apostle Paul attended a synagogue on the Sabbath, in what’s now southern Turkey, sat down, and after listening to the reading of the Law and Prophets, stood up and preached the Gospel to them.

And this practice continued within the context of the church’s corporate worship. In fact, as the Apostolic letters were written, copied, and passed around to the churches they too were read allowed. Listen to how Paul ended his letter to the church in Colossae, in Colossians 4:16,

Colossians 4:16 ESV

And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

and then again at the end of his letter to the church in Thessalonica, in 1 Thessalonians 5:27,

1 Thessalonians 5:27 ESV

I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

You see, the public reading of Scripture during worship demonstrates that it’s the Word of God that fundamentally governs and directs our worship. That we sit under it’s authority, and that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matt. 4:4) When we gather weekly to sit under the reading of God’s word we’re acknowledging and conveying to others that we sit under the authority of it and depend upon it. The public reading of Scripture is meant to regularly expose us to it, to consider it, and meditate upon it.

Preaching the Word

A second essential element of our worship is preaching the Word. We’re not only intended to devote ourselves to the public reading of Scripture, but to teaching it, and explaining. In 1 Timothy 4:13 the Apostle Paul also told Timothy to devote himself “to exhortation” and “to teaching.” And later, in 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul wrote,

2 Timothy 4:2 ESV

preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.

We don’t just get up and talk about our lives, give our testimony, read an article from the newspaper to talk about it, or pick a song and explain its meaning, we teach and explain the word of God.

And like the public reading of Scripture this element also finds it’s origin in the Jewish synagogue hundreds of years earlier. Shortly after Israel’s exile in Babylon, some of the Israelites return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls, led by their governor, Nehemiah. After the wall was completed and the people were gathered together, Ezra, the priest, got up on a wooden platform and began to read the Law of Moses to the people, and explained it to them that they might understand it. Listen to Nehemiah 8:1-8,

Nehemiah 8:1–8 (ESV)

And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

Now, while this event was not within the context of corporate worship at the time, it’s believed that this took place leading up to the formation of the synagogue later in Israel's history, which would eventually serve as a model of corporate worship for the church.

The word of God is intended to shepherd our souls, and to save its hearers. Preaching and teaching is God’s ordained means of feeding his sheep, and it’s God’s primary means of communicating the Gospel. This is why the preacher’s job, fundamentally, is to explain the meaning of the text to the people, applying it to their lives, and showing them how it connects to Christ and the Gospel. This is why preaching is an essential element to of our worship.

Praying the Word

A third essential element of our worship is prayer. At the church’s beginning in Act 2:42, we read,

Acts 2:42 ESV

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

When the church gathered together for worship they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer.

In 1 Corinthian chapter 11 the Apostle Paul would later give the men and women at the church in Corinth direction on how honor God when praying in the context of corporate worship. And while Paul was instructing Timothy on matters of public worship, he wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-2,

1 Timothy 2:1–2 ESV

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Not only does Paul instruct them to pray within the context of corporate worship, but he also describes the kinds of prayer they should be practicing, supplications, intercessions, and thanksgivings. Supplication being a form of prayer where we have the privilege of asking for the things we need. Or as Jesus put it, asking for our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). We’re permitted to ask for both our spiritual and material needs. We pray for food, clothing, work, health, and so on, but we also pray for grace, humility, faith, love, and opportunities to share the Gospel. Similarly, intercession is asking God for the needs of others, that he would provide them with what they need, that his will would be done, for their salvation, and for those in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life. We should also offer up prayers of thanksgiving, gratitude for the blessing received, whether they’re tangible gifts, answered prayers, or spiritual blessings. We’re also commanded elsewhere in Scripture to praise God for who he is, his attributes, and to confess our sin.

Singing the Word

A fourth essential element of worship is singing the word. In the OT it was the Levites responsibility praise God through song ( 1 Chron. 15:16-24), but in the NT that responsibility and privilege has been given to the entire congregation. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:26,

1 Corinthians 14:26 ESV

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

When we sing we express our gratitude to God, but our singing is also intended to build one another up. In fact, Paul says elsewhere in Ephesians 5:18-19 that we’re to address one another when we sing. He says,

Ephesians 5:18–19 ESV

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

Then in Colossians 3:16 he goes further to say that we’re intended to admonish on another by our singing, writing,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Texts like these are important not only because they make it clear that singing is an essential element of our corporate worship together, but because they help us to see the purpose of our singing, we’re to make melody to the Lord, addressing one another, building each other up, and admonishing one another by our singing.

This tells us that our singing is not intended to be a performance for entertainment, but for the building up of the church. That our singing is fundamentally congregational. This is why certain styles of music are fundamentally unsuitable for corporate worship. The style of our music must be able to promote corporate participation and the ability to address one another; therefore the congregation must be able to hear one another.

While certain styles of music may be appropriate in other settings, they may be fundamentally incapable of promoting congregational singing, and therefore unsuitable for worship. This doesn’t mean you can’t listen to these other styles of music in other contexts (while at home, or in the car), but it’s important for us to realize that we choose certain styles of music for corporate worship based on the style’s ability to fulfill the purposes commanded in Scripture.

But if we fail to understand this, we’ll instead come to the conclusion that the choice of music style simply boils down to the personal preferences of the congregation, that singing merely serves our personal preferences. And when this happens worship quickly become a divisive issue within the church, because to the congregation the choice of music style boils down to mere personal preference, with one group preferring one style while another group prefers different style. Neither group realizing that purpose of music style doesn’t boil down to mere preference, but whether or not the style serves the purpose outlined in Scripture.

But as long as a style of music is conducive for congregational singing it can be employed for worship. In fact, exposing a congregation to many styles of music from many historical time periods can broaden a congregation’s musical tastes and curb our natural propensity to sing only according to our personal preferences, and to avoid division within the church over such preferences.

Putting God’s word to melody also helps us to remember God’s word. In John Calvin’s preface to the Psalter he wrote, “Now there are two parts to sung music, the text and the melody. It is true that every bad word (as the apostle Paul has said) perverts goodness, but when the melody is with it, it pierces the heart much more strongly, and enters into it. Just like a funnel is used to get wine into its vessel, melody directs words, both good and bad, into the depths of our soul.”

Which in turn means that we must be very careful with what we sing, singing biblically rich theological lyrics, whether singing the Scriptures outright through Psalm singing, or through hymns and other songs that teach us about the character of God, the glories of Christ and our salvation, and so on. Singing in worship should always direct our attention away from ourselves and toward God. Our singing should be God centered, not man centered.

Seeing the Word

Lastly, the fifth element of our worship is seeing the word of God through the ordinance of baptism and Lord’s Supper. While most of our worship is seeing through hearing, God has also given us two ordinances that dramatize our redemption. The ordinances are often referred to as visible signs and seals of our participation in the new covenant.

Jesus told his disciples in Luke 22:19, after breaking bread with them, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And in 1 Corinthians 11:26 the Apostle Paul told the church that “for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” This is also what Luke likely meant when he recorded in Acts 2:42 that the church “devoted themselves … to the breaking of bread” alongside the the apostle’s teaching and prayer. When Paul talks about the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11, it’s within the context of the church coming together on the Lord’s day for corporate worship.

And when we break bread together in this way it signifies Christ’s body broken for us, and when partake of the cup together it signifies Christ’s blood poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. That his blood is the blood of the new covenant, of which we’re now a part of.

Similarly, baptism was commanded by Christ in Matthew 28 in his great commission. While it’s connection to corporate worship is less clear than the Lord’s Supper, it signifies our covenant membership and our participation in the new covenant, which is portrayed most clearly by our membership to a local church. Baptism identifies us with the people of God, and is a believer’s first requirement for membership in the local church. Baptism portrays our participation with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. That we’ve died to sin and have been raised to spiritual life.

Both baptism and the Lord’s Supper are intended to dramatize the Gospel for us. They’re God’s words to us in a tangible form when we taste the bread and the wine, and witness the act of baptism.

So, these are the five essential elements of worship, 1) reading the Word, 2) preaching the Word, 3) praying the Word, 4) singing the Word, and 5) seeing the Word.

Forms and circumstances of worship

Now, before we close I want to make a quick distinction between these essential elements of worship and what the church has historically referred to as the forms and circumstances of worship. While these five elements of worship are non-negotiable, there are aspects of a church’s corporate worship that will change from circumstance to circumstance. While every corporate gathering should include preaching and teaching, how a particular church chooses to implement this element is flexible. Whether the sermon is 30 minutes or 60 minutes may vary depending on the context and circumstances of that local church. How many scriptures they read, which scriptures they read, and in what order is at the discretion of the elders of every individual church. Which songs and how many does the church sing is up to each local church.

The Bible is also largely silent on the circumstances of our worship. Circumstances that include things like buildings, chairs, clothing, microphones, speakers, projectors, tables, pulpits, instruments, baptismals, hymnals, psalters, song books, and so on. We might use microphones and speakers for amplification to facilitate preaching, reading, and prayer. We might gather inside a building to get out of the weather in order to facilitate worship. Certain contexts might necessitate a building for regular corporate worship, but in another context we might find ourselves worshipping under a thatched hut, or out in an open field, or in underground catacombs to hide from the authorities.

We might wear winter jackets or t-shirts for worship, deepening upon the climate or during different seasons of the year. We may find ourselves dressing differently depending upon the cultural context, because dressing reverently may look different in India than it does in the United States, or differently in 2024 than it did in the 1800’s.

One church may put the lyrics of their music on projector screens while another church distributes hymnals and songbooks. One church may have chairs, another may have pews, while another congregation sits directly on the floor. We might build and install a baptismal to better facilitate baptisms. We might build and install a table to serve the bread and the wine during the Lord’s Supper.

All of these things are the forms and circumstances of our worship, and are not prescribed to us by Scripture, but will vary from context to context to facilitate the prescribed elements of worship.

Conclusion

So, as we wrap up, let’s summarize what we’ve considered. First, worship is the purpose behind our redemption, that God has redeemed us that we might worship him, and him alone. Secondly, the second commandment is fundamentally concerned with how we worship, that we don’t get to invent our own forms of worship that suit our own preferences, and that to do so would inevitable result in idolatry. Therefore, God has given us parameters for for worship, that regulate our worship, what we call the regulative principle of worship, that this isn’t an effort to “put God in a box” but the church seeking to worship God as he has prescribed in his word. Thirdly, that God has given us five essential elements of corporate worship, including 1) reading the Word, 2) preaching the Word, 3) praying the Word, 4) singing the Word, and 5) seeing the Word. And lastly, while these elements are non-negotiable, that there is freedom in the forms and circumstances of our worship, whether we worship in a steeple or a barn, whether we use chairs or sit on the floor, or whether we sing 4 songs or six songs. That we worship God according to the essential elements outlined in Scripture with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear.

Prayer