Philosophy of Worship Ministry

Would you rather...

Psalm 84 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. 8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Biblical worship is…

...the outpouring of our affections for God…

…that is to be offered individually and corporately in spirit and in truth…

…as the reasonable response for Who God is and what He has done.

…the outpouring of our affections for God…

The most important thing in worship is God...

How does this help the person in the fourth row back express their love and affections for the Lord.

Technology should serve us…we can’t serve our technology.

We have a tendency due to our fallen nature and consumer mentality to make worship more about us than it is about God. When we are more concerned about what worship does for us instead of offering proper reverence to the object of our worship, it is like bringing a birthday gift to a party, but keeping it for ourselves. When we are the focus of our worship our offering is presented in an unacceptable way.

Leviticus 10:1–2 ESV

1 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.

1 Corinthians 11:20–24 ESV

20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. 23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Isaiah 1:13 ESV

13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.

Isaiah 1:15 ESV

15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

Isaiah 29:13 ESV

13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

Jeremiah 7:9–10 ESV

9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?

Matthew 15:7–9 ESV

7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

and renders our worship undesirable by God.

Psalm 51:16–17 ESV

16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Isaiah 1:11–17 ESV

11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 12 “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? 13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

We understand that worship is primarily for God and not for us (Exodus 30:22-30) and that the blessings we receive from worship are a fine by-product of our worship experience, but not the focus. In worship, we come to do and to give, not to receive. How we feel about worship is not the point. Worship is for God, because creatures owe their Creator praise. However, the ability to worship is a gift from God to us “intended for our blessing and benefit. He (God) doesn’t need it; we do” (Jack Hayford). God requires our worship not for His sake, but for our sake. He is our incomparable Creator and Sustainer and the object of all our soul desires (Psalm 42:1-2). “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire beside You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).

Since God Himself is the satisfier of the soul, we will not worship the gift, but the giver. We will not worship, worship, rather we will worship God. In summation of this point, James Torrance states, “more important than our experience of Christ is the Christ of our experience.”

…to be offered in spirit and in truth both individually and corporately.

In Spirit - Worship in spirit is worship that engages the heart of a person. True worship flows from the inner dimension of a man and involves the intellect, the emotions, and the will (Psalm 45:1; Psalm 103:1, Romans 1:9). Worship “in spirit” stands in contrast to worship that is mere outward ritual which is rejected by God throughout Scripture. Worship “in spirit” is characterized by earnest, authentic, and passionate expressions of love and adoration to God. An act of worship is offered “in vain” when it does not come from the heart (Matthew 15:8). John Piper states, “The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart. Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead” (79, Desiring God).

In Truth – Worship in truth is worship that occurs in response to God’s gracious revelation of Himself in both creation (general revelation) and the Word of God (special revelation - Psalm 19). True worship cannot occur apart from an understanding of who God is (Acts 17:23), and thus every aspect of worship must conform to the truth of God’s Word. Each facet of our corporate worship must be carefully evaluated in the light of scriptural truth in order to protect and enable “worship in truth.” Worship that is saturated in Scripture will be protected from unworthy or errant thoughts about the object of our worship, God Himself. Worship must rest on true perceptions of God. Biblically based worship will retain God and His glory as its central focus thus avoiding man-centeredness. Worship submitted to the authority of God’s word will insure that songs will accurately teach and admonish as commanded in Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:19. Hebrew 13:15-16 teaches that “worship in truth” will bring glory to God not only through songs of the worshiper but also through the life of the worshiper.

Individually – Worship of God involves every aspect of life (Romans 12:1-2; Heb. 13:5-6). Worship is not only expressed through our singing but also through costly (Gen. 22:2-5; 1 Chron. 21:24) acts of good works such as acts of personal evangelism (Romans 15:16), financial giving (Phil. 4:8) and any faithful act of obedience in the life of a follower of Christ (Psalm 95: 1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 3:17; 3:23).

Corporately – Scripture teaches the importance of offering our worship to God corporately as well as individually. Our meeting together is for the glorification of God through the edification of the Body. When members of the universal Body of Christ (the church/ekklesia – the called-out ones) assemble in a specific locale to gather for worship, “I” becomes “we,” and personal experience gives way to communal fellowship. There is real strength when believers bring a corporate offering of praise to God while assembled as the local body (Is. 43:7-11; 1 Chron. 16:28-29; Heb. 10:24-25). We do not go to “church,” rather we gather together as the “called out ones” in a specific location to offer worship to our God and to be taught how to live as followers of Christ while in the world (John 17:11; Phil. 1:27).

Scripture teaches that mankind has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) but God in all His glory “has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Those who have trusted in Christ have been saved to see that God’s glory has been most clearly revealed in the person and work of His Son (Heb. 1:1-3). Therefore, 📷those who have had their sin atoned for by the work of Christ on the cross have been born again into the family of God and now offer the only reasonable act of worship – the surrender of their entire lives (Rom. 12:1-2) for the purpose of magnifying Christ (Rom. 8:28-29; Phil. 1:21). Because of Christ we are completely worthy of experiencing God’s holy presence in worship (Col. 1:13-14; 21-23) and that us cause for celebration (

…as the reasonable response for Who God is and what He has done.

Scripture teaches that mankind has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) but God in all His glory “has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Those who have trusted in Christ have been saved to see that God’s glory has been most clearly revealed in the person and work of His Son (Heb. 1:1-3). Therefore, those who have had their sin atoned for by the work of Christ on the cross have been born again into the family of God and now offer the only reasonable act of worship – the surrender of their entire lives (Rom. 12:1-2) for the purpose of magnifying Christ (Rom. 8:28-29; Phil. 1:21). Because of Christ we are completely worthy of experiencing God’s holy presence in worship (Col. 1:13-14; 21-23) and that us cause for celebration.

PHILOSOPHY OF PLANNING CORPORATE WORSHIP GATHERINGS

The gathering of God’s people for worship is an attempt to create an environment in which people can meet with God and be transformed by that experience. It is imperative that we take the worship gathering seriously, prepare for it adequately, and expect the Holy Spirit to work. A worship gathering properly planned and executed will allow participants a time to slow down and experience the presence of God both through the mind and the heart. When that happens, people can be transformed. Transformation in the lives of individuals through worship can and will lead to transformation in the life of the church as a whole.

PLANNING WITH INTENTIONALITY

Elements to be used in the worship gathering will be implemented if they are found to emphasize one or more of the following biblical categories of corporate worship.

Ø Adoration (recognition of God’s greatness and grace)

Ø Confession/Baptism (acknowledgement of our sin and need for grace)

Ø Assurance (affirmation of God’s provision of grace)

Ø Thanksgiving (expression of praise and thanks for God’s grace)

Ø Petition and Intercession (expression of dependence on God’s grace)

Ø Instruction (acquiring the knowledge to grow in grace)

Ø Communion/Fellowship (celebrating the grace of union with Christ and his people)

The musical element the service seeks to engage each participant in true worship and stir the affections of the heart so that the declaration of God’s Word is received as a seed in “good soil” which will in turn lead to a proper response.

Worship elements that are participatory for the congregation (such as congregational singing) may be favored over those that are more passive (such as special music).

SPECIAL MUSIC may be defined as any music presentation that does not directly involve congregational participation, including vocal and instrumental solos, duets, trios, quartets, ensembles, choir, etc. Special music will be used when it is deemed to enhance the purpose of the gathering explained above, keeping in mind the subject of the song, appropriate musical style, and quality of the presentation.

It is important that we strive to keep our gatherings fresh, that we do not allow them to become tired or rote. This involves creativity, and occasionally stepping out of the box. It may mean “surprising” the congregation with something unusual from time to time.

To maximize creativity and effectiveness it is essential for staff to be involved as a team in planning, evaluating, and praying for our gatherings.

Works Consulted:

Seven Words of Worship (Mike Harland and Stan Moser), Worship Matters (Bob Kaufiln), How Shall We Worship (Marva Dawn), Discerning the Spirit’s (Cornelius Plantigna Jr.), Philosophy of Music and Worship (Todd Murray), Christ Centered Worship (Bryan Chapell), Worship (D.A. Carson), Worship, Community and the Triune God (James, Torrance), Desiring God (John Piper), Worship His Majesty (Jack Hayford).