Values For Corporate Worship, pt. 3 October 6, 2014
What arethe values that unite us in our corporate worship? For what are we aiming whenwe gather together on Sunday morning?
For thelast couple weeks, I’ve been answering these questions, one value at a time.Two weeks ago I described the primary value that unites us—namely, we wanteverything we do to be God-centered. Last week I discussed our intention to beconsistently and explicitly cross-centered. Our songs, sermons, prayers, andother activities on Sunday morning all connect directly to the gospel.
Our thirdvalue for corporate worship is “Scripture saturation.” We intend for our Sundaygatherings to be soaked in the word of God. We quote the Bible together. Weread the Scriptures. We listen to a 40-minute sermon, which intends to besimply an explanation of what the Bible means by what it says. Even our songsare infused with the Bible. Why give all this attention to a 2,000-year-oldbook? Here’s why…
First, webelieve we need the Bible if we are even going to know how to offer acceptableworship to God. Unless God first draws near and reveals Himself to us, we wouldnot possibly know how to approach Him, what He is like, or what to do in Hispresence. While God reveals Himself through many different sources—for example,creation and works of providence—the most specific and significant sources ofrevelation are the Bible and the Bible’s hero, Jesus Christ.
Second, ourfallenness as sin-marred human beings continually causes us to drift towardidolatry—i.e., false views of God. Without the correcting influences of theHoly Spirit and the word of God, our worship would soon become corrupt,self-centered, and lifeless.
For thesereasons, we intend to saturate our worship gatherings in the word of God.Practically, this value of Scripture-saturation means:
- We read the Biblein every corporate worship meeting, reflecting our need for God’s revelation inorder to worship Him acceptably.
- We sing songs withdoctrinal depth and a clear connection to biblical truth, utilizing thepowerful gift of music as both a means of response and a tool for teaching.
- We preach theScriptures in every worship meeting, understanding that God creates and growsHis people through the proclamation of His word.