by Pastor Jim Kang
This is the final post for the six-part series on Theology and Practice of Corporate Worship. Here’s the brief outline of the series:
- Introduction
- Who Should Worship?
- Why Worship Corporately?
- When to Worship Corporately?
- Where to Worship Corporately?
How to Worship Corporately?
I can’t speak for every church, but I can explain how we worship where I pastor. Perhaps the best place to begin is to check out the “Order of Service” in our bulletin. There you’ll find full disclosure of our liturgy. By the way, liturgy is not a bad word. Unlike many contemporary churches that have distaste for the past or structure or formality, we actually appreciate the rich heritage and orderliness. Liturgy simply means how worship service is conducted. [1] Every church has its own liturgy and every church is liturgical (I can assure you that even those who say they’re not liturgical have their own liturgy). Perhaps one of the most important questions to ask at this point is: What shapes our liturgy (the way our church conduct our worship service)? That’s because every church is influenced by something and/or someone.
It is helpful not to be confused between style and substance. For us we don’t sacrifice substance for the sake of wanting to be cool or have a cool style. That’s because worship is not about us. It is not about how cool the “worship band” is or how cool and entertaining the worship service is. It’s not about whether visitors would like us or we would be accepted by our non-Christian friends that we invite. The fundamental question is whether God will be pleased with our worship (1 Cor. 10:31). Also, are we faithful to his mandates in how we worship? The focus of worship service is God, not us. In worship service we have an audience of one and that’s God.
We believe corporate worship should be God-centered, not a man-centered production. The first question should be “How does God call us to worship him?” not “What do we like or what are our preferences?” Thus, when we gather on the Lord’s Day we come before a holy Trinitarian God with joyful reverence and awe, aiming to glorify him and to enjoy him. Worshipping God is not a form of entertainment, nor do we craft worship merely to evoke some emotional response. Hence, what shapes our liturgy is the timeless gospel. In fact, the corporate worship is to glorify God by re-presenting the gospel. Thus, our service is divided into five aspects: 1) God Calls His People, 2) God’s People Confess, 3) God’s People Praise, 4) God Nourishes His People, and 5) God Sends His People Forth. And within each section, there are elements of worship that directly or indirectly re-present the gospel. Let me briefly explain each section.
Biblical and Theological Rationales of Our Liturgy
I. God Calls His People
Call to Worship: Just as Genesis 1 and Ephesians 1 teach, it is God who initiated the work of creation and redemption. That is how the gospel begins. The gospel begins with God, not with man nor his needs. Since worship service is shaped by the gospel and ought to re-present the gospel, this is how our worship begins at our congregation.
We don’t drum up noises to get God’s attention or call him to our worship. Rather, the first thing that the people would see and hear at the onset of worship service is to see the minister of word walk to the pulpit and call the congregation to worship by turning their attention to God’s word first and foremost. Rarely the people would hear from the minister’s mouth something about the weather or some news about the local sports team. With the word of God, the Lord through his minister officially summons his people to worship him.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
II. God’s People Confess
Confession of Sin: When we are reminded of God’s transcendent majesty and holiness at the onset of the service, we cannot help but to see who we really are. That prompts us then to acknowledge and confess our sin. Unlike so many churches today that rarely confess sins together, we actually include confession of sin as part of our liturgy.
Confession of Faith: Not only we confess our sin, but we also confess God’s timeless truths together. Since God is same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, his doctrine is timeless. Hence, in the past we confessed the timeless historic Christian faith together (e.g., the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Belgic Confession).
III. God’s People Praise
Songs of Praise: Worship is an expression of our gratitude, adoration, or praise only when we properly understand who God is and what he has done for us. So, it only makes sense that expressions come as a result of recognition of God’s glorious truths.
Offering/Prayer: Not that God needs our money, but giving shows our gratitude and devotion. We give as an expression of our thankful heart and commitment to support the local church.
Offering Song: We offer a song of thanksgiving.
Announcements & Greetings: We want to celebrate what God is doing and what we want to do in glorifying him through informing and announcing. We also want to greet one another with God’s love.
IV. God Nourishes His People
Reading of God’s Word: So often in our performance-driven culture and churches, we’re too caught up with what we say, what we sing, and what we do. But one of the most important aspects of worship service is not so much what we have to say to God, but what God has to say to us. Hence, we give premium to reading God’s word, sometimes a big chunk of the scripture.
Preaching of God’s Word: According to some of the magisterial Reformers like Luther and Calvin, this is perhaps THE most important part of worship service. The centerpiece of the worship service is when Trinitarian God speaks to his redeemed people the word through his ordained minister to nourish his people.
Prayer of Application
Song of Response: After hearing the word of God, we respond to God’s word with a song.
V. God Sends Forth His People
The idea is we gather for worship, and then we scatter to our respective mission fields.
Benediction: God sends us out with his parting blessing and promise of peace. Just as the gospel begins with God and ends with God, the last word we want to hear is God’s blessing and his promise of peace.
Moment of Meditation: We silently reflect what we just heard.
Conclusion
Dr. W.A. Criswell, the famous Baptist preacher at First Baptist Church in Dallas, once said, “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God; to feed the mind with the truth of God; to purge the imagination by the beauty of God; to open up the heart to the love of God; to devote the will to the purpose of God.” [2]
[1] R. G. Rayburn, “Worship in the Church” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, edited by Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999), 1193-96; “Liturgy” in Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997), 988.
[2] W. A. Criswell, Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1980), 29.
Some Helpful Reading on the Subject
Ashton, Mark, R. Kent Hughes and Timothy Keller. Worship by the Book. Edited by D.A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.
Chapell, Bryan. Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009.
Dever, Mark and Sinclair Ferguson. The Westminster Directory of Public Worship. Ross-shire: Christian Heritage Imprint, 2008.
Duncan, Ligon, Dan Kimball, Michael Lawrence and Mark Dever, Timothy Quill, and Dan Wilt. Perspectives on Christian Worship. Edited by J. Matthew Pinson. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009.
Frame, John M. Worship in Spirit and Truth: A Refreshing Study of the Principles and Practice of Biblical Worship. Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1996.
Hyde, Daniel R. What to Expect in Reformed Worship: A Visitor’s Guide. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2013.
MacArthur, John. Worship: The Ultimate Priority. Chicago: Moody, 2012.
Old, Hughes Oliphant. Leading in Prayer: A Workbook for Worship. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
_______. Worship: Reformed According to Scripture. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.
Ryken, Philip Graham, Derek W. H. Thomas and J. Ligon Duncan. Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship. Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2003.
Tozer, A.W. Whatever Happened to Worship: A Call to True Worship. Camp Hill: Christian Publications, 1985.