Worship: Why do we do that the way we do that?
Adapted with permission from Christ Church Presbyterian, Evans, GA
The Shorter Catechism states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” The chief end of the church is the same, because “the chief thing in all the world is God’s glory” (Philippians 2:9-11). God created us to worship Him.
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter XXI, Section 1, states: “The light of nature showeth that there is a God who hath Lordship and sovereignty over all, is good, and doeth good unto all, and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.”
Therefore, Christ Community Church, (PCA) is committed to worshiping the Triune God via the ordinary means of grace using historic, Biblical patterns of Christian worship. In our worship we shall read the Bible, preach the Bible, pray the Bible, and sing the Bible. With the Holy Spirit’s help, our worship will be characterized by the following attributes:
• Scriptural: Bible-filled and Bible-directed (Psalm 119:104-106);
• Simple: Based on the unadorned and unpretentious principles and order found in the Bible;
• Spiritual: Spirit-gathered (Acts 2:38-39), Spirit-dependent (Ephesians 4:7-8), and Spirit-empowered (Acts 1:8);
• Reverent: Clothed with humility, and awe for the greatness of God (1 Peter 5:5-7);
• Intelligent: Engaging, challenging and conforming the mind as well as the heart (1 Corinthians 14:15-16);
• Majestic: Reflecting the attributes of God, including: His goodness, holiness, justice, mercy and love (Deuteronomy 10:17-18; Job 36:5; Psalm 52:1; Isaiah 9:6; Zephaniah 3:17, etc.);
• Historic (i.e. worship that would be understandable to the Apostles and the “great cloud of witnesses” Hebrews 12:1) & Contemporary: We seek to apply the principles of Scripture to our worship rather than engaging in cultural accommodation though we recognize the importance of worship that translates appropriately into our current context;
Worshiping the living and triune God may produce deep emotional responses among participants, but our services are not designed to induce a continual emotional high. Worship at Christ Community Church, (PCA), will avoid intentional emotional manipulation and rely instead on the promised, active presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst (Matthew 18:20).