I have been in many churches throughout my life. For the most part, the worship services were not designed around a Reformed understanding of worship (or, for that matter, a biblical understanding). They were conservative in approach, often singing hymns or other similar types of music. As I came to the Reformed faith I began to study and learn much of what this article will attempt to deal with.

Rethinking our Worship Service

I have observed that many Reformed churches do not typically follow a biblical understanding of worship. They follow a liturgy that has been born from what seemed to them as good but if they were pressed as to the reasons for doing things they way they do them oftentimes the leadership could not offer explanations as to why. Making matters worse is the fact that many of the parishoners could not give a viable explanation as to why we do church the way we do. I suspect that this has always been a problem but more so now in the modern era. Worship, that is, corporate worship, is a concept that is lost on most people. I know it has been lost on me for many years and in recent days I have been compelled to study; to learn; to understand the liturgy and, most importantly, why we worship the way we do.

Many Christians will tell you that they come to church each Sunday to offer worship to the living God. What they often cannot tell you is what this should look like. It seems to me that if we are commanded to worship God every Lord's Day then it follows that He will tell us how we are to do so. It is unthinkable to me that God would issue a decree as important as this and then not tell His people how we are to accomplish it. Yet in many churches across this land people come to a building and believe they are worshipping God when, in fact, they are not. Worshipping God is not something we invented nor is it something we would even know how to do rightly if not directed by the special revelation of Scripture. Therefore, it seems reasonable to state that if God requires His people to worship He would not leave it up to them to do it any old way they choose. Clearly He has taught us in His Word what worship looks like and it is there that we must find the answers. Everyone thinks their way of doing it is correct. I have yet to talk with people of differing denominations and hear them say that they are worshipping God in contravention to the revealed way He has established. No one thinks they are wrong in this area otherwise they would likely change their methods to reflect a more biblical process. Even in Reformed camps I have found people that stubbornly hold to their distinctives and ideals always pointing the finger at the other denominations as the ones doing it incorrectly. Well, if this is true then why is it that I see so many Reformed churches departing from their Reformed heritage in this area? Worse yet, why is it that the vast majority of Christendom has departed from the Bible when it comes to the corporate gathering of God's people? For instance, this morning I was compelled to attend worship at a local Presbyterian Church while we were vacationing in the Outer Banks. I attended (without foreknowledge) a local PCUSA church. The worship service, putting it mildly, was terrible. Yet I wonder how many other churches across our country also had the same kind of worship service. At this particular church there were skits and "happy-clappy" music and a small sermon (which was offered in the form of a skit) that strived to teach the congregation that any kind of worship is acceptable to God as long as it is done in humility. They even tried to convince me that the point of the parable found in Luke 18 was to prove that worship of any kind is okay as long as it is done in humility. Furthermore, the congregation was then instructed to pray and ask God how He would have them worship within the confines of how they were created. At one point in the skit I was told that it is okay to worship by attending a rock concert or being by yourself in the woods. All of these things were apparently supported by Luke 18, (which, of course, it is not). How we are to worship God was the right question being asked but the answers were man-made and not God offered. It is these kinds of questions and issues that fill my mind when I consider the matter of worship and it is these matters I would like to address here and in the near future.

We are told how to worship God. If you disagree with this then quit reading now because your liturgy will likely be fashioned by what feels good or what works. Yet, God is not interested in us doing what works from our perspective. Many things may work and many things may accomplish some form of good but only those things that God prescribes when worshipping Him really matter. We must agree, first off, that worship is to be God-centered. The problem with most liturgies is that they are man-centered. For example, consider some of the songs that are sung each and every Sunday. Notice the words and how they are often filled with things like "I" and "me" and the like. Rarely do I see a song that is filled with covenantal terminology that fosters corporate worship. I will touch on this more in a future article.

Since we are to understand what God has prescribed for us as to our process of worshipping Him then the only place we have to look is in the Word of God. There is simply nothing else that will explain it better or clearer and as we trust the Holy Spirit to teach us we will have a better understanding of what worship is to look like and why we are to do worship as prescribed by God. It is not legalism to insist that God's people worship Him as He has instructed. Therefore, what we must be willing to do is consider the possibility (and for some it is a very real possibility) that we have been forming our liturgies incorrectly. No one likes to jettison their own opinions or consider, even for an instant, that they may be wrong on any subject. However, if we are not willing to open our minds and seek to remove the bias that has long existed for countless reasons on this issue we will never see what God has told us about this subject. If we fail to consider that we may be in error on this subject we will not change and we are accountable. God has told us, plainly, how and why we are to worship Him. The problem for most of us is that we cannot point to a chapter and verse that says to do it in such and such a way. Frankly, God's word is not written, usually, in this manner. It is not a systematic theology textbook. It is God's revealed will to us, painted through the use of human history and human events that instruct us in matters such as this. With that said part 2 of this series will begin with what God has told us throughout the pages of Scripture whenever it deals with this subject. Though these articles may be long I am hopeful that they will change our thinking in this area. I am not an authority on this subject to be sure, but the Word of God is a great equalizer on all matters such as this. I trust that the Holy Spirit will guide my words and my understanding of Holy Scripture on this matter.

Part 2 will deal with what God has written in His Word for His people as it applies to the corporate worship service. It will seek to demonstrate the principles that should govern all of God's people in this most important part of our week. We say that corporate worship is a most important activity and then we do so in ways that profane God. I would like to work to demonstrate the biblical guidelines that frame our worship and, in doing so, hope to spark some thinking in God's people about this most important activity. At the end of every article I will offer a "for further study" section that will supplement what I am laboring to say in these articles. As always discussion is welcome and I look forward to it. As I said, I do not have all the answers but I know that I cannot come to the right answer (and I believe there is a right answer) if I do not start asking the tough questions. The only thing that matters at this point is if my readers are willing, through my feeble attempts, to start asking the hard questions on this subject as well. Together I think we can labor to see what the Word of God says on this subject.

For Further Study

The Worship of the Saints by Douglas Wilson (audio set)
The Lord's Service by Jeffrey Meyers
Malachi 1
John 4.24
Jeremiah 7