Philosophy of Worship

  • Jun 9, 2008

The Background of Gospel-Centered Worship 

Adam and Eve enjoyed a wonderful friendship with God.  God had created them in his image, and he had declared that they were “good” (Gen. 1:31).  Eden was a kind of temple, in which Adam and Eve regularly rejoiced in God’s mighty works of creation, heard and obeyed the word of the Lord, and delighted in his nearness to them.  But they disobeyed God’s word (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-6) and defiled their worship.  He cursed them and cast them out of their temple (Gen. 3:14-24).

 

Yet God did not abandon them. Even amidst the curses, God gave to Adam and Eve the promise of a deliverer who would destroy Satan (Gen. 3:15). God continued to speak to them and to seek fellowship with them because he sought worshippers (John 4:23).  In Genesis 4:3-4, both Cain and Abel bring offerings to the Lord.  In the time of Seth, people “began to call on the name of the Lord” (Gen. 4:26).  Worship continued after the Fall.

 

God blessed worship after the Fall, but he wanted his peo­ple to worship him with a consciousness of their sin and guilt, and of what he had done to free them from that guilt and power of sin.  Prominent in Old Testament worship were animal sacri­fices, which prefigured the death of Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  As we have seen, God’s people praise him, not only for his mighty acts in creation, but for redemption as well.  In Exodus 15, the Israelites praise God for delivering them out of their slavery in Egypt.  That de­liverance foreshadowed God’s greater deliverance of his people in Christ from that death which is the wages of sin: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain” (Rev. 5:12).

 

As in Eden, God’s people hear his word in worship.  But now it is somewhat different, for God’s word now tells us of our sin and God’s provision for our forgiveness.  When we celebrate communion, for example, we fellowship with God by eating and drinking with him, but that eating and drinking sets forth the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Cor. 11:26). Everything we do in worship, therefore, now speaks of sin and forgiveness, of Jesus’ atonement and resurrection for us. Worship following the fall of Adam should not only be God-centered, but also Christ-centered and gospel-centered.  In all our worship, the good news that Jesus has died for our sins and risen glori­ously from the dead should be central.

 

The Primacy of Gospel-Centered Worship 

“Worship wars” occur in many congregations across the country.  Battles are waged over liturgy, music, style, target audience preferences.  Despite the grand theological arguments posed by the differing camps, it generally comes down to personal preferences.  For example, some people like contemporary praise songs, others prefer hymns.  Some delight in liturgy, others loathe it.  Some like long musical sets consisting of 6-8 songs at a time, others prefer 3-4 songs scattered throughout the service.  The variations of personal tastes are as numerous as the number of worshipful participants on any given Sunday.  Without a clear philosophy of worship, battles will continue to be waged. 

 

How can Cornerstone reconcile the myriad of tastes, preferences, and backgrounds of its growing congregation without creating its own “worship wars?”  The solution lies in building a worship service that is “gospel-centered.”  One helpful, working definition of the gospel originated with Jack Miller, former professor at Westminster Seminary and founding pastor of the New Life churches in Philadelphia: “We are more sinful that we ever dared believe, but in Christ, we are also more loved and accepted that we ever dared hope.”  The implications of this simple statement on Cornerstone’s worship program are enormous.  

 

1.  The gospel changes the role of music in worship. 

 

The gospel begins with a simple negative idea:  “We are more sinful than we ever dared believe.”  Since the Fall, all of creation has been enslaved to decay and death (Romans 8:20, 21).  As a result, the music at Cornerstone should not merely offer upbeat sentimentality, but it should disturb us quite regularly with the truth of our sinful condition and shake us out of our complacency.  Musical texts and their settings should, therefore, accurately reflect the disorder of the world and our sinful condition.

 

However, the gospel also holds out a hope greater than any other worldview: the hope of a relationship with a God who would sacrifice his own life in order to call us his beloved.  Such an overwhelming thought calls for art of the highest beauty, moments of quiet reflection and an outpouring of joy and gratefulness.  This is not a contrived sentimentality induced by an emotional worship leader, but the conviction that results from a soul transformed by the gospel.   Musical expression provides an opportunity to ignite the heart and conscience with truths that may otherwise remain merely conceptual. 

 

2.  The gospel pushes us toward better aesthetics.

 

Many churches champion excellence in worship in an effort to impress God (or at least their friends and invitees).  The gospel teaches, however, that we do not offer God a righteous life, but that he has offered one to us through Christ.  This truth frees us from the urge to impress others, and instead inspires us to perform music with great beauty simply for the joy of pleasing our beloved Creator.

 

Therefore, we should freely pour our hearts into our singing, regardless of talent, knowing that God will not accept or reject us based on how emotionally moved we may feel.  Rather than dismissing the archaic terminology of some hymns or the emotional stirring of some praise songs, we should learn from all styles so as to enrich ourselves with new and varied ways to express love and gratitude to God.  We should utilize our best musicians to lead and challenge us, and we should exhort them to excel in their craft.  We should be intentional about exposing our congregation to various worship and musical styles.

 

3.  The gospel encourages humility towards other believers.

 

If there is to be a “war” over musical taste in our churches, it should involve fighting not for our own interests but for the interest of those who disagree with us.  Consider Christ who, though he owned the whole world, became poor for our sakes. The sacrifice of Christ provides the ultimate model and power for a life of service to others.  To demand that worship styles conform to our own preferences is to insist on creating a church for ourselves, in direct contradiction to the example of Christ. The gospel gives us the freedom to learn from the artistic expressions of those whom we do not prefer ourselves, for the sake of others.  Ultimately it is the inclusiveness of the gospel, and not music or worship preferences, which unifies the body of Christ (2 Cor. 11:6).  If Cornerstone is ever to experience “worship wars,” may it be a fight to keep the gospel central to all we do!

 

4.  The gospel encourages humility toward the work of secular musicians. 

 

The gospel deflates pride (Romans 2:1-3). Our sin is so great as to prevent us from ever looking down on another individual.  Therefore, we should refuse to hold up the work of artists deemed “wholesome” above the work of depraved individuals.  We are all depraved individuals! Therefore, if God should choose to pour out musical gifts on those who don’t profess to believe the gospel, we should simply be thankful to him for using broken vessels to glorify himself and to make this world a more beautiful place.  To reject the music of Mozart, Madonna, or any secular musician on the exclusive basis of their lifestyle is to miss the humility of the gospel.  In addition, we should not celebrate poor musical efforts simply because of their “Christian” origin.

 

5.  The gospel alone holds the power to bring ultimate change. 

 

Music, liturgy and emotions do not bring about an ultimate change of heart that pleases God.  True change comes by the power of the gospel alone (1 Thess. 1:4-5).  Romans 1:16-17 tells us that the gospel is the “power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” but it also reveals “a righteousness that is by faith from first to last.” As a result, worship leaders at Cornerstone shall be discouraged from artificially creating an emotionally-charged service, or offering teaching that, although true, does not point to the gospel. 

 

The Application of Gospel-Centered Worship at Cornerstone

 

Three criteria are used in selecting music for Cornerstone’s services:

     

1.   Theology

 

The role of music in worship is related, though not identical, to the role of preaching.  It must “disturb the comfortable”.  Music is not intended to add mere sentimentality to the service. However, it must also “comfort the disturbed”, offering hope and good news to the broken-hearted.  Music is an invaluable tool for making theological ideas ignite the heart and conscience.  Texts must have sound doctrine, reflecting the centrality of the gospel.  Because God is redeeming all of creation, no topic is too unspiritual to be addressed in worship.  Theology and the gospel in particular should receive greater consideration in music selection than aesthetics and context which are secondary concerns.

 

2.   Aesthetics

 

1 Chronicles 25, Psalm 33 and many other Biblical passages command musicians to play with excellence.  On a practical level, while those in the church may endure mediocrity, non-believers in general will not.  Therefore, Cornerstone aspires to present the gospel in the most beautiful manner possible, both in its preaching and music, by using the most talented, experienced individuals in its network. 

 

3.   Context

 

Each church’s location impacts the practical ways it can reach its community.  In serving the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, Cornerstone recognizes the importance of including the hymns of the past, and more popular contemporary music of the present in its worship services.  We are also open to other forms like jazz, folk, and classical as resources permit.  However, there is no style of music prescribed or forbidden by Scripture. 

 

Our worship services will consist of the following three parts:

 

1.  Praise 

Praise fills us with joy as we reflect on the greatness and goodness of God, but it should naturally lead us to brokenness too as we confront our depravity in contrast to God’s perfections.

 

2.  Renewal

That brokenness leads to the confession of our failings to love God and others during our time of renewal.  On another level, it also leads to great joy at the good news of God’s forgiveness of our sins by grace and our adoption as his sons and daughters in Christ.

 

3.  Commitment

After “the soil has been tilled” and the gospel has driven our praise and renewal, our hearts are now prepared to hear God’s word in our time of commitment.

 

The following is an example of what a typical service might look like.  The order and presence of individual components is flexible.

 

Praise

  Welcome and Announcements

  Call to Worship

  Invocation

  2-3 songs of praise

  Prayer

 

Renewal

  Corporate prayer of confession

  Private confession

  Word of encouragement from Scripture

  1-2 songs of renewal

 

Commitment

  Scripture reading

  Sermon

  Offering

  Communion (once a month)

  Closing song

  Benediction

 

The worship leading, language and emotions of the worship service are as follows:

 

1.  Worship Leading

The worship leader lays the “mortar” that holds the “bricks” (the individual components) of the service together.  This makes the service meaningful and understandable, and keeps the gospel in the forefront.

 

2.  Language

The language is sensitive to un-churched people.  Therefore, if religious or theological terms are used, they are adequately explained.

 

3.  Emotions

We don’t want to confuse the external actions of people for the movement of the Holy Spirit.  While emotions are expected to be active during a worship service, we avoid manipulating or coercing the expression of emotions.

 

Portions of this paper are cited from John Frame’s book, Worship in Spirit and Truth  and miscellaneous articles by worship leaders at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.