What is Corporate Worship?

[Note: This will once again be a multiple-part blog, beginning today and continuing this week. We will address today what we do when we gather, and during the rest of the week, how we do what we do, and who is with us in our gatherings.]

Worship is the banner, the heading, the category under which we order everything in our lives. It is not just what we were made to do, it is what we do. We are continual worshippers. God wants us to worship Him, to honor Him. To properly respond to Him in every area of life, through Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit, based on who He is and what He does as revealed in His Word. God wants us to humbly respond to the love of God in Christ in God-honoring, Gospel-inspired, Christ-centered, Cross-focused, Word-saturated, Spirit-enabled worship. You must be a believer in Jesus Christ to truly worship God. We worship God because He commands, encourages and enables it. The New Testament teaches that the people of God should worship Him in their lives and families and come together to worship Him corporately. What is corporate worship? Simply it is what Christians do when they gather together as one body to honor God.

What we do when we gather. The church is the body of Christ. We are to be one, under God, in unity, in spirit, in our aims and goals and direction. Remember that we should not think we gather for worship because we have not been worshipping all week, and I will add – we should not think that only part of the service is worship – everything but the sermon, or only the singing.

Pray - Acts 2:42 In corporate prayer one goes to God representing the gathered body, and we agree in spirit as we listen. 1 Tim. 2:1, 1 Cor. 14:16.

Giving thanks – Eph. 5:20 We are to give thanks to God when we gather.

Praises – Hebrews 13:15 We are to praise God when we come together.

Public reading of Scripture – 1 Tim. 4:13 1 Th. 5:27, 2 Th. 3:14, 2 Peter 3:15-16.

Preach the Word - 2 Tim. 4:2 Expounded, explained in preaching, Luke 4:20, 2 Tim. 3:15-17. Biblically, same, distinguishing mark – the gospel, changed life – read, explain, apply. Text-centered. An appeal to repent, explaining what it means. From scripture correctly explained and applied. Say, mean, what difference does it makes.

Teaching – 1 Tim. 4:13 Instructing in the faith, explaining God’s Word.

Exhorting – 1 Tim. 4:13 Application of the biblical truth presented. Biblically-based appeals to act upon the truth that we have heard. An encouragement to do something.

Sing - Col. 3:16 Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs. Music and singing are necessary to Christian faith and worship. God and His Word are so awesome we must express ourselves. Singing is the Christian's way of saying that God is so great, with such deep feeling; that talking is not enough, there needs to be singing. Singing is an expression of the Holy Spirit, from the Heart, to the Lord. Eph. 5:19 (“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord”) is one of the clearest exhortations to corporate worship in the New Testament. You can't do this alone. Psalms are the OT songs; Hymns are longer songs about God, spiritual songs are praises to God.

Encourage one another – Eph. 5:18-21 the songs of the new covenant people of God praise God and also encourage and remind one another.

Give – 1 Cor. 16:2 Acts 6:1-6, Rom. 12:8, 13; Rom. 16:1-2, 2 Cor. 8:19-21; Acts 20:4.

Baptize – Acts 2:41 we are to celebrate the profession of faith and subsequent baptism of believers.

The Lord’s Table – 1 Cor. 11:17-34

Fellowship – Acts 2:42 table fellowship is linked with the teaching of the Word – Acts 20:7, 20, 25, 28. The holy kiss/greeting, Rom. 16:16, 1 Cor. 16:20, 2 Cor. 13:12, 1 Thess. 5:26, 1 Pet. 5:14.

Church discipline – 1 Cor. 5:4-5; Matt. 18:17

Confession of faith – Heb. 10:23-25 the faith is publicly confessed when we gather. 1 Tim. 6:12, 1 Pet. 3:21, Heb. 13:15, 1 Cor. 15:1-3.

Several important observations:
1. Many of these are connected in some way to the Word. Josh. 1:5-9; Ps. 1:2; John 17:17. We read it, preach it, make it the basis of our exhortation, set it to music in hymns and praises; and the Holy Spirit uses it to build up the church in Christ.

2. There are vertical and horizontal elements to corporate worship gatherings. The church exalts God and encourages one another. We come together and engage in corporate worship and pray to God, praise God, celebrate the Lord’s Table, read and listen to the preaching of the Word – and as we do so God uses us to encourage and edify each other. God uses it to renew our awareness of His love and truth. We are encouraged to respond to God in adoration and action.

3. God has given clear practices but no clear methods or order for worship. He has left is up to church leaders led by the Holy Spirit to decide the methods and service order. How often some of the elements are included is left to the discretion of those charged with the responsibility. When it comes to how we do what we do there is freedom.

Tomorrow we will look at how we do what we do. But for now, please take some time today, either alone or with your household, take a closer look at the items on this list. Take note of where there are clear overlaps, maybe something you see n the New Testament is missing. Pray and ask God to use these things as we gather to glorify Himself and build up His church.