Corporate Worship: How are we to do what we do?

How are we to do what we do when we gather for corporate worship?
Our heads, hearts and hands are all involved.

With our heads. we must think rightly about God & who He is and what it is He wants us to do. We need to avoid common misunderstandings of corporate worship. It is not merely external, mechanical doing of things that has no connection to their inner life. It flows from the heart. It is not an individual expression. It is a community event. It is not an emotional uplift. It is not a performance. Understanding what the Bible says Christians are to do will help us do all things properly and in order.

With our hearts. The heart is what God sees. Man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart 1 Sam. 16:7. Humble, expectant, trusting, obedient before God.

With our hands. We act upon what we know and believe and seek to glorify God. We follow a biblical pattern and model and focus on God, not the practices. When I was a kid I loved reading biographies, the life stories of others. I read the story of Roger Staubach of the Dallas Cowboys, Pete Maravich of the Atlanta Hawks, John Wooden of UCLA. When I became a believer I began to read Christian biographies of people like Jim Elliot, D.L. Moody, George Mueller, Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael and Luis Talbot. Always focused clearly on that life. Everything points to that. That is what we do in worship – everything points to God. The tough thing is the Bible does not have one definitive explanation – there is not one passage of Scripture that tells all. God has left it up to wise leaders to discern what is best for their congregations. It is up to the congregations to trust them.

Basically we must align our practice in worship with all the examples the New Testament gives. Everyone has an opinion. But the Bible does not always specify the exact way we are to practice each element. Just because Scripture is silent doesn’t mean God doesn’t want it to happen. And just because Scripture speaks doesn’t mean your interpretation is correct. Wherever you land on issues, avoid smug arrogance and digging in where God has not commanded a practice. In Acts 6 the congregation made a decision that seemed good to the leaders and the whole congregation. That is what we are seeking, unity in the Spirit. We seek to trust those that God has entrusted with responsibility.

I have found it helpful to remember that there are three realms we usually operate in when it comes to Biblical teaching and practice: Biblical doctrine, biblically-based practice and examples, and preferences and opinions (which are often fiercely held).

Bible doctrine (we are to “live” here): dig footings, lay a foundation and build your house. There are the things which should unite all born-again believers in Jesus – things we would all die for (like the virgin birth; the substitutionary atonement; the bodily resurrection; the imminent bodily return of Christ; the authority, inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture; and justification by faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone).

Biblically-based examples and patterns (we are to use wisdom here): Sincere and intelligent Christians will differ on their application of biblically-based practices and examples.

Preferences and opinions (we are to “camp” here): God has given us freedom and we need to be wise and attempt to base our decisions on what the Bible says and what the Bible teaches. Aim to align your preferences, opinions and resulting practices with Biblical truth.

The problem is that many Christians are living where they should be camping and camping where they should be living! Some make preferences doctrines, others downplay doctrines as opinions. This creates needless problems and divisions in churches. We need to ask: What does God say about it? Where is my heart with the Lord? [By the way, people who tend to stir things up in the church usually do so because they are struggling with other issues in their lives. Seldom is the real issue the thing they make a big deal of, usually it’s something else: control issues, a spirit of unforgiveness, fear, some sin in their life, or some idol of the heart.]

We need to allow the Spirit of God to search our hearts, cleanse our hearts, purify us, so that when we come together as a body of believers, a family, we do so with our heads, hearts and hands engaged to the glory of God.