Worship Style At Emmanuel

Sunday, 30 December 2007 02:35

Worship at Emmanuel is...

• Recognized as an initiative of the Trinity. Both our creation and salvation are planned, initiated and accomplished by the triune God. So church worship is first and foremost an activity of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father, in his Son and by the Holy Spirit, calls us to worship, speaks to us in His word, and the Holy Spirit enables us to respond in faith and obedience. In the worship of the church, the Holy Trinity meets with his people.
• God-Centered. All too often worship is man-centered; that is, it is overly preoccupied with our needs, our feelings, and our aspirations. But since the primary purpose of worship is to give glory and honor to God, the most important thing that we could say about our worship is that it is God-centered. There is a time and a place to focus on people, to celebrate their character and accomplishments-a birthday party would be a good example. But what should be front and center in Christian worship is the radiant and glorious character of the Triune God and the greatness of his redemptive work on behalf of sinners.
• Dialogical. We see worship as a marvelous dialogue between God and his people. As we move throughout the service, you will find it helpful to think of our alternating between God's speaking to us and our speaking to God.
• Covenantal. One of the basic ways to describe God's relationship with his people is as a covenant, a reciprocal relationship of love and faithfulness. An example of a covenant is marriage. Just as husband and wife may grow distant from one another and stand in need of a romantic evening to renew their love and affection for one another, so in worship God reaffirms his lordship and love and calls upon us to renew our allegiance to him. Worship is, quite literally, a meeting with God in which we commune with him and draw near to him and he to us. For the same reason-because God's covenant is with believers and their children-parents are to ensure that, so far as possible, their children are present and seated with them in worship. (A supervised infant nursery is provided during morning and evening services for those who wish to make use of it and a closed circuit television monitor operates in fellowship hall during the morning service.)
• Objective. A common mistake is to evaluate worship purely in terms of our subjective impressions and feelings. Thus, for many people, worship is good only insofar as it makes them feel good. While not wishing to discount the importance of our subjective response-indeed it is our hope that we will be fully engaged in worship-we suggest that worship is first and foremost an activity, not a feeling. "What are we doing?" is a more important question than "How do we feel?"
• Formal and Reverent. Worship that is very informal and "loose," while making people feel at ease, has the distinct disadvantage of encouraging a light, even irreverent view of God. The Holy One of Israel, the Sovereign God is not our buddy. He is majestic and glorious, and we are to rejoice with trembling in his presence. We believe that such a view of God is best encouraged by a service characterized by form, reverence, and solemn joy. While we thus run the risk of not being "upbeat" enough for some people's tastes, we believe that we are, week in and week out, promoting a view of God which is consistent with the magnificence of his character revealed in Scripture.
• Corporate and Participatory. Bluntly, worship is not a spectator sport, it is not entertainment. Rather, it is an activity in which God's people actively participate together for the glory of God. Some people seem to think that worship is a stage performance with God as the prompter, the minister as the performer, and the congregation as the audience, assembled to give their nods of approval or disapproval. Rather, the minister is the prompter, the congregation is the performer, and God is the audience, present to approve or disapprove. To this end, we are called as co-participants-not spectators-in the "drama" of the worship of God.
• Historic and Reformed. While our ultimate authority in worship is the Word of God, we gladly stand in the tradition of the historic Christian Church and the Protestant Reformation. This link with the past bears witness to our having fellowship with the great multitude of God's people who have gone before us and enables us to take advantage of the rich history of Christian worship.

Brief Thoughts on Specific Elements

• The Singing of Praise. One of the great privileges we have is to sing the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. But what to sing and how to sing are often matters of disagreement among believers. Our approach is fairly simple: we believe that a rich legacy is to be found among the Psalms (worship songs given by divine inspiration) and the great hymns of the historic Christian Church. We seek to take full advantage of this legacy in our singing. What makes a hymn great is a conspicuous focus on the character of God and the redemptive work of Christ. This means that we are not as likely to utilize material arising out of periods of church history not noted for their rich, profound, and thoughtful lyrics. While we employ some songs and hymns from such periods, the emphasis does not lie there. As the priesthood of all believers characterizes the New Covenant, in which all of God's people offer up an acceptable sacrifice of praise, we believe that singing in public worship should be dominantly the singing of the entire congregation. When the choir sings an introit or offertory anthem, the whole congregation should participate by listening to and offering up the words and musical expressions. The choir also assists the congregation in learning unfamiliar hymns on occasion.
• Prayer. We believe in the value of both corporate, and extemporaneous prayers. With corporate prayers, we join our voices together with wording that is well considered and rich in biblical content. With extemporaneous prayer (in which one person leads), there is opportunity for greater freedom, responding to the immediate prayer needs of God's people.
• The Ministry of the Word. Central to our worship is reading and preaching of the Word of God. Scripture is read at a number of places in the service; it permeates all that we do. Before the sermon, a portion of Scripture is read as basis for the sermon. The sermon seeks to be a faithful explanation and application of Scripture in light of all of God's Word. Mostly, our pastors adopt an expository approach, preaching through entire books of the Bible. In this way, we are exposed to the whole counsel of God.
• The Lord's Supper. In many respects, the Lord's Supper is the high point of our service; it is where everything "comes together." While this sacrament is a commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ, it is also much more. We are spiritually nourished by Christ as we feed upon his body and blood in the Lord's supper through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is also a time of solemn celebration, as we are confronted by and meditate upon the profound realities of the Gospel.
• The Collection. As a response to the Lord's mercy to us, and as a means of supporting and participating in the work of the Kingdom, we gladly give a portion of the financial resources with which God has blessed us. While we do not want you as a visitor to feel under any pressure to give, we do think it's important for you to know why we believe in making great sacrifices, financial and otherwise, for the sake of Christ. It is because he and his Kingdom are worthy. It is with glad and grateful hearts that we give and that we offer all of our worship to the Lord.

Even after reading this and worshiping with us (perhaps even especially after!), you may have questions about our service of worship. Our pastors would be delighted to help you come to a better understanding of our particular approach to worship - why we do this, why we don't do that. While Emmanuel Presbyterian Church is but a small segment of the Kingdom of Christ, and while we have much to learn about worship, we do believe that our worship has much to commend it. We hope that you will find it a fit vehicle to offer your sincere praise and heartfelt gratitude to him who alone is worthy.