Approved with Revision February 8, 2000
Originally Adopted By Session November 5, 1996
The primary purpose of corporate worship is for the community of believers to perform priestly service to honor God, with both adoration and action, for his good pleasure. Everything done in worship should have God as its focus; everything should be God-centered. The secondary purposes — of edification of the saints and witnessing to unbelievers — should follow from attending to the primary purpose. God will not share honor due him with anyone.
...ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness… 1Chr. 16:29
Worship is the act of declaring to God in thought, word, and deed His infinite worth; affirming who He is and what He has done; and responding faithfully to Him in repentance, praise, adoration, thanksgiving, and awe. It is the act of giving to Him that which He deserves.
Worship is both personal and corporate: Personal worship is the informal, continual response of the believer to the triune God who has created him in His own image, redeemed him from slavery to sin and judgment, and conformed him to the likeness of his Son by His gracious love. Corporate worship is the formal interaction between a body of believers and God. Worship, like the Christian life in general, begins and ends in God, who commands believers to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
Corporate worship, then, is primarily faithful service to God, and not, as some express, “a time to be fed.” As we give God the glory He is due, we receive from Him that which we need.
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ “ Matt. 4:10
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.... Hebr. 12:28
God created man to worship Him. Fallen man, however, worships the creation rather than the creator (Romans 1:25); indeed, he is incapable of the worship required by God.
Those whom Christ has redeemed have been given new hearts and His Spirit, without whom it is impossible to please God. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that God desires (even requires) believers to worship Him “in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) — both of which are the gifts of God rather than the accomplishments of men.
While we are commanded to worship God, worship is also the inevitable response of the heart that knows God and has been called according to His purpose and saved by His incomprehensible grace: We worship and love because He first loved us. We worship in response to the great riches of His grace that he has lavished upon us who did not deserve them!
Worship — both personal and corporate — is ordained and regulated by God. According to Peter (1Peter 2:9), corporate worship is the priestly service of the community of believers to honor God with both adoration and action to his exclusive good pleasure. Everything done in worship, therefore, focuses on God and that which He desires. Its primary purpose is to glorify Him.
In glorifying God through worship, however, a necessary outcome will be that believers are edified, the body unified in fellowship, and visiting non-believers presented with the truth of their relationship to God. Paul tells the Corinthians, “...and the secrets of [the non-believer’s] heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” (1Cor. 14:25) Thus, God uses worship to sanctify our hearts and purify us for his purposes. Worship is, perhaps, the first of the good works that God has prepared for us to walk in.
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise —the fruit of lips that confess his name. Hebr. 13:15
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Ps. 100:4
We are to offer continual worship to God individually, as a matter of lifestyle (Hebrews 13:15). In this regard, God calls us to worship “in spirit and in truth” at all times and in all places.
But we are commanded also to worship God corporately, with the community of believers in the presence of God: “Where two or three are gathered together” in His name, He is there among them. God commands us to “remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8) and to “not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25); therefore, we set Sunday aside to God and properly begin that day by worshiping together in His presence. Corporate worship, then, is trialogue between worshipers and God and between worshipers and each other. Finally, God’s command to worship corporately is not met by such activities as attending Sunday School, participating in a Flock, or being a member of a weeknight Bible study; while these are important means of fellowship and instruction, they are not primarily worship and must not be substituted for it.
But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” Rev. 22:9
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. Ps. 150:6
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh — Phil. 3:3
God, alone, is worthy of worship, in the persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He commands us to worship only Him. (Exod. 20:3:4; Rev. 22:9)
Scripture states that all of creation worships the Lord, calls for all men to worship Him, and declares that someday all nations will do so; however, only the people of God, who have been purchased for Him by the blood of Christ, are capable of true, God-honoring worship, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Peter describes Christians as a “royal priesthood” and “a holy nation”; therefore, it is the duty of each believer, personally, as well as the church, corporately, to worship God in spirit and in truth. This means that God requires the active, sincere participation of the gathered believers in worshiping Him. The pastors, the minister of worship, other worship leaders, and formal musicians only assist the congregation in offering sacrifices of praise to God.
The Session — the body of elders given spiritual oversight responsibilities by God — will monitor and regulate the various elements of worship according to scripture, with the assistance of the Worship Committee, the Senior Pastor, the Minister of Worship and Music, and other ordained ministers of the Word at Chapelgate.
This committee of the Session, chaired by an elder, is responsible to encourage worship in the Sunday services, in Flocks and small groups, and within the family. It is also charged to assist the Session with their oversight of the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and all aspects of the corporate worship of the church. In cooperation with the Minister of Worship and Music, the committee’s Sunday morning responsibilities include making provisions for music, prayer, Scripture reading, service design, and coordination of the ushers.
This staff member works directly with the Senior Pastor in planning and leading corporate worship.
All members of the congregation are to sing, pray, and bring sacrifices of praise to God. To this end, musicians and others involved in worship leadership perform not for a human audience, but for God. Their participation must enhance the congregation’s worship and turn the congregation’s eyes toward God. Thus, music and worship leaders are conductors of the choir of worshiping believers.
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God —this is your spiritual act of worship. Rom. 12:1
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:19-20
The Bible is the final arbiter of how we are to worship and what may be included in worship. Chapelgate will not establish any regulations for worship that contradict Scripture, either explicitly or implicitly. Biblical corporate worship includes these elements:
Prayer
Scripture readings
Singing (and other forms of God-honoring music)
Responsive readings
Testimonies and other responses to God’s Word and works
Offerings
Sermons
Confessions of faith,
Holy vows taken before God
Sacraments of baptism and communion.
These elements should be thematically and seamlessly integrated to drive God’s Word into the hearts of those present and to prompt an appropriate response of repentance, praise, thanksgiving, adoration, reverence, and awe.
God commands us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. In the context of this command to the Samaritan woman, Jesus implies that:
God’s priority is not for the place of worship but for the motives, attitudes, and relationship from which it flows. His people may worship him corporately in any location.
Believers are to worship not in their own strength or for their own purposes, but according to His spirit and for His glory.
Worship must be enthusiastic in the original sense of the word: God-focused and God-centered with the believer’s whole heart, soul, strength, and mind. (Luke 10:27)
Believers must worship in truth: honestly; genuinely (not merely with words and lips, Isa. 29:13); humbly, with repentant hearts; acknowledging who He is and what He has done; in faithful acceptance of His Work; in gratitude; alertly; perceiving His presence; offering ourselves as living sacrifices to His Lordship … based on all that is True, as revealed by His Word.
According to Paul (1 Corin. 14), worship must be orderly and understandable by all who may witness or participate in it. Everything “must be done for the strengthening of the church.”
The Lord your God is with you he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17.
Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 direct us to worship, instruct, and encourage one another with every kind of appropriate song, from formal psalms and hymns to less formal spiritual songs. In this way, the music of worship constitutes just another vehicle for biblical instruction. Clearly, God has ordained music to drive his Word into our hearts and to sanctify us. Since God has ordained music, the music used in worship must be high in quality, although not necessarily complex.
Music, like all aspects of worship, must focus on God, rather than man. For this reason, the congregation must not regard the music or any other element of the worship service as a performance for them. Thus, applause in the worship service is often misdirected and, at times, inappropriate, since it is offered to the musicians rather than to God. Worship leaders, pastors, and musicians should make every attempt to help the congregation keep their focus on the Lord and to direct to Him their responses to the sung or spoken word.
We encourage the use of a variety of appropriate sound sources, even though the human corporate voice (the congregational choir) is the essential element. In the Old Testament, worship included strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion instruments — all components of an orchestra (Ps. 150). As with other forms of music, however, instruments are to be used to lead worshipers in praise and not to distract from it.
Old Testament worship was not limited to restrained music, but it also included boisterous musical praise: “Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.” Thus, enthusiastic songs of praise accompanied by percussion are not only permissible, but also desirable.
In Sunday morning services, we will mainly seek songs that emphasize our relationship with God (singing to the Lord as in Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Rev. 5:9-10, 12-13), songs whose lyrics address God and speak of who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do, and of His intention to bless the nations; rather than songs which speak of our own experiences. We will also include songs of relational fellowship (“addressing” and “admonishing one another,” Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16), evangelistic purpose (1Cor. 14:24), and historical hymns with sentimental value. We will include songs that call attention to our reaching out, being a blessing to all nations.
Like other forms of teaching, one goal of music is to put God’s Word in believers’ hearts, where His Spirit can use it. For this reason, a good test of a song’s fitness for worship is whether that song’s lyrics are profitable “for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2Tim. 3:16). Thus, every song used in worship must be worth memorizing. It is Chapelgate’s goal to use music to this end: We desire to help worshipers internalize God-honoring lyrics so that His Spirit may use them to minister to the believer at home, on the freeway, at work, and at all times — “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19).
God desires us to use a musical language that is appropriate for our worshipers. Our music, like the rest of our worship service, should be sensitive to the culture of the congregation, using forms and styles that touch the hearts of those who are present, unless such adaptation involves biblical compromise. Thus, Chapelgate worship will include a balance of traditional hymns and contemporary songs. We encourage young people to learn and appreciate the great old hymns (that often contain great lines of theology) and become acquainted with their rich historic past. Adults should be willing to learn fresh, new choruses, and recognize that contemporary styles of music are a particularly effective means of communicating with the nonchurched, new Christians, and children attending our services. In the spirit of Ephesians 4:1-3 and Philippians 2:4, each participant in worship must be willing to respect the tastes of other believers and defer to their needs; all should be willing to learn.