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Philosophy of Worship

 

Christ Community Church of Laguna Hills, California

 

Written by a worship committee
Last revised, 1999

 

Introduction

"The Christ Community Church of Laguna Hills, in obedience to God's Word and in reliance upon His Spirit, purpose to make the pursuit of God and the advancement of His kingdom the central priority of our lives by making disciples who seek: to worship Him, to obey His Word, to participate in the common good of others, and to share Christ's Gospel of Grace to all peoples." So reads the purpose statement of the Christ Community Church of Laguna Hills. Within this statement of purpose, the area of worship is identified as a key component in the life of the church in general and in disciple making specifically. It is the purpose of this worship statement to further define a philosophy of worship for the Christ Community Church of Laguna Hills and to inform this body of the purpose, direction and practice of worship.

Worship Defined

Worship can be defined as paying honor to God for who He is and what He does. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that the chief end of man is this very thing, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Worshipping God is the primary pursuit for every Christian, in this life and the next. This seeking after God and giving Him the honor He so richly deserves through worship has three key components.

First, the Christian must worship the right God. Exodus 20:3 states, "Have no other gods before me." This would mean positively that one should focus exclusively on the infinite-personal God of the Bible and nothing else. God should be the priority in every person's life, not false gods like Buddha, Muhammad or Krishna nor things such as money, power, T.V., etc. Jesus confirmed this idea by saying, "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind É and love your neighbor as yourself." Those that call themselves Christians should direct their worship vertically to this God revealed in the Bible.

Second, the Christian must worship the correct God correctly. Exodus 20:4 says, "Do not make any idols." Restating this idea another way, God should be worshipped as He has revealed Himself, not as how man thinks He is or would like to think He is. His attributes and actions, as revealed in His Word, should be in mind when worshipping. Any ideas of God conjured up by human imagination should be shunned in worship. For example, some have produced physical representations of God, like the Israelites with the golden calf. Others have formed mental images such as a benevolent old grandpa who winks at sin. The reality that Scripture paints is far different, showing a God who has wrath and jealously along with unimaginable love. We must worship God as He has revealed Himself, not as we would like Him.

Third, the Christian must worship this correct God in spirit and truth. In John 4:23 Jesus declares that "true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers." The phrase "Spirit and truth" points to Christ. It is through Christ that the Holy Spirit enters a person and makes them able to worship in their spirit the God who is spirit. Those without the Holy Spirit cannot be true worshippers. This true worshipper focuses upon the reality of God's revealed truth as found in His Word. The mind, as well as the spirit, is engaged upon God, who is truth, and His glory.

The Two Contexts of Worship

When one speaks of worship, many people instantly think of the church service and rightly so, for within the church, worship should be offered to our Great God. This context for worship is what is known as corporate worship. It is here that God's people unite together in song, reciting creeds, prayer, and the public reading and preaching of God's Word. There are very few things that a large body of people can do corporately together, but singing and public reading along with the ordinances have historically been the way that God's people have worshipped together.

Worship also has a personal context. This would refer to worship of God from any place and at any time. Worship of God for who He is and what He has done for us can be rendered wherever the believer may be, whatever the circumstance. In both contexts, worship should be directed vertically to God. This vertical focus has edifying effects horizontally from worshipper to worshipper because the body is built up and encouraged as a result of worshipping the God of the Bible.

The Style and Content of Worship

The style of a message and the content of that message cannot be divorced from one another. How something is said can be just as important as what is said. Style and content of worship should be in agreement and unified and because of this, the style and the content of worship are extremely important. The style of worship desired at Christ Community Church of Laguna Hills is one in which God is in the foreground and we as humans are in the background. This style demonstrates order and self-control. It is our desire to minimize the distractions or novelty of personal performance in worship and other distractions (ex., changing the order of service each and every week, unnecessary disruptions in the sanctuary, etc.) in order that the worshipper may set his or her mind firmly upon our great God as He has revealed Himself through His Word. Our goal is not to be man oriented, but rather God oriented in our worship service. Our goal is not to be in competition with the world for the best "show", "performance", etc., but to seek excellence in worship by focusing upon our eternal God, our Savior Jesus Christ.

The partner of style is content and the content of worship should be one that is weighty. His Word and the contemplation of those things that His Word teaches honor God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, "What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him?" The answer is "The Word of GodÉ is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him." Thus the content of worship songs, etc. should reflect the weight of Scripture and be in agreement with the messages given about God and His Word. They should focus upon not only the idea that God is near (His imminence), but also that He is above and beyond His creation (His transcendence). It is through songs, prayer, the public reading and preaching of Scripture that God's attributes and actions can be focused upon and recounted for His glory. This is in contrast to many churches whose focus is on the human element. We desire that everything that is done in worship have "the weight of glory" in it.

Historically, the church has upheld two main ways God communicates His grace to us and draws us near to Him. These have historically been the backbone of the church's service and they include the following two items:

Historically, the church's response to God's gift of His Word and His ordinances has been the following three items:

Conclusion

In conclusion, we at Christ Community Church of Laguna Hills desire that honoring God and performing worship for His glory be the primary motivating factor in our corporate worship. From this, we desire that the style and content of worship should encourage reflection, emphasize knowledge and wisdom, appeal to appropriate proportion of emotions, emphasize both the transcendence and imminence of God and nurture a communal reverence for the holiness and sovereignty of God.

 

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