Worship

Philosophy and Theology of Worship

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." -­ Colossians 3:16-17

The Bible clearly teaches that God has created us to worship and glorify Him above all things. Therefore, in worship we affirm that the greatest value in all of creation is God's glory and that the central activity of our lives is to delight ourselves in the Lord. The Westminster Confession of Faith asks the crucial question, "What is the chief end of man?" Its biblical answer is, "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." This is a God-centered perspective of life and of worship. It is all about God! It is not ultimately about us. Worship begins with God. We do not initiate worship; God does. He reveals Himself to us through His Word and the Holy Spirit and we respond. Worship matters to us because it matters to God.

Because our church values God's truth and we desire to be God-­centered as we worship, we strive to ensure that all aspects of our corporate worship are guided by and saturated with the Word of God. In his book, Desiring God, John Piper says that "strong affections for God—rooted in truth—are the bone and marrow of biblical worship" (82). We desire to worship God in spirit and in truth. As we look to God, to the truth revealed in Scripture and focus upon His glorious Gospel, we will be spurred on to worship and glorify Him for who He is and what He has done.

There has been a mega-­shift in the church's approach to worship over the past few decades. Whereas once it had been assumed that worship was for God, much of the contemporary church now structures its time of corporate worship to suit the tastes of those who are in its “market niche.” While God does bestow wonderful blessings upon his people in worship, we must never be confused about the purpose of worship. Worship is for God and therefore must be reflective of His character and priorities.

The following clarify some of our worship & music distinctives at Metro East:

• Worship must be guided by God's Word.
• Worship matters to God. What is more, the way we worship matters to God. We must always be careful that our forms of worship are in harmony with what Scripture teaches.
• Songs must focus on God's attributes as revealed in Scripture.
• Our songs of worship must not be preoccupied with our feelings and appetites but rather with God's attributes. Singing in corporate worship is a way to agree with God and declare to one another the specific perfections of His character that we learn in the Bible.
• Congregational singing is stressed above performance. While there is a place for instrumental and vocal specials in a service of worship the stress must always be on congregational singing. Metro East has been blessed by singers and musicians who regularly bless us with their gifts in a spirit of humility. But we are careful to emphasize congregational singing so that we do not breed a performance culture and unintentionally make worshipers passive observers rather than active participants.
• Confession of sin, prayer, and the reading of Scripture are essential.

These elements are unfortunately often neglected because they are not “seeker-sensitive” or “user-­friendly.” Confession of sin was jettisoned because it might remind people that they are indeed sinners. Pastoral prayers take too much time. The reading of Scripture might confuse and bore people. But these elements are means given to us by God and must not be discarded because of popular fads.