Worship for God

Many times in discussion of corporate worship, such things as emotion, tradition, or preferences receive too high a value in the interaction, and the people involved depend upon them too heavily. Too much attention is given to these human perspectives of worship (which often can be selfish: “what do I want from worship”), and not enough consideration is given to what Scripture says regarding what God wants from us when we worship Him. This idea of having a biblically-based theology of worship has really come through to me during this course. Not only have I been able to read three quality books that look at worship in different ways and yet still retain the central theme (of how worship is about God and is to be done according to His Word), but also I have been able to learn much from the discussion in class and in these “blogs” themselves.
One area that we considered was the topic of corporate worship and what should be included in a regular weekly service. Many times the “worship wars” have become overly-focused on only the aspect of music and singing and have overlooked equally important elements such as prayer and the public reading of Scripture. If God wills for me to be a pastor, I do not want to forget about these important parts to the corporate worship service, nor do I want to pass over them quickly without giving them due thought. Burroughs rightfully delivers some castigating remarks regarding the wrong way in which we so often pray, and at the same time, he encourages his readers to pray in a manner that reflects a knowledge of who God really is. Give Praise to God presents some great ideas for the public reading of God’s Word, including instituting an agreed-upon systematic plan that will cover all of the Bible.
The elements (duties) of corporate worship should be a part of the service because Scripture gives God’s desire for them; they should be based on and filled with Scripture. Whether it is preaching, or parking in the Lord’s Table, or singing or praying or reading: God and His Word should be the sole focus. It is all about giving God the glory in the way in which He prescribes. This whole concept of praying, reading, singing, and preaching the Bible was a very important theme of this class and one that I want to hold on to in whatever ministry God has for me in which to serve Him. [word count: 420]