Worshiping as a church: An introduction

This post begins a new series on corporate worship. My goal for this series is to help each of us worship in spirit and in truth each Sunday as a part of a church. I hope God will use it in some small way to help stir a revival of corporate worship among His people. I am writing it with our church – Covenant Community Church of Fredericksburg, Va. – in mind, but I hope it will help other disciples and their churches as well.

This post is an introduction to the rest of what I will write. The statements below are some of those I think are important on the subject and hopefully will explain why I consider this series vital to our church. They are not comprehensive. I could say much more about corporate worship. I write with the belief these truths are consistent with Scripture, especially the New Testament, and foundational to what a church is and what its worship is:

-- Each Christian is created and re-created to worship his or her Creator.

-- Worship is always personal but not always private. It also is to be corporate.

-- The church is the body that is to practice corporate worship regularly.

-- The church is the body of Christ, purchased by Him, gifted by Him and brought together by Him to glorify God, exalt Him and make disciples.

-- The gathering of the church on the Lord’s Day is normally the most important meeting a Christian will participate in each week, except possibly those in his or her home.

-- Corporate worship as part of a local church is indispensable to every Christian.

-- Corporate worship with a local church of which a Christian has become a member should be a priority.

-- Corporate worship is for participants, not spectators.

-- Worship, including corporate worship, is a response to God’s revelation of Himself and His works.

-- Corporate worship has both vertical (toward God) and horizontal (toward other worshipers) aspects.