With this definition in mind, here are seven basic principles by which we seek to plan and practice corporate worship at High Pointe Baptist Church. Last, but not least, is the heightened experience of worship in the corporate context. We need to clear our head, recalibrate our spirit, and jump-start our slow heart. The purpose of this blog is to be a resource for the body of Christ at Grace Brethren, in preparing our hearts and minds for corporate worship on Sunday mornings. There are times — may God make them many — when the Holy Spirit takes the Scripture read, the prayer spoken, the chorus sung, or the truth preached and presses it right to the point of our need, and not merely informs our Christian walk, but heals us in that moment. Singing is an expression of the Holy Spirit, from the Heart, to the Lord. During the rough and tumble of the week, the ha… John 4:23 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. . David Mathis is executive editor for desiringGod.org and pastor at. are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Corporate worship is for our general “upbuilding and encouragement and consolation” (1 Corinthians 14:3), but also in beholding Jesus together: “we all . S3E5 The Goal of Corporate Worship : The Means Of Grace. Corporate worship brings together God’s word, prayer, and fellowship, and so makes for the greatest means of God’s ongoing grace in the Christian life. As charismatics, we… 154). Wesley emphasizes the specific liturgical framework of worshiping as a provision that sustains a life of continually growing holiness and discipleship. It is not consciously caused as a means to something else. Corporate worship is the single most important means of grace and our greatest weapon in the fight for joy, because like no other means, corporate worship com-bines all three principles of God’s ongoing grace: his word, prayer, and fellowship. Cited in Miller, “Calvin’s Understanding of Psalm-Singing as a Means of Grace,” 40. 4:11). You were made for more than private devotions. Often we come into corporate worship feeling a sense of spiritual fog. 16:39. Worship was not seen as primarily an intellectual assent to spiritual truths or simply a way to appreciate God's characteristics. . Swallowed up in the magnificent mass of the redeemed. Our own awe is accentuated, our own adoration increased, our own joy doubled when we worship Jesus together. I Corinthians 15:3-7, Philippians 2:6-11 represent creedal statements likely used in corporate worship. They explore the God view versus the Human view and the importance of preparing our hearts for worship. Which illumines all the various spiritual disciplines. This is why prayer is an important element in corporate worship. While we may admire figures like Athanasius and Luther who stood contra mundum, alone against the world, we must remember God has said it is not good for us to be alone (Genesis 2:18). Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines is a call to hear God’s voice, have his ear, and belong to his body. C. H. Spurgeon said that David “probably wrote this psalm when he had been expelled from his country by his ungrateful son, Absalom, but I do not find him expressing a single word of regret as to his absence from his throne.” Though seemingly normal and routine, the everyday “habits of grace” we cultivate give us access to these God-designed channels through which his love and power flow — including the greatest joy of all: knowing and enjoying Jesus. At University Reformed Church we want all of life to be worship to God (Rom. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Worshiping Jesus together may be the single most important thing we do. Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines. But talking about worship as a means of grace is tricky, because, as John Piper cautions us, true worship is not a means to anything. True worship is God-centered. Heaven will be more spectacular than we can dream — and the new earth, even better than heaven — but it might be surprising to hear that perhaps the best foretaste we can get on this side is with the gathered church, worshiping Jesus together. In other words, for Israel, corporate worship was a special, few-times-a-year occasion. Fifth, in corporate worship we participate in the sacraments – the Lord’s Supper and baptism – which the Lord has set aside to feed and strengthen us for faith and faithfulness. And worship in the local church points us to worship in the universal church: Jesus has a people from many nations, and one day will include every nation (Revelation 7:9). Fix writes to ask about prayer as a means of grace. True worship is fundamentally an experience of the heart, and not a means to anything else. Christian growth is not just something that we take away as sermon application and then work into our lives that week. We’re on a mission to change that. It is corporate worship, with its preaching and sacraments and collective praises, There is more to be said about the “graces and blessings that God gives only in ‘meeting together’ with other believers” — which can inspire our faithful engagement and help us appreciate the irreplaceable role corporate worship plays in our Christian health and growth — but for now, the question is, where should we turn our hearts and minds collectively in the moment to experience this grace from God? Indeed, through the means of Word, sacraments, and prayer God is glorified and His children through faith gratefully receive the benefits of redemption in Christ (Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. Among the multitude. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. As nice as it can be to tuck ourselves away in some nook and cranny, all by our lonesome, and read the Scriptures we want to read, pray the prayers we prefer, play the songs we like, memorize the verses we pick, and fast from food when it’s convenient — as important as it is to pursue a regular rhythm of “private worship” in these personal disciplines — this is not the pinnacle of our Christian lives. So, it’s important to distinguish between what benefits might motivate us to be regular in corporate worship, and what focus our minds and hearts should pursue in the moment. We can put ourselves in situations [corporate worship] where the feeling may more readily be kindled. Though seemingly routine, the everyday “habits of grace” we cultivate give access to the God-designed channels through which his love and power flow. In private worship, we’re in the driver’s seat. These heroes were the product of dire days, and inevitably their stories have been thinned in the collective memory of distant history. Each of these ordinary means of grace provides a fundamental foundation for corporate worship. Corporate worship is a means of grace not when we’re caught up with what we’re doing, but when we experience the secret of worship — the joy of self-forgetfulness — as we become preoccupied together with Jesus and his manifold perfections. David longed to enjoy again the public means of grace, to go up to the house of God once again. We are transported (perhaps only for seconds) above the reasoning work of the mind, and we experience feeling without reference to logical or practical implications. God made us for community — and named her “the church” — and being part of this great local and global community plays an important role in assuring us not only that we are not deceiving ourselves in pretending our profession is credible, but also that we truly know whom we have believed (2 Timothy 1:12). [T]rue worship cannot be performed as a means to some other experience. Still seem like a fuzzy idea? Worship is an end in itself. Eph. In this way, corporate worship, which is no means to anything else, is a powerful — even the most powerful — means of God’s grace for the Christian life. Corporate Worship and The Means of Grace Worship lies at the very heart of all we do and endeavor to accomplish, worship of the Triune God in Spirt and Truth. Worship, understood as exclusive devotion to the Lord, was something that Israelites were called to practice around the clock (Deut. It plays an indispensable role in rekindling our spiritual fire, and keeping it burning. Pastor David Wayne (the "Jollyblogger") shares some good and helpful thoughts about seeing "devotions" as spiritual disciplines, as opposed to means of grace.At no added cost, he speaks of the priority of the corporate worship over private devotions. They are experienced in private devotion, family and corporate worship, and whenever we are with other Christians. A special highlight of the Annual Conference was the ordination of Vladimir Zhelezov and Milen Stefanov as elders. The secret of joy in corporate worship is not only self-forgetfulness — or to put it positively, preoccupation with Jesus and his glory — but also the happy awareness that we are not alone in having our souls satisfied in him. Corporate Worship and the Means of Grace When: Sundays at 9:30 AM and 5:30 PM Where: 725 Gastonia Technology Pkwy, 28034. We’re positioned to receive. Even in times as troubling as Elijah’s, God gave him seven thousand who hadn’t abandoned the truth (1 Kings 19:18). And it may be the single most important means of grace, and our greatest weapon in the fight for joy, because like no other means, corporate worship combines all three principles of God’s ongoing grace: his word, prayer, and fellowship. This does not mean we cannot or should not seek to have certain feelings. Another way to say it is that what we do together each Sunday morning is spiritual formation. First, it is a biblical mandate. Corporate worship is a means of grace not when we’re caught up with what we’re doing, but when we experience the secret of worship — the joy of self-forgetfulness — as we become preoccupied together with Jesus and his manifold perfections. In corporate worship, the “graces and blessings” we uniquely enjoy are not only awakening, assurance, advance, and accepting others’ leadership, but also the accentuated joy of deeper and richer and greater adoration and awe, since our delight in Jesus expands as we magnify him together with others. . The purpose of prayer is that it is an expression of confidence in His goodness and wisdom. But the fog clears as he comes consciously into the presence of God: “When I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end” (Psalm 73:16–17). Paul and Luke talk about what is a “successful” worship service. Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. Corporate worship also plays an indispensable part in our sanctification — our progressive growth in being conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). From a recent class on worship, we hammered out a brief, Biblical, working definition of what a local congregation should be pursuing as it worships the Lord as His holy temple here on the earth. With this understanding, we turn to examine corporate worship as a means of grace. There are some graces and blessings that God gives only in ‘meeting together’ with other believers” (Spiritual Disciplines, 92). We were not made to stand solo with no fellows. In corporate worship, we’re made to receive the leading of others. God didn’t fashion us to enjoy him finally as solitary individuals, but as happy members of a countlessly large family. We do not eat the feast of worship as a means to anything else. And so it is with us. While the corporate worship of Jesus by the church universal is an essential element in our great destiny, it is the corporate worship of Jesus by the church local that is a vital means of God’s grace in getting us there. Wesley emphasizes the specific liturgical framework of worshiping as a provision that sustains a life of continually growing holiness and discipleship. 1:4). Rather, our focus together is the crucified and risen Christ, and the incomparable excellencies of his person and work. Question 1: When the Westminster Divines spoke of prayer as a means of grace, were they speaking of prayer as a means of God’s grace a) when one is prayed for (e.g. I simply offer it below with no comment save one. Get yourself there with a reminder about how good it will be for you if you do, and as the gathering begins, go hard after the goodness of God and seek to forget yourself as you focus on his Son. . Corporate worship demands that we discipline ourselves to respond, and not only pursue God on our own terms. We owe everything to his grace. Often we come into corporate worship feeling a sense of spiritual fog. So come to corporate worship for the many blessings, and then let the calculations vanish and lose yourself in the Blessed. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. God’s ordinary means of grace promote humility and worship with reverence and awe. Let all things be done for building up. We owe everything to his grace. In this audiobook, Matt Merker shows that corporate worship is the gathering of God’s people by his grace, for his glory, for their good, and before a watching world. When we deploy his means, we are saying, “You are God, and I am not, and you have revealed yourself in Scripture and I joyfully, willingly submit to your wisdom.” . Neither Athanasius or Luther truly stood alone, but were part of faithful communities that fostered and strengthened their otherwise unpopular beliefs. We were made to worship Jesus together. During the rough and tumble of the week, the hard knocks of real life in the fallen world can disorient us to ultimate reality and what’s truly important. When God sets the agenda and we follow it, we are admitting that he is sovereign, and we are not. Corporate worship reminds us that our faith is fundamentally reception, not our own initiation. Considered along side the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace is the corporate worship of Christians. . It is a wonderful thing in our personal devotions to make such choices, but it is also good for us to practice engaging with God when someone other than ourselves is making the calls. True worship is fundamentally an experience of the heart, and not a … . According to Don Whitney, “There’s an element of worship and Christianity that cannot be experienced in private worship or by watching worship. When the fog of everyday life clears, and we catch a glimpse of heaven’s bliss, we don’t find ourselves sequestered at a study desk or hidden alone in a prayer closet in paradise, or even standing alone before the great Grand Canyon or mountain peak of God’s majesty, but joyfully lost in the worshiping throng of Christ’s people from every tongue and tribe and nation. Happiness in God [which is the heart of worship] is the end of all our seeking. 16 May 2013 / Corporate Worship / Barry York Defining Corporate Worship. He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power (Rev. To withdraw from corporate worship is to deny and withhold grace from yourself. Corporate worship is the highest means of grace, and the means of grace are the God-ordained channels through which God unleashes his sanctifying, empowering grace into the lives of believers. Perhaps your own experience of corporate worship as a means of grace has, at times, echoed that of Martin Luther: “at home, in my own house, there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through.”. And so, according to Don Whitney, “There’s an element of worship and Christianity that cannot be experienced in private worship or by watching worship. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. We’re on a mission to change that. With this understanding, we turn to examine corporate worship as a means of grace. Considered along side the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace is the corporate worship of Christians. In Psalm 73, he begins by despairing over the prosperity of his wicked peers (Psalm 73:2–15). 6:5; Gal. . We decide what passage to read, when to pray, what to pray, how long to linger in Bible reading and meditation, what songs to listen to or sing, what gospel truths to preach to ourselves, and what applications to consider. Seeing and savoring God’s providence in our redemption fills us with wonder and trembling joy. Worship is the dynamic spiritual context in which the powers of the age to come break forth into this present evil age (Heb. Instead of staying away from corporate worship when we sense ourselves to be spiritually lethargic, precisely what we need more than ever is the awakening of worship. He offers biblical insights and practical suggestions for making worship what it truly is meant to be. So, its important to distinguish between what benefits might motivate us to be regular in corporate worship, and what focus our minds and hearts should pursue in the moment. Better than Luther, though, is the experience of the inspired psalmist. I’ve thought quite a bit lately, about the question of prayer as a means of grace…. Though the idea of sacramental worship was foreign to Charismatic worship of the 80's and 90's, there were many things in common with sacramental worship. See, then, the pregnant application to corporate worship in this summary by Piper: All genuine emotion is an end in itself. Which then leads to this climactic expression of praise: “Whom have I in heaven but you? Nothing beyond it can be sought as a higher goal. and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10). Mathis says this in his Crosswalk.com article, How to Put Yourself in the Path of God’s Grace: “ … (92). Corporate Prayer as a Means of Grace in Worship We can ask for his blessing in the natural and spiritual worlds. We were created to worship, and we are commanded to worship God only (Exodus 20:3-5; Revelation 22:9) in the ways that He has commanded in Scripture (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7). Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines. As the Swedish proverb says, a shared joy is a double joy. Or as Richard Foster says, “When we are truly gathered into worship, things occur that could never occur alone” (Celebration of Discipline, 164). On the struggles over corporate singing, see Horton Davies, The Worship of the English Puritans (repr., Morgan, Penn. It is corporate worship, with its preaching and sacraments and collective praises, confessions, petitions, and thanksgivings, which most acutely brings together the gifts of God’s voice, his ear, and his body. Where would we be today, or in a thousand years, if God were not rich in mercy? So give it the pride of place it deserves as you plan and lead your churches’ weekly gatherings. : Soli Deo Gloria, 1997), 168–74. But thinking of worship as a means can be dangerous. In particular, we want our worship services on Sunday to be pleasing to Him. But the breakthrough came in the context of worship. The ancient creeds known as the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed still serve worshipers well. January 29, 2020. One distinction to make is between the essence of worship as joy in God and the context of corporate worship as the gathered assembly. See, then, the pregnant application to corporate worship in this summary by Piper: True worship is fundamentally an experience of the heart, and not a means to anything else. Corporate Public Worship is a means of grace. Try the following: Sunday morning service (Corporate Public Worship) does something to us.