Our Beliefs about Worship

People are looking for authentic worship.  Many look at the state of the Church in the United States and have decided that they should look for, or start for themselves, a church different in style or method from the one they grew up in.  Some are moving in a more liturgical direction, while others look for something more dressed down.  This is not to disparage, but only to say that we believe the core issue in authentic worship is not the outward appearance.  True worship comes from a heart transformed by the Gospel.  A vibrant church is one where a large number of people have been transformed by the Gospel.  Frankly, in a great number of churches, the problem is that the people do not truly love God. 

"He who has been forgiven little loves little."

-Jesus

We are Presbyterians with a specific tradition that shapes our worship.  That is just an outward manifestation.  Providence more and more becomes a place where the Holy Spirit is present as our hearts are transformed by the Gospel.  It has been ironic to rethink the debates over the style of music because we have had times of struggle to find people able and willing to play any instrument, let alone the one we may prefer.  Worship is an offering to God.  He will only delight in it if it is given out of love.  We can only worship God in love if we have seen the depths of our sin and the expanse of His grace.  Therefore worship is something that comes out of an individual's and a church's feasting on the Gospel.  This creates an authentic church. 

That being said, we believe God has given us parameters of how He desires to be worshiped.  Theologians call this the Regulative Principle of Worship.  The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way:

"The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is good, and doth good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture" (21.1)

Various elements of worship are prescribed by Scripture.  Within those elements there is some freedom.  For instance, we are told to "Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy" (Psalm 33:3) As mentioned before, we think there is freedom as to which instruments are meant to be played skillfully. 

When I arrived at Providence, I knew little about putting together an order of worship.  I realized that I had no better source than the book of Psalms for instruction in the elements important in worship.  This study stretched my understanding of what worship is.  Working from the theory that the Psalms (among many uses) guides us in worship, I came to realize that the range of expression in worship is much wider than what I had preconceived. 

I organized sections from the Psalms into liturgical categories.  This compilation is one tool I use to put together the order of worship for Sunday morning. 

Click here to see this compilation.

I have put the efforts of my study on the website in case it would be useful to others.  All passages are from the New International Version.

On a different note,

click here to see an explanation for the backgrounds used in this web site.

In Christ,

Greg Cook