Sharon Baptist Church Core Values for Worship
Worship is grounded in the Word
We can only know God because he has first revealed himself to us in his Word. This means Scripture is the foundation of all our worship. Not only will we make the reading and preaching of the Scriptures central in our worship, but every aspect of our worship should seek to be as faithful as possible to what God has told us about himself in his Word. The Word should inform our singing, praying, greetings, and every other part of the service.
Worship should focus our minds and hearts on God.
We do not gather to be served, but to serve the living God (Psalm 95)! Throughout the week, our minds and hearts distracted from the greatness of God by a million other things. Our gathered worship should be a time when our focus is lifted up beyond our daily cares to the most important reality in the universe: our glorious and unchanging God (Rev 4).
Worship should be centered on God’s salvation of sinners in Jesus Christ.
Jesus and his Gospel are at the center of worship in the NT: God the Father has given his Son the Name above every Name (Phi 2:11); he desires Jesus to have “preeminence” over all things (Col 1:18-20); his plan for the fullness of time is “to unite all things in him (Eph 1:9-11). God the Holy Spirit came to “bear witness” of Jesus (Jn 15:26): “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (John 16:14-15).” The saints in Heaven focus their worship on “the Lamb who was slain (Rev 5).” Our focus should be on Jesus, too.
Worship should engage our emotions through the truth, not manipulation.
God made us with emotions, and our emotions should be engaged when we worship him. But our emotions are easily manipulated, and can be engaged by things that have nothing to do with God (2 Cor 4:1-2). We can “work up” emotions with human means -- a tear-jerking story, a song in a certain key, lighting, etc – but after the high of the service has worn off, the church is no closer to God. Only the Lord himself, through the Holy Spirit, can bring the real, lasting transformation we need, through the truth of the Gospel (2 Cor 3:18).
Worship should aim to build up the whole Body of Christ.
Paul’s great concern in the church at Corinth was not that each individual felt fulfilled after a worship service because they were able to use their special gift.His concern was that the whole Body of Christ experience “upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. (1 Cor 14:3-5, 12, 17, 26).” Paul’s motto for worship: “Let all things be done for building up (1 Cor 14:26).” Our worship gatherings should take into account the whole Body – a wide range of ages, backgrounds, levels of maturity – and what would best build them up in Christ. Considering the needs of others in worship in an important part of our sanctification.
Worship is a lifestyle, beyond our Sunday morning worship gathering.
Worship is not merely an event. Our gathered worship service should be a training ground for a whole life of worship to God throughout the week (Rom 12:1-2; 1 Cor 10:31; Col 3:17).