Liturgy: A Work of the People (pt. 2)

In the last article, I talked about the term liturgy and how it simply means “the work of the people.”  In the most basic sense, every church that has a structure and order to their services is liturgical.  One might ask, “How are we supposed to structure our corporate gatherings?”  But before we address that question, I think there is an important underlying question we need to talk about first: “What is our main purpose in meeting every week as a body?”  So in part 2 of this series, I want to address our primary goal for our Sunday corporate gatherings.  I also want to lay some important biblical groundwork for how we should structure our services.    

What is the primary goal for our Sunday corporate gatherings?

Unfortunately, while the answer to this question should seem clear, the practices and even structures of many evangelical churches across our country have muddied the waters.  Many churches with good intentions have taken secondary goals and built their services around them.  Most of these goals, (i.e. being evangelistic or seeker friendly) are good, however they are not primary.  We must first realize that our corporate worship is for God’s pleasure and his glory. When we gather as a body on Sundays, our number one goal should be to magnify the worth of God through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.    

It is also important to see that true worship cannot exist apart from Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the only mediator between us and God, and it is through Him that our praises will be made. (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:12) Anyone can sing “worship” songs of course, but unless the Holy Spirit is actively present in a person they cannot say such things as a sincere expression of true worship.  Once an individual has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, true worship can begin.  His life and death in our place has brought us peace with God.  We now come boldly before God, praising Him for what He has done.

Finally, we need to see that true worship is never something that people can initiate on our own - it always begins with God. John Frame writes, “In worship, God is always speaking to us…and we should be constantly responding to that word in faith and obedience.” Real worship isn’t something that is worked up within us, but rather a response to seeing and understanding God’s control, authority and presence in our lives.  So if worship begins with God and is primarily for his glory, how does liturgy or “the work of the people” fit in?  

It would be easy to turn all our focus to God and say that we should not pay any attention to human needs in corporate worship.  But in corporate worship it is important to recognize and live out the two greatest commandments: loving God and loving our neighbors.  Both can and should exist simultaneously and influence the way we organize our services.  Our corporate gatherings are to be God-centered, but also edifying for the believers who walk through our doors.  Edification can come through hearing words of encouragement, being continually reminded of the truths of the gospel, and seeing that we have a God who is ever present with us.  Paul says,”Let all things be done for edification” (1 Cor. 14:26), and to “teach and admonish one another in all wisdom,” (Col. 3:16) and to address one another is psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” (Eph. 5:19)  Frame writes, “Worship has a horizontal dimension as well as a vertical focus.”   Next week we will begin to look at this horizontal dimension and see what the Bible and history say about the way we structure our Sunday services.