The Worship Gathering

Life consists of constant worship. Every thought, word, desire, and deed involves the ascribing of worth and value. Each attitude, affection, and activity is an expression of our allegiance, whether to our Creator or his creation. And God is alone worthy of our worship.

Worship is related to every area of our lives. We are called to eat, drink, speak, think, and work to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31). Worship cannot be narrowed down to a particular time and place as if God does not claim authority over certain aspects of our lives. Everything we do is an expression of worship.

While everything we do is an act of worship, the church is nevertheless called to come together and worship the Lord corporately. So what happens during that time? How do we worship the Lord at PHBC?

At the center of the church gathered is one absolutely necessary element: the word of God laid open in the midst of God’s people. The church may do many things when gathered together, but one thing is of the utmost importance: the faithful, expositional proclamation of the Word of God. Without gospel-centered biblical exposition there is no gospel-centered worship. We must allow God’s Word to point us to the cross of Christ.

The focal point of every worship service is the proclamation of the Word of God. The Word of God brings life to God’s people (Ezekiel 37; Psalm 119:25; John 6:68). The Word of God points people to Jesus Christ, who is the living Word of God.

As a church we want to be intentional about gospel-centered worship. Gospel-centered worship should be characterized by an awareness of the centrality of the gospel. When we properly understand the gospel, we will view it as our primary motivation for praising God.

Although our music is mostly contemporary, we recognize that only Jesus enables us to approach God—not music, musicians, worship leaders, or particular worship songs. We want to be most enthusiastic about the theme the Bible is the most enthusiastic about—the Lamb of God who was slain.

If God’s mission for his church is to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9) and to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe everything he commanded us (Matt 28:19–20), we must be those who worship the Lord personally and corporately. We must constantly remind ourselves of his mission, making every effort to proclaim his gospel.

Psalm 96 presents a compelling call to God-centered, theological, missional worship. Our worship must be rightfully centered on the glory of God, because only then are the desires and needs of man formed and met. As we exalt Christ and glorify God, we are professing things that are true to those in our gatherings who are separated from God by sin. The aim of the mission of God is that all the peoples of the earth would glorify God, and this will not be completely fulfilled until every tribe, every tongue, and every nation give God the praise that he deserves.