Selected Scriptures

January 17, 2021

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

The sermon starts around 16:20 in the audio file.

Or, A Pattern for the Assembly’s Blessing

Series: Our Worship #3

Introduction

We are studying and hopefully stimulating our own corporate worship. Things happen when the corpus, the body, gathers in His presence that do not happen in isolation. We are His people, His temple, His dwelling place. We are a priesthood, enjoying direct access to Him. We are His sacrifices, offering our lives to Him in Christ. Through the church, God batters down unbelief and rebellion and death. The church is His propaganda, His point to heavenly rulers (Ephesians 3:10) and His battering ram against the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18).

As I emphasized last Lord’s day, worship is the work of the assembly. Some men may lead the assembly, but the corpus, the united members, meets with God.

When we assemble, what are we to do for worship? Are there particular components that are required? Elements that are allowable? Practices that are prohibited? Once we know the components, do they follow a particular pattern?

A few qualifications before I answer some of these questions.

First, God has not revealed His one-and-only order of service anywhere in Scripture. We won’t find the ultimate inspired bulletin for Israel’s worship at the temple, let alone for a local church’s Lord’s day gatherings. There is, therefore, a measure of freedom in what we do and in what order we do it.

Second, God has revealed some explicit priorities for corporate meetings, not only in the example of the early church but also in His instructions to church leaders such as Timothy and Titus. In particular, there is a heavy emphasis on the Word. Timothy was to be devoted to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching (1 Timothy 4:13). Timothy was to “preach the Word, in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Paul required attention on the “sacred writings” (2 Timothy 3:15) but he did not say it all had to be a sermon.

Third, we always say something by what we do and how we do it. This is the liturgical opportunity. It’s not whether but which. It’s not whether there will be a form and format, but which format it will be.

Most of us have learned that learning is the point of corporate gatherings, not only because that’s what we’ve been told, but also because that’s what we’ve sat through. Singing prepares our hearts in order to learn. Praying asks God to make our hearts ready to learn. The Scripture reading is often what we’re going to learn about that day. And then the sermon takes center stage as the main lesson. Preachers work overtime to say that sermon listening is worship because we devote so much time to it. The message is the bus that takes us to the learning destination, and everything else is just trying to get everyone on the bus.

Without doubt, elders should be apt to teach (1 Timothy 3:2) and always ready to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2). The pastors and teachers equip the saints just as they themselves are fully equipped by the inspired Scriptures (see 2 Timothy 3:17). But more happens when we assemble than information transfer. As we examine its place in corporate worship, we’ll see why the Word is so important and that it’s more active than a data dump.

So, because we have liturgical freedom and priorities and opportunities, this is more of a “get to” than a “have to” discussion. We don’t “have to” eat steak, but wouldn’t you if you could?

Having considered some of the effects of our corporate worship and emphasized the people as worshippers, we’re going to consider the patterns of worship. This morning we’ll consider the pattern of Israel’s worship as a pattern for the assembly’s blessing.

In the Old Testament, under the Old (and in parti[...]