Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Grace Baptist Church Doctrinal Statement: Corporate Worship

We believe that the Word of Christ should dwell richly [Colossians 3:16] in the corporate worship services of Grace Baptist Church. The Word should be prayed [I Timothy 2:1], sung [Colossians 3:16], read [I Timothy 4:13], and preached [Romans 10:17]. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us [John 1:14]. So we desire that the Word should also dwell in fullness among His people [Ephesians 3:19]. When God's Word fills His people, true religious affections filled with grace and truth will rise to the praise of His glorious grace [Ephesians 1:6].

We believe that the people of God will learn to love the glory of God as the ministers of God teach them to see and savor the Word of God [I Peter 1:23-25]. God’s self-revelation is found in His Word. The self-love and relativism of our “ungodly” and “unrighteous” culture have negatively affected the church’s corporate worship [Romans 1:18].  A change of audience has occurred. Worship is often shaped more by what people desire than by the nature of God's self-disclosure found in the Bible [Exodus 32:7-10; II Timothy 3:1-5]. We will be changed only as we discover in the Word what God must be like for our joy in the face of Jesus Christ [II Corinthians 3:17-18].

We believe that the singing of theologically based and historically informed hymns and songs will free us to rejoice in our God [James 5:13; Psalm 149:1]. Unison singing unites us with one voice as we sing with “one accord.” Part singing expresses musically the unity of substance and tri-unity of persons within the Godhead. Part singing reflects the unity of purpose and difference of roles within the congregation. All the music used in our worship services will be measured against the standard of sound doctrine [Titus2:1].

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