Guiding Principles

There are four principles that have shaped our approach to the Lord’s Day worship.

The first is the Regulative Principle. This simply means that God “regulates” what we do in worship. The church must never forget that worship is for God, and that He reveals through His Word what He wants us to do in worship. So we do in worship only those things which we know the Bible explicitly commands or implicitly approves. Rather than limiting our expression, we believe that the Regulative Principle gives us confidence and freedom to worship God in the way that we know is pleasing to Him.

The second is the “ gospel logic ” of worship. We believe that the worship service is a “re-presentation” of the gospel to the community that was formed by the gospel and for the gospel. Therefore, the movement of the worship service follows and reflects the basic movement of the gospel- God’s greatness, our guilt, God’s grace, and our gratitude.

The third is the dialogical rhythm of worship. We believe that God speaks to us every Sunday, and that we have the privilege of responding to Him. In worship, we are engaged in a “holy conversation” with God. Throughout the Scriptures, it was God who first spoke and acted, and it was God who then called His people to react and to respond accordingly. This “back and forth” movement will be reflected in the order of our worship: as God speaks, and as we listen and respond to God.

The fourth is the covenantal nature of worship. We believe that the Lord welcomes covenant children to Himself, even in worship. Therefore, we welcome and include them in our worship services. We desire that families worship the Lord together, as much as possible. We believe that covenant children learn most by watching and imitating their believing parents, and one of the most important things that parents can teach and model for their children is the regular and weekly act of worshipping the Lord with reverence, joy, and sincerity.