This conviction is often called the Regulative Principle of Worship. We believe that the worship of the church should consist only of those things God has commanded in His Word. As the 1689 London Baptist Confession says:
“The acceptable way of worshipping the true God, is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will… [that he may not be worshipped] any other way, not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.”
1689 London Baptist Confession, 22.1
This means that when we gather on the Lord’s Day, our first question is not, What will attract people? What will entertain them? What will create the right experience? Our question is much simpler: What has God commanded?
We believe God has already given His church what it needs for faithful worship. Therefore, our worship is intentionally centered upon the ordinary means He has appointed:
- We read the Word.
- We preach and hear the Word.
- We pray according to the Word.
- We sing the Word and truths drawn from the Word.
- We see the Word displayed in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
These are not merely traditions we prefer. We believe they are the means God Himself has appointed for the worship and building up of His church.
Reverence and Joy
The simplicity of biblical worship does not mean that worship should be cold, lifeless, or without emotion, rather the opposite. Because we come before the living and holy God, our worship should engage the whole person, mind, heart, and affections.
Scripture calls us to “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28–29). At the same time, we come with joy and gratitude because our holy God has received us through Jesus Christ.
We do not believe that we need to manufacture an encounter with God through entertainment or emotional manipulation. Our confidence is in something far more enduring, the unshakable Word of God and the ordinary means He has appointed.
For the Glory of God
Ultimately, worship is not about us. It is about God.
We gather before the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit as a people redeemed by the blood of Christ. We want God’s truth to be read, preached, prayed, sung, heard, and seen among us so that our attention is directed away from ourselves and toward the glory of God.
Our desire is to worship God according to His Word, through the means He has appointed, with gratitude, reverence, and joy, for His glory alone.