What Worship Means @ Our Church

Worship @ South Point Church

1.) We believe that worship is central to the church and the Christian life

Simply put, we believe that we have been created to worship. The first calling of every believer and the purpose for which we were created is to worship Almighty God in all his fullness and beauty. We desire that our personal and corporate worship at SPC be faithful and growing as well as authentic, passionate, and God-centered in all aspects.

Jesus said, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, mission will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever…"
John Piper


2.) We believe that worship is to be participatory

We believe that worship is to be participatory and corporate. Worship is, by definition, a "verb", therefore it is to involve the entire congregation. We believe that God is our audience and the congregation is not there as a consumer to be entertained but as a worshiper who has come to participate in the joy of worshiping the living triune God.

- God is the "audience"
- The congregation is the "performers"
- Worship leaders are the "prompters"
not
- The congregation is the "audience"
- Worship leaders are the "performers"
- God is the "prompter"


3.) We believe that worship is to be God-centered

We wholeheartedly believe that God Himself must be the focus of our worship. God's glory and majesty along with His continuing plan of redemption for His people through His Son Jesus Christ is what we celebrate.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Psalm 95:6-7

We believe that it is possible, and often easy, in worship to allow songs, personal preferences, styles, and traditions to become the focus of our worship. Valuing worship that is “centered on God” guards us against worshipping smaller and unsatisfying things that ultimately place mankind at the center of our worship, thus leading us to worship the creation rather that the Creator himself.



4.) We believe that worship is to be Gospel-centered

By “gospel centered” we me that worship that is God-centered is also “seeker-sensitive”. We believe that the dichotomy between a “seeker friendly” and “believer biased” worship service is a false one. We believe that both the believer and non-believers are in need of the same thing… the gospel. Our worship service is a celebration of God’s unfolding plan of redemption; a celebration of the Good News that God has forgiven us our sin through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
We attempt to combine a transcen¬dent focus on Jesus Christ with a welcoming attitude toward those who are spiritually skeptical or curious. We design our services expecting non-Christians to be present, believing that the experience of God’s presence in our midst will lead many to embrace Christ. We intentionally avoid services that either dissolve into entertainment or which are simply “preaching to the choir”. We will intentionally seek to communicate and environment of grace, where we are honest about our sin and our need for a Savior. We seek to celebrate the marvelous truth that the gospel meets our deepest need.


5.) We believe that worship values both our rich heritage and our present community

We want our worship to be “faithful” to both the present culture of Henry County and to the heritage of the historical Church.
We attempt to combine an appreciation for the richness and depth of the church’s heritage of music and liturgy with the best of how His contemporary church is worshiping today. Our worship will endeavor to focus on both the immanence (near) and transcendence (far) of God. We desire to cultivate an appreciation for the richness of our ancient faith with a vibrancy that is refreshing—especially to those who may have been away from the church for some time. We avoid both uncomfortable novelty and stuffy formality.
Worship is not a matter of taste. Worship is a response to seeing the glory of God and His gracious mercy toward undeserving sinners. “The ‘traditionalists’ need not be deprived of new expressions of faith and ‘contemporaryists’ need not be robbed of continuity with the ancient church throughout time.”


6.) We believe that worship is to be both familiar and eclectic

We believe biblical worship is indigenous and relevant to its community and is best expressed with much diversity. The Almighty Creator of the universe is a creative and majestic God who is worshiped among every tribe, and tongue and nation. If “all of creation declares the glory of the Lord”, it is only fitting that His people would worship Him creatively with many different styles, expressions and traditions.

Just as Jesus spoke and the scriptures were written in the common language of the people, all aspects of worship must be presented in the language of the people. We will seek out appropriate and fresh ways of communicating the gospel to the people of Henry County in our worship service.

In a nut shell, we believe that a worship style that is most relevant among the suburban people of Henry County is a blended eclectic style of contemporary and historical music.


7.) We believe that worship is to be reverent and joyful

We believe God-centered worship focuses on the fact that our God is an almighty, all-powerful, sovereign and holy King, but He is also our Father and we are his children. We believe that this Majestic King who governs the entire universe delights when His children jump into his lap and enjoy the relationship of their Great Daddy!

Our desire is to have a God-exalting worship service that is joyful and exuberant because it serves as an anticipation of the heavenly worship we will enjoy one day forever, the celebration of our salvation and satisfaction in knowing the one true God personally as our Father.


8.) We believe that worship speaks to the mind and to the heart.

We intentionally design our worship service to be both deep and practical, both intellectually challenging and emotionally satisfying. We want informed minds with inflamed hearts.

Jonathan Edwards said it best, “God glorifies Himself toward the creatures also in two ways: 1. By appearing to… their understanding. 2. In communicating Himself to their hearts, and in their rejoicing and delighting in and enjoying the manifestations which He makes of Himself. . . . God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart.”