Philosophy of Worship

Philosophy of Worship at Faith Baptist Church

Purpose for Music:

1. To praise God
2. To learn about God
3. To be encouraged in the faith.

Principles for lyrics:

1. The lyrics must match the theme of Scripture.
2. God is at the center of Scripture. Therefore, the lyrics must address God, adore God, and enlarge God. This is exactly what the Scripture does throughout and so must our singing.
3. The lyrics must recount God’s mighty acts through time. They must consistently remind us of the power of God and in doing so take the focus off ourselves so that we learn to trust in God alone.
4. The lyrics must recount God in His judgements. This is exactly what the Scriptures do – in particular, the Psalms do this (see Psalm 5 as an example).
5. The lyrics should instruct is in wise living. They should address our need to obey God in all that we do – to conform our lives to His will.

Three ways to sing:

1. Sing Scripture directly – Psalms and poetry passages throughout the Bible.
2. Sing non-poetic texts by putting them to music.
3. Sing the doctrines and themes of Scripture.

Songs should exalt God and edify the saints. They should increase our desire for God rather than empty emotionalism. This means that each song must be theologically true and balanced.

Principles for music:

1. Music must enhance the lyrics – not merely the skill of the musician or the emotional pull that sound creates. Music can (and should be) emotional, but it should never distract from the words.
2. Music must be conducive to singing. Some songs are inappropriate for corporate worship simply because they are not “singable.” The song leader should endeavor to select songs that will be easy to learn and sing.
3. Music should be appropriate to the culture of the church. Just because a song is modern is not justification for singing it. The music should have the broadest appeal for the congregation (for example, rap would be entirely inappropriate for FBC as would some modern worship songs simply due to the makeup of the church).
4. Music should be played and led competently (Psalm 33:6). Distractions from the message of the song should be eliminated as much as possible (this may require saying no to well-meaning saints who can’t hold a tune or stay on rhythm or otherwise prove distracting from worship).
5. The music should be varied. There is nothing wrong with repeating songs two to three weeks in a row, but there should be variety in the worship service.

In short, the worship service should be Scriptural, supportive, skilled, sacred, and sundry.

In modern worship services, the fear of God and the worship of God are most often missing. Worship through music is a vital component of the gathering. It should be approached with reverence and prayer. All those involved must understand the seriousness of leading God’s people through song into the presence of God.

“The heart of the Christian life is to be found in the act of public worship” – Hans Lietzman