- 24 Orleana Square, Gawler SA 5118
God made all things for His own glory: “for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).
God made all things for His own glory: “for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36). In particular, as the Shorter Catechism reminds us, “man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” In other words, our reason for being — our purpose is worship. The design of God in creation is to make us worshippers.
The design of God in redemption likewise takes aim at God’s praise. In Ephesians 1, Paul explains that the whole extent of human salvation, from election (1:6) through the present inheritance we have in Christ, having been brought to hope in Him (1:11), to the sealing of the Spirit for a future inheritance in heaven (1:14), is all “to the praise of His glory.”
At Gospel City Church, we uphold the regulative principle of worship which means we believe that all true worship must be regulated by the bible . That is, the Bible must rule and guide both the form and content of corporate worship.
The first question of Christian worship is not: what musical style should we use? Or what do people like or want? Or what will attract seekers? Or what are other churches doing? But rather, how does God want to be worshipped? And that question can only be answered from the Bible.
Worship should be simple, spiritual, and scriptural. Such worship will be both heartfelt and reverent. What does this kind of service look like? Well, an apt motto for it might be “Read the Bible, Preach the Bible, Pray the Bible, Sing the Bible.”
We are to read the Bible in public worship. Paul told Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim. 4:13), and so worship services should contain a substantial reading of Scripture (and not just from the sermon text!). The public reading of the Bible has been at the heart of God’s worship since Old Testament times. In the reading of God’s word, He speaks most directly to His people.
We are to preach the Bible. Preaching is God’s prime appointed instrument to build up His church. As Paul said, “Faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:14, 17). Faithful biblical preaching is to explain and apply Scripture to the gathered company, believer and unbeliever alike. This means expository and evangelistic preaching, based in the text of the word of God. People who appreciate the Bible’s teaching on worship will have a high view of preaching and little time for the personality-driven, theologically void, superficially practical monologues that pass for preaching today.
We are to pray the Bible. The Father’s house “is a house of prayer” said Jesus (Matthew 21:13). But pastoral prayer has almost disappeared in many churches. Our preachers need to once again pray prayers full of the language and thought of Scripture.
We are to sing the Bible ( Colossians 3:16). What we mean by “sing the Bible” is that our singing ought to be biblical, with the language, categories, and theology of the Bible. It ought to reflect the themes and proportion of the Bible, as well as its substance and weightiness. Nothing trite or trendy.
What does a Christian worship song look like? Answer: it looks like a Psalm. The Psalms provide the model for Christian hymnody. If the songs we sing in worship look like Psalms, they will develop themes over many lines with minimal repetition. They will be rich in theological and experiential content. They will tell us much about God, man, sin, salvation, and the Christian life. They will express the whole range of human experiences and emotions.
A Confessional Reformed Baptist Church in the heart of Gawler seeking to live all of life to the glory of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ
Our Partner Seminary
– Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary
Church Connections
– Emmanuel Reformed Baptist Church, Perth
Websites
– Founders Ministries
Podcasts
– Theocast
– Pactum
– Sword and the trowel
– Man of God network
Books
– The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom-Sam Renihan
– A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel – John Colquhoun
– The Cross – Martyn Lloyd Jones
– A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith- Samuel E Waldron
– To the judicial and impartial reader- James M Renihan
– The whole Christ – Sinclair Fergusson
Children Resources
– Illustrated Baptist Catechism
– Little pilgrims Sunday School Curriculum