The philosophy, planning and leading of all corporate worship at McIlwain Presbyterian Church is guided by three fundamental principles.
Much as a three-legged stool must have all three legs present to serve its function, these principles are so important to Christian worship that one can say
that it is not possible to have worship with any one of them missing.
Worship is About God.
The first and most important principle is that worship is about God. The first two of the ten commandments establish
the obvious focus of true worship (Exodus 20:3-4). In worship we are to “ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” (Psalm 96:7, 8).
This means that the “audience” in worship is God, not the congregation; for that reason the goal of worship is not to seek to move people
emotionally but to seek to give God worthy praise for who he is and what he does in redeeming his people. However, it is a wonderful reality of
God’s goodness to us that, when he is faithfully praised he reminds us that he, the high and exalted God, enthrones himself upon the praise of his people
(Psalm 22:3)—and he blesses us with his presence in ways that are in fact deeply moving.
Scripture Regulates Worship
The second principle is that Scripture regulates worship. 
We must turn to the Scriptures alone to discover not only the
character of God but also the nature of reverent, acceptable worship (Hebrews 12:28). We cannot simply assume that whatever pleases us also pleases
God, and Scripture records the repeated tragedies of those who made this assumption. Jesus said in John 4:23 and 24 that true worship comes from true
knowledge of God—the only source of which is God’s Word. Since this is true, it follows that the regulative function of Scripture establishes a
principle that transcends mere cultural expressions. In other words, the regulative principle will not allow for the canonization of either a particular
style of music or expression of liturgy. God’s people have therefore had tremendous biblical freedom to express their praise to God within their own time and culture.
Worship is for Believers
Lastly, worship is for believers. The act of worshiping this God who has made a covenant with particular people throughout history
is reserved for those who belong to him by that same covenant. Peter tells us that God saves sinners so that he may be worshiped: “You are a chosen people,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
The writer of Hebrews tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek him.” Jesus himself establishes as the fundamental criterion for worship that the worshiper do so “in Spirit”—that is, that the worshiper be
born of the Spirit (John 4:23, 24; see also Philippians 3:3). Christian worship, therefore, is the awesome privilege of Christians and Christians alone—the opportunity
to ascribe to their redeeming God the “honor due his name” (Psalm 96:7, 8).
The Planning and Leading of Worship
In the planning and leading of worship at McIlwain Presbyterian Church, the Worship Planning Team works from the sermon “out.”
Foundational to the outworking of McIlwain’s philosophy of worship is the belief that the sermon is the heart of corporate worship. Paul told Timothy,
“[D]evote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift…” (1 Timothy 4:13, 14a). Timothy’s gift was
preaching, and Paul encouraged him to recognize that his priority was the proclamation of God’s Word to God’s people in the public setting of corporate worship.
For this reason the Worship Planning Team believes the immediate context of each worship service at McIlwain must be developed along a theme that best prepares
the worshiper for the hearing of God’s Word. By building the worship around the preached Word we are establishing a specific task for each service; each task,
in turn, has an appropriate tone that must be biblically developed. At times that tone may be exuberant as we focus on the joy of the forgiveness of our sins and
the freedom we have in Christ; at times it may be more reflective as we contemplate our own sinfulness and the great sacrifice of Christ; other times the tone will
progress through both, urging us to respond to God’s love with fervent praise; and at all times the music and singing, whether “contemporary” or “traditional,” should
be appropriate to the Scriptural theme and tone.
The Worship Planning Team’s goal in the planning and leading of worship is to lead the worshiper along a path that provides biblically guided
direction for the expression of devotion and praise. If, for example, the sermon text is about forgiveness, the team may select a Preparation for Worship for
congregational meditation that is a passage about God’s mercy or our need for a savior. From there the development of the service may lead the congregation through a call
to confess and confession of sin, silent or musical meditation and, often, in response to God’s mercy in Christ, extended singing of praise.
Classic elements of Reformed worship such as creeds, a confession of faith, catechism lessons and the singing of Psalms are an important facet of our worship expression.
One of the most important opportunities that we have in this approach to worship is demonstrating how we stand with the saints of the past by honoring the best aspects
of our past worship tradition. Having said this, it is equally important to establish a new heritage to pass on along with the old to future worshipers, both our
own covenant children as well as new covenant lines that God brings into being through evangelism.
The resultant “style” of worship at McIlwain could therefore be called “blended,” at least in view of the fact that the Worship Planning Team
utilizes both traditional hymns as well as contemporary songs. The Worship Planning Team does not, however, seek to apply a “50/50” rule that blends traditional
and contemporary styles in equal amounts in each service. Such an approach operates by default on the assumption that it we must make sure that every worshiper
has “their kind” of music in each service, thus making congregational satisfaction rather than the glory of God the goal of worship. Instead, the
Worship Planning Team seeks to utilize music that, regardless of the tradition from which it arises, best communicates the Scriptural theme and tone of the service
that is being planned.
For more information, see the Appendices on Important Current Worship Issues.
