Corporate Worship: How the Church Gathers as God’s People (9Marks Building Healthy Churches Series)
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
Sunday worship isn’t just about drawing near to God as an individual—it’s about praising God together with his people.
Christians “worship” God at church every week, but many don’t know exactly what worship is or why they do it. For some, it’s a warm-up for the sermon. For others, worship is a “me-and-Jesus” moment. But what is the biblically informed way to view corporate worship?
In this addition to the 9Marks Building Healthy Churches series, Matt Merker explores the Bible’s teaching about corporate worship as an activity in which God gathers the church by his grace, unto his glory, for his people’s mutual good, and before the world’s gaze. This book offers a biblical and theological perspective on this often misunderstood topic so believers can participate in gathered worship that is God-centered and mutually edifying, rather than for self-fulfillment.
This product is temporarily unavailable on mobile.
- Offers a biblical and theological perspective on worship
- Examines what corporate worship is and why it matters
- Explores the relationship between ecclesiology and worship
Top Highlights
“A local church is an assembly of blood-bought, Spirit-filled worshipers who build one another up by God’s Word and affirm one another as citizens of Christ’s kingdom through the ordinances.” (Page 35)
“First, the assembly makes the church visible to itself” (Page 49)
“An apt motto for this approach is, ‘Read the Bible, Preach the Bible, Pray the Bible, Sing the Bible, See the Bible (visibly depicted in the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper).’” (Page 14)
“First, a local church is an outpost of the kingdom of heaven. This image teaches that our corporate worship should demonstrate how we are distinct from the world.” (Page 35)
“‘I go to church to praise God,’ or ‘to learn about the Bible,’ or ‘to be encouraged through fellowship.’ But regardless of why we think we’re going, there’s a deeper theological reason behind it all: God gathers his people. If God has adopted you into his family, then he is the one who brings you to the family dinner table of corporate worship.” (Page 45)
Matt Merker (MDiv, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is director of creative resources and training for Getty Music and has contributed to several modern hymns, including “He Will Hold Me Fast.” Matt and his wife, Erica, live with their two children in Nashville, Tennessee, where they are members of Trinity Church.