We've been thinking about worship this week, and perhaps you know if you've ever seen pictures of the Ligonier

headquarters and Reformation Bible College that they are situated on a small lake called Shadow Lake, and across on the other

side of the lake stands St Andrew's Chapel, the church where Dr. Sprole was minister.

I've always loved worshipping with God's people there for many reasons, but one of them is it's the only church that

I have ever attended where the congregation sings the sanctus. Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord. Holy,

holy, holy, holy is the Lord. Holy is the Father. Holy is the Son. Holy is the Spirit. Blessed three in one.

Sometimes we speak about what's called the Regulative Principle in our worship. Some people think

that it's just Presbyterians who have a regulative principle.

Actually, all of us have a regulatory principle.

Sometimes it's more obvious, and sometimes, alas, it's a regulatory principle that seems chaotic.

And we need a regulatory principle, otherwise every single one of us would end up

starting his or her own denomination. We need principles that guide and govern what we do in worship.

And as we've been thinking, sometimes that principle is, what do we like or what will appeal

to outsiders, which rather suggests that our worship is going to be about us rather than about

God.

Now our basic regulatory principle for worship is what does God tell us he likes? What does God tell us he wants?

And what does God tell us will be most helpful to us, to enable us to come into his presence and to praise

him? And there's only one way to discover the answer to those questions, it's by searching the

scriptures and reflecting on and applying their teaching to the churches to which we belong,

so that ultimately our regulatory principle is going to be the one that God gives to us.

If we seek out the scriptures, I think we will find two things. First

of all, we will see that there are certain constants in worship, what are sometimes called

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