I am currently reading an outstanding book on Reformed Worship. If you want a detailed understanding of why we do what we do in worship, its rootedness in Scripture, the Early Church, and recovered in the Reformation by Calvin, Zwingli, Luther, Beza, and others, then get this book. Here's an important snippet. I do not think it is an overstatement to say that our empty seeker-sensitive worship has not only opened the floodgates to apostasy, but by trying to meet "felt needs" rather than point to God in Christ and growth through His Word, has opened the door to things like the "felt needs" of drag Queens being met by dancing like whores in front of children.
If we believe in repentance, then we need to believe in telling our "felt needs" to shut up, because they are often/usually sinful desires. But I digress. Here's the quote below and a link to the book: https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/worshipping-with-calvin-recovering-the-historic-ministry-and-worship-of-reformed-protestantism-johnson.html
"If it is all up to Christ and we are passive, then worship need not be serious. We can just sit back and enjoy. We can be entertained or experience long emotive singing sessions or learn from “practical” talks. But if Christian virtues are beyond our grasp; if sin is deeply ingrained and is conquered only through the grace of Christ; if sanctification is a difficult, life-long process; if Christlikeness is impossible in our own strength, and if “we do the fighting,” then we must have Christ’s strength through Word, sacrament, and prayer.
In other words, the Word- and prayer-filled public ministry of Reformed Protestantism takes seriously the daunting task of living the Christian life. The reconstruction job that each Christian faces as he or she is transformed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light is monumental. Take, for example, people who have a “problem with anger,” as we say. Frequently they may be angry with the children or with siblings or with their spouse. Or perhaps the problem is not frequency but intensity of anger. They have a pattern of explosive anger that goes back to childhood. Victory over that vice, or a parallel problem of lust, gluttony, covetousness, pride, or anxiety will not happen by half-measures. Sin must be put to death (Rom. 8:13). The flesh must be crucified (Gal. 5:24). The Christian life is a battle. Athletic and military metaphors abound (1 Cor. 9:24–27; 2 Tim. 2:3–5; 1 Peter 2:11; James 4:1). Prominent among the items that make up the “full armor of God” are “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” and “all prayer and petition” (Eph. 6:17–19). We have already commented at length regarding the Lord’s Supper. Its frequent administration, to which the Reformed church is committed, brings the whole message of the whole gospel into visible focus at regular intervals. So does the liturgy.
The heavy doses of Word, sacrament, and prayer to which historic Reformed ministry and worship are committed should only be surrendered with the greatest reluctance. There appears to be no equivalent concrete or objective Christ-centeredness or dependence upon Christ to be found in the various alternatives. Let us review what we have observed one more time. Typically, no such Christ-dependent prayers of intercession will be offered in the newer forms of worship because the length and depth of such prayers cannot be reconciled with the goal of accessibility. For the same reason, no such commitment to reading and preaching the “word of Christ” (Rom 10:17) will be found, and no comparable commitment to gospel-content in sacrament and song will be found either. Often the new worship is accompanied by extended preaching, but less frequently is that preaching Christ-centered. One observer describes the music selection and sequence in contemporary worship as designed first to “wake people up, then get them fixed up, then settle them down for the sermon, then send them home afterward feeling good.” The sermon, he says, “is typically narrative in form and therapeutic in content.” The sermon may be relevant and need-based but not gospel-laden. The sacraments are often moved to a midweek evening or an early hour on Sunday morning. There are no equivalent expressions of dependence upon the grace of Christ to be found in the newer forms of worship. Michael Horton is so concerned that evangelical churches of every stripe are devolving into a Christless Christianity that he has published a book-length work devoted to the thesis. This is not just a traditionalist bias speaking. Seeker-accessibility is foundational to the whole philosophy of contemporary worship in all its variations, from charismatic, to seeker-friendly, to ethnically-specific, to generationally-directed services. Worship gatherings must be simple, light, comprehensible, and pleasing to “seekers,” expressed in the language and forms of popular culture which are accessible to them. Extended time devoted to Christocentric Bible-praying, Bible-reading, Bible-singing, and Bible-preaching does not fit the program.
At what cost do churches ignore or abandon Reformed ministry and worship? Inevitably it must mean that the soothing balm of Christ’s grace will not be applied in sufficient quantities to heal the deep wounds of God’s people. This is what is so tragic. Deep healing is what sincere participants in historic Reformed worship experience. A whole generation has been reared without the benefit of confronting their sins through the cross in public worship, without the inspiration of their pastor pleading for their sanctification and fruitfulness, without the benefit of the spiritual meat served through the reading and exposition of extended portions of Scripture, and without the regular administration of the sacraments. What the evangelical church has lost because of the popularity of the new forms of worship is well-nigh beyond calculation. R. C. Sproul calls the results “catastrophic.” Much has been lost in the name of relevance and accessibility. Can historic Reformed Christianity recover? We would urge those who are holding the line and those who are teetering—do not surrender historic Reformed ministry and worship lightly. Preserve Reformed ministry and worship because through its structure and content it teaches our need of Christ for salvation and ongoing sustenance."
Johnson, Terry L. Worshipping with Calvin: Recovering the historic ministry and worship of reformed Protestantism . Evangelical Press. Kindle Edition.
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