WORSHIP

Creator and Redeemer

Every Christian church follows a liturgy—an order of worship or schedule of services—on the Lord’s Day. Liturgy is simply the “service of the people.” In an effort to develop a God-glorifying order of worship, we follow a covenant renewal pattern of worship that is gospel-shaped, covenant-minded, and God-centered. 

Worship is storytelling. Our approach to worship enables us to retell the Story of God both as Creator of the cosmos and as Redeemer of his church every week. 

God the Creator called things that are not as though they were, and those things confess his name night and day; and he consecrated them by the power of his word, and they commune with him; and he commissioned them to perform special tasks and duties for his glory.

God the Redeemer calls sinners to draw near to his throne of grace, and they confess their sins to him and confess their faith in him; and he consecrates them by the washing of water with the word, and they commune together with him at his table by sharing bread and wine; and he commissions them to be salt and light to the world.

Also, our approach to worship enables us to remember our place in the Story of God every week. The triune God called us out of darkness into light, and we confess our sins; and he consecrates us by means of the gospel and baptism, and we confess “Jesus is Lord”; and we commune with Christ and one another at the Lord’s table, and he commissions us to go shine like stars in the universe.

Covenant Renewal Worship helps us retell the Story of God in five movements that shape our life. A typical Order of Worship looks like this:

THE FIVE MOVEMENTS

  • God Gathers His People

    We begin worship with a greeting, scripture reading, and prayer. People from every tribe, tongue and nation are called to worship God in spirit and in truth. Our music is a hybrid of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

  • God Forgives His People

    When we confess our sins, the whole church takes a moment to confess our general sins generally, together and then quietly acknowledge personal sins to the Lord personally and seek his forgiveness in prayer. The minister reminds us that, in and because of Christ, God forgives our sins and remembers them no more.

  • God Equips His People

    We believe God’s word prepares us for life in this world and the world to come. Before the sermon we listen to the public reading of Scripture. The sermon is always based on a text of the Bible and centered on Jesus. The goal of the sermon is to inform our minds, reform our hearts, and transform our lives according to God's word. After being reminded of God’s grace to us in the gospel, we, in turn, bring our tithes and offerings in response to the grace given to us. The offerings are used to support our ministers, ministries, and mission in the gospel.

    After the preaching of God's Word, and after we bring our offerings, and we confess our shared faith in the Lord delivered once for all by reciting or singing either one the historic creeds or another ecumenical confession of faith based on the Holy Scriptures.

  • God Nourishes His People

    As members of God’s family, we partake of the Lord's Supper each and every Lord's day. All who have been baptized into Christ are invited to reflect on and rejoice in the peace we have with God and one another by nature of our union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection as we take, receive, remember, believe and proclaim that we are His and He is ours. Lord’s Day Communion is not only a time looking back but a time where long for and proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes again.

  • God Sends His People

    Finally, our ministers send God's people out into the world on mission with the blessings of God and for the life of the world.

As reflected in our covenant renewal service, worship is responsive.  It involves both receiving gifts from God and giving gifts to God. For God to give and preserve His Word for us is a great gift, and we rejoice that we are able to read it aloud together as God's people have done for millennia.

More on wORSHIP

Listen to a series of talks that explain in greater detail why we do what we do each and every Sunday