Worship
As the people of God, our church assembles on the Lord’s Day (Sunday) to offer God public praise—worship that is at the same time our public witness to the community. This public worship is Trinitarian: directed to God the Father, in the name of God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, and through the power of God the Holy Spirit.
The activities (or elements) through which our worship is expressed are prayer (including prayers of praise, thanksgiving, confession, illumination, petition, and benediction), sung praise (both psalms and hymns), the reading and preaching of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and the administration of the sacraments. Our worship is simple: we pray the Word, sing the Word, read the Word, preach the Word, and receive the “visible Word” in the sacraments.
The Pattern of Our Worship
The design of our worship is driven by a “gospel logic.” This is essentially the pattern of Isaiah 6, the Lord’s Prayer, and the gospel itself. In knowing the true God (in praise), we know ourselves (as sinners), our need (for grace), and give thanks for His gifts in Christ.
- A cycle of praise Call to worship · prayer of praise · hymn
- A cycle of confession Confession of sin · assurance of pardon · Creed
- A cycle employing the means of grace Psalter reading · intercessory prayers · Scripture reading · sermon · sacraments
- A cycle of thanksgiving and blessing Hymn · collection · benediction
The Elements of Our Worship
Our worship consists of the few biblical elements that God has commanded in His Word. This understanding of worship means that we:
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Read and preach the Word
Usually a chapter of the Psalms is read responsively in each service, in addition to the passage on which the sermon is based. Normally our sermons are sequential, verse-by-verse expositions of whole books of the Bible.
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Pray the Word
Our prayers are filled with the praises, the confessions, and the promises of Scripture.
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Sing the Word
We sing biblically rich songs that resound with sound doctrine. We also incorporate at least one Psalter (metrical Psalms translated and rhymed for singing) in each service.
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Receive the Visible Word
The sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the Word of God made visible and perceivable by our senses. We celebrate the Lord’s Supper weekly and baptism as the Lord enlarges our congregation.