WORSHIP: Why We Do What We Do

Enlightenment instead of Entertainment

We all love to be entertained, and while worship is not designed to be painful or dull its primary purpose is to connect an individual with the transcendent God. In order to do this we follow the worship traditions of the historic Christian church that were in turn derived from the worship pattern of the first century Jewish synagogue. The elements included in our worship are both ancient in their mode and contemporary in their language.

Reconciliation with God and One Another

Christians are to enter worship in humility, recognizing their own sinfulness and the forgiveness of God. Jesus instructs us to confess our sins before we approach the altar and that includes sins against another person as well as sins against God. We cannot enter true worship or receive grace apart from the awareness of our need of God’s forgiveness and cleansing.

Decision to Trust God

An encounter with the living God demands a moment of decision. It may be as simple as a choice to continue to be faithful. On the other hand there may be presented to the worshipper a more “Christ-like” way of thinking and acting and the choice is to practice this new discipline or to reject it. Sometimes the decision is more dramatic in its implications. This may be a decision to formerly join the community of faith or in some cases to rejoin the faith. On other occasions an individual may be prompted to confess before the assembly of believers that God is leading them into special ministry. Prayers are requested and acknowledgement of call is received.

Praise - Our praise of God indicates our understanding that he does indeed love and care for us. We recognize his wisdom, power, and eternal nature through our prayers, songs, and responsive readings.

Silence - Quiet moments in our worship service do not indicate a lack of activity, but an opportunity for the inner workings of the Holy Spirit of God.

Prayer - Whenever we communicate with God we are praying. In our silence, in our responsive readings, in the music we sing or through the words of others we are exploring avenues to talk to and to hear from God. The “Lord’s Prayer” which begins with salutation “Our Father who art in heaven,” is Jesus’ answer to the disciples request to learn how to pray and thus serves our worship as a model prayer.

Responsive Readings - Christians and Jews have a long history of verbal response in worship. This reminds us that worship is to be participatory and not a show on the stage. Furthermore it emphasizes the community aspect of worship.

Music - The music in our worship includes confessional, praise, doctrinal, aspects as well as invitations to deeper commitment. The hymnal we use includes some ancient Christian songs (called hymns) dating all the way back to earliest days of Christianity as well as some more recent hymns written in recent years. Periodically our hymnal is updated to include newer songs.

Offertory - The offering is for everyone, regardless of how much or how little they have to give. Christians are expected to support the church through their time, talents, and treasure. This act is a response to God. For that reason, in some churches the offering is collected following the sermon. Regardless of when it is received in the order of worship, it is yet one more aspect of the experience of worship. Consider how God is asking you to give to help bring about his Kingdom.

Scripture - The Bible has been read in Christian worship for centuries. As Christians we consider it as authoritative in our faith and practice. The readings are generally selected from Revised Common Lectionary (a systemized approach to studying the Bible based on a three year cycle). Each reading of scripture relates to the worship theme of the day and the reading of the scripture for the homily is basis for all the remarks in the sermon.    

Sermon - (Sometimes called the Homily) The proper challenge of Christian preaching is not to say something new, to say it better, or even to say it more persuasively; neither is it to say simply what is on one's mind or what is in one's heart, as if preaching were only a matter of personal testimony.  It is certainly not to say what the people want to hear, or to say what will most readily advance the prestige of the church or the preacher in the eyes of the world.  Rather, the first and fundamental challenge confronting the Christian preacher is to be faithful to the Gospel of which he or she is a minister....  The preacher is the bearer of a tradition, and Christian preaching is first of all a witness to the Gospel which is defined, interpreted, and handed on in that tradition. (Earl Shelp and Ronald Sunderland, A Biblical Basis for Ministry)

The Hymn of Commitment – Following all of the aforementioned is a formal time of response. The Hymn of Commitment is an invitation to follow God’s will for your life in some tangible way. For some it may be a decision to pledge a simple act of love or outreach toward a neighbor, while for others God may be calling them to publically profess Christ, be baptized and join the church. Any decision can be shared with the pastor by coming forward during the hymn. The pastor always leaves the pulpit to welcome those who are led by the Holy Spirit to come forward.

The Benediction - The benediction, literally “good saying” is a final word of encouragement to the church as it departs into the world. It is meant to ring in the ears and the hearts of the faithful until we worship together again. A benediction used frequently in our church and written by Dr. McGathy says:

No matter what you have done or become or promised to be; never forget that God made you, knows all about you, and loves you unconditionally. May his Divine love change you from the inside out and when it does you will know what grace really is.  Even more realize that this pervasive, persistent, and powerful force called "grace" is the best thing you will ever discover.  And when it finds you your eyes will be opened and you will see that there really is nuthin' but grace.  Amen.