Worship Services Explained
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 95:1-2; Acts 20:7; 1Cor 16:2
A reading from Scripture focused on the call to worship God.
1. Our worship services should be reverent and orderly, as well as spirit-filled and spirit-led.
2. We should come as a body of believers prepared in our hearts to worship, ready in our responsibilities (music, children's ministries, preaching, etc), and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Worship thru Songs: Psalm 100:4; Rev 15:3-4
The worship service begins with songs that focus on who God is & why He is worthy of praise.
1. The Psalms speak often of coming into God’s presence with singing and thanksgiving.
2. We worship God as almighty, holy, loving, faithful, just, our Creator, Savior, etc.
3. Songs of personal renewal will normally be sung later in the service in preparation or response to communion, sermons, etc.
4. Throughout the service, songs will be selected that are doctrinally sound, with a mixture of the great hymns of the faith as well as the new songs of today.
Confession of Sin: Ezra 9:1-2; 1Jn 1:8-2:2
The Congregation is led in a prayer of confession with thanksgiving for our forgiveness in Christ.
1. We acknowledge our sin and our need for grace, and then proclaim our assurance of forgiveness in Christ Jesus.
2. Mainline denominations with liturgical worship services tend to be more faithful in this than the average Evangelical church of today (at least in format, if not in true worship).
3. A list of Scriptures will be used (which cover several weeks) to give focus but which also limit a sense of repetition that leads to a spiritually-dead routine.
4. The congregation is led in a short prayer acknowledging our sin, then a pause for the congregation to pray silently in confession and meditation, and then we end with a short prayer declaring God’s promise of forgiveness or eternal life in Christ.
Scripture Meditation: Ezra 9:3; 1Tim 4:13
Taking time to read Scripture as an act of worshipping God.
1. Certain themes might be followed (such as Christological passages in the Gospels or Epistles, or the doxologies in Revelation).
2. Devoting ourselves to the public reading of Scripture & following the Scriptural models of how to articulate our worship through biblical expressions of prayer.
3. In our entertainment driven culture and amidst our sub-culture of Christianity that tends to reject historic models of worship (because they often lost the gospel and became spiritually dead), we must guard against a worship service that is based too much on a reaction to what mainline protestants have done wrong. This happens when we give too much priority to flexibility, spontaneous sharing, or music, at the expense of the Scriptural call for order and other biblical aspects of worship, such as public reading of scripture or corporate confession of sin.
Worship thru Prayer: 2Sam 7:18-29; Rom 11:33-36; Eph 1:3-14; Rev 7:9ff
The congregation offers up prayers of worship & praise.
1. Praising God for who He is and what He has done based largely on the passage of Scripture just read, while reserving prayer requests for later in the service.
2. This honors God and helps disciple our people in how to pray and live as living sacrifices, rather than coming to God primarily for our wants and desires.
SHARING OF OUR FAITH: Mal 3:16-18; 1Cor 14:26-40; 1Thes 5:16-28; Phil vs4-7; Heb 10:25ff
This includes: Praise & thanksgiving, Testifying, Admonishing, Evangelistic Testimonies,
1. We emphasize this as a time in which God speaks thru the body and a time for admonishing the body in the responsibility it has to come prepared to minister to one another (not just coming to be ministered to).
2. The Scriptures listed above show the importance of: Encouraging one another in the faith; Being led of the Holy Spirit in God speaking through the body; And the growth that takes place through such ministry to the body.
Prayers & Petitions: 2 Chr 20:1-12; Mth 6:9-15; 1Cor 12:26; Php 4:4-7
The congregation lifts up prayers of thanksgiving and petitions on behalf of the body, which shall conclude with a short prayer for other gospel preaching churches in the area.
Worship thru Offerings: Psalm 96:8; 1Cor 16:2
After the prayers & petitions, a brief portion of Scripture will be read related to the purpose behind the giving of our tithes & offerings, and a blessing or prayer will be offered up as the ushers collect the offering.
Worship thru Communion: Psalm 133:1-3; Mth 26:17-30; 1Cor 11:17-34; Rev 5:9-10
On a monthly basis we shall worship the Lord Jesus Christ through the Lord’s Supper
1. A meditative thought will be given from a portion of Scripture which focuses us on remembering the Lord Jesus and the importance of unity in the body.
2. Time for personal reflection and prayer will be given, and then the congregation will partake together (or families/individuals will come forward).
3. Communion will close with a hymn or chorus as the disciples did following the Lord’s Supper (Mark 14:26) [which could be the sermon song referred to below].
Affirmation of Our Faith: Deut 6:4; John 1:1-18; Acts 10:37-42; 1Cor 15:3-6
The Congregation reads together portions of Scripture or one of the Creeds.
1. This is in keeping with the numerous biblical examples of the importance of proclaiming sound doctrine and our belief in the God of the Scriptures, the salvation in Jesus Christ, and His Second Coming.
2. The Apostle's & Niceene Creeds are important because they remind us of the church universal throughout history, the importance of learning from those who've gone before us, and because they have withstood the test of time. They are not equal to Scripture, but they are helpful in guiding our worship and perserving sound doctrine.
3. A list of Scripture passages are used to give needed focus, which will also cover several weeks (limiting a sense of repetition that leads to a spiritually-dead routine). Once a month we recite either the Apostle's or the Niceene Creed.
Children's Church & Bible Class: Dt 6:4-9; Lk 18:15-16
Children are dismissed for Children's Church at this time, where they are instructed in God's word.
1. Our worship service encourages the building up of families, as parents and children worship and fellowship together with the body of believers for the first half of the worship service.
2. Our worship service also offers the teaching of the Word to children by providing Bible lessons and activities for children up thru 3rd grade that are designed for their ages. We also offer a Bible class for 4th to 6th graders during the sermon time for the older children as well (September thru May).
3. Each family decides what is best for their own children and at what age each child will benefit the most from either the children's lessons or hearing the preached word.
THE WORD: Ps 119:1ff; Jn 17:13-19; 2Pe 1:19-21
The last part of our worship service focuses on the Ministry of the Word.
Sermon Song: Psalm 119:7, 12, 108, 169-172
A hymn or other song will be sung to prepare the congregation spiritually and mentally for the preached word.
1. In Psalm 119 we see that worshipping God in song is both a response to and a means of preparing for God’s Word.
2. The Word of God guides and empowers us in how to worship God through song, while singing God’s praise also opens us up to receive the sanctifying work of the Spirit through His Word.
3. Scripture reveals the important role music and songs have in: opening up the hearts of God’s people to Himself and His word; the ushering in of God’s Spirit and His power; and the spiritual power of music and songs, all of which can contribute to, and must be properly used when, the word of God is being preached.
Preaching of the Word: Deut 1:1; 1Tim 3:2; 2Tim 3:14-4:8; Titus 1:9-2:1
We will give priority to the preaching of God’s word as one of the central aspects of our worship service.
1. We recognize the power that both the Scriptures and church history show is available and should be expected when God’s Word is faithfully obeyed and preached.
2. Scripture emphasizes the importance of preaching, teaching, defending, and guarding God’s Word, the gospel, and sound doctrine. This is a priority for pastors and elders, and something the congregation (including leaders) should be devoted and submitted to.
3. Preaching should be:
Evangelical in Theology, Focus, & Unity (the Trinity, Christ, Scriptures, Salvation, the Church).
Spirit-filled in Character & Power (godly living and dependence on the Spirit).
Expository in Delivery (well prepared, preaching what the text says, and giving personal and practical application accordingly).
Transformational in Purpose and Expectation (to make disciples, impact culture, and communicate the message in a way that the preacher and the people expect the sanctifying transformation of God’s people to come about).
Closing Songs & Intercessory Prayer: Psalm 119:7, 47-48; Rom 11:33-36
This provides a time to reflect on the preached word before concluding the service and for those desiring intercessory prayer.
1. Just as worshipping God in song prepares the heart, it is also a natural response of the Spirit to God’s marvelous Word [see again Psalm 119 where both are modeled].
2. Paul breaks out into spontaneous praise in Romans 11 having just finished a discourse on the theological wonders of the sovereignty and grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
3. While others are singing, prayer ministers are available to pray with those desiring personal prayer.
Benediction: Num 6:24-26; Ruth 1:8-9, 2:12; 2Thes 2:16-17; Jude vs24-25
The worship service concludes with a blessing for God’s people.
1. The New Testament especially is filled with such divine blessings, often written at the conclusion of a main point in an epistle before switching topics, or as fitting conclusions for the letter being written.
2. This is a declaration of a biblical promise (more than a prayer), and a fitting way to conclude.
