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When we gather together as the church, all things are to be done decently and orderly. But what is it that we’re doing and why? See below for a listing of things we do when gathering, what they are and why we do them.
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Believing from scripture that our purpose is to worship God, that he cares how we worship him, and that it’s worth it to worship him, we strive to make our corporate worship service glorify God and edify each other in a biblically grounded manner.
First and foremost, we desire to worship God as revealed in scripture. This means that we want to saturate our service with scripture: We read, hear, speak, sing, pray, and see the word of God as we’re gathered together. We’re called to worship by scripture and we depart with the benediction of scripture.
Every church has some order of service, a liturgy. Since God has called us to gather together as his people, we want to be intentional with our order of service so that it lines up with what the gathered worship service is: an encounter with God in the name of Jesus Christ and through his word applied by the Holy Spirit.
Our order of service is modeled after the sixth chapter of Isaiah, which gives us insight into what an encounter with God, the Holy Creator, is like. It is there that we see Isiah called to worship God through the declaration of God’s holiness, he responds in his own confession of sinfulness, and then is assured of forgiveness through the atoning salvation God provides. Isiah then hears the word of the Lord, and is sent out on mission.
[/tm_pb_accordion_item][tm_pb_accordion_item title=”Why do we open our service with a Call to Worship?”]
While we are called to continual worship throughout the week, doing all things for the glory of God, we are especially called by God to gather together and worship him corporately. The call to worship is a call away from our worldly attachments and toward heavenly thoughts, to step out of “our” time and into God’s time, while we sing, pray, speak, and hear the holy word of God and share the Lord’s Supper.
The call to worship begins the worship service. When we gather, anticipate this call and ask God to prepare your heart to hear and receive his word, and to worship him for who he is, in spirit and in truth.
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If we have been redeemed by God through the sacrifice of Christ, we know that all our past, present, and future sins have been atoned and forgiven.
The purpose of confessing our sin corporately is not to despairingly dwell on our sin, but to humble ourselves before the Lord and each other and increase our awareness of our constant need of a savior.
By confessing our sin, we declare the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man and thereby magnify our worship of the one and only God who can, and does, take away our sins. We are also immediately reminded and assured of the grace and mercy of God and the forgiveness of sin found only in Christ.
[/tm_pb_accordion_item][tm_pb_accordion_item title=”Why do we have an Assurance of Forgiveness?”]
As we rehearse the gospel in our weekly gatherings, no component is more indispensable than the fact that through the blood of Christ, we have been forgiven of our sins, and we now have peace with God. After having humbled ourselves before God and confessing our sins, we recall the promises we find in scripture, the wonderful mercy and grace of God and remind ourselves that God has truly forgiven us of our transgressions.
Knowing that we have been forgiven, that we are no longer under law but under grace, we are now free to serve and obey God’s will out of pure love and thanksgiving for him.
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Baptism is one of the two ordinances, along with the Lord’s Supper, given to the church by the Lord Jesus Christ as signs of the spiritual realities in our life.
Baptism signifies our adoption into Christ, our fellowship with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection, our remission of sins, and our giving up into God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in newness of life. Together, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper point to what God has done for us, through us, and to us.
Baptism does not bring about salvation but receiving it is an act of obedience to Christ’s command to his church.
[/tm_pb_accordion_item][tm_pb_accordion_item title=”What is the Lord’s Supper and why do we celebrate it every week?”]
The Lord’s Supper is one of the two ordinances, along with Baptism, given to the church by the Lord Jesus Christ as signs of the spiritual realities in our life. The supper is to be observed in his churches until he returns as a continual remembrance and proclamation of his sacrificial death.
The Lord’s Supper is given to believers as a confirmation of faith, reminding us of the benefits we have received through the death of Christ and our participation in the body and blood of Christ. We partake each week as a regular reminder of our continual need for spiritual nourishment and growth that is only found in Jesus Christ.
[/tm_pb_accordion_item][tm_pb_accordion_item title=”Why do we dismiss with a Benediction?”]
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