The Worship Service

When you join us for worship, you should expect a worship service that is both reverent (Hebrews 12:28-29) and joyous (Psalm 100:4). It will be led by our pastor and elders and focus on meeting God in and through his Word. The progression is the same every week (see below). We love having visitors and hope you will give us the opportunity meet you and get to know you. 

Corporate

The worship service is not a meeting of mere individuals with their God, but the church as a unified body (Romans 12:5). All we do from the Call to Worship to the Benediction is done corporately. We listen, we pray, we sing and we give gifts as a congregation. Through this we encourage one another, speaking to one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:12-17), stirring one another up toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:25).

Shaped by Scripture

As God warned Israel through Moses, the temptation is always to look around for new ways to worship our God that he has not prescribed. God has always commanded that worship be conducted in accord with his commands—we are not to add or take away (Deuteronomy 12:31-32). Therefore all we do in worship is done in accord with God's commands in scripture.

The Lord's Supper

The Lord’s Supper is served each week. We invite to the Lord's Table all those who are baptized disciples of Jesus Christ, under the authority of Christ and His body, through communicant membership in a Bible-believing Protestant church. By eating the bread and drinking the wine with us as a visitor, you are acknowledging to our church that you are a sinner, without hope except in the sovereign mercy of God, and that you are trusting in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. If you have any doubts about your participation, please speak to the pastor or one of the elders.

A Meeting with God

For Christians, worship is a the most important time of the week (Psalm 27:4)—when God calls his people to meet with him in a unique way (Hebrews 12:18-24). It is in worship that God reminds us of our need for him, his provision for us and his tender love and care for us as our heavenly Father. Because worship is a meeting between God and his people, it takes the form a dialogue or conversation.

The Call to Worship—God calls us into his presence to worship him (Jeremiah 30:21), which we do through song and prayer.

The Reading of the Law and Confession of Sin—God then reminds us of the great impediment to drawing near to him (our sin) through the reading the Law, which is meant to lead us to repentance (Romans 3:20). As we confess our sin and ask for grace, we are reminded of his promise to forgive our sins and cleanse from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9). We respond to his pardon of sin with a hymn of thanksgiving. 

The Congregational Prayer—Reminded of God's grace and forgiveness, we are able to bring our prayers and petitions to the God who assures us that he is able to help us in our time of need (Proverbs 15:8, 29; Hebrews 4:14-16). 

The Sermon—God's chief provision is Jesus Christ about whom we hear in the Bible. All scripture is about Jesus and so every sermon is focused on his person and his work as our Redeemer (1 Corinthians 2:2; Luke 24:25-26; 1 Peter 1:10-12; Romans 10:14-17). 

The Lord's Supper—Just as the ancient kings sealed all their important communications with their sign to assure the reader of its authenticity and irrevocability (Esther 8:8), God seals his word with his sacraments (Romans 4:11). The Lord's Supper follows the sermon so that we might know that his word can be trusted and that he will not change his mind about what he requires for salvation. As a meal, it is an ongoing reminder to God's people that he is at peace with them (Matthew 9:9-13; Exodus 24:1-11).

The Offering—Having received God's provision, we are able to bring our gifts and offerings to God, not as to one in need, but back to the one who has first blessed us as a confession that all we have is his and is for his glory (Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:10-11; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15).

The Benediction—As God sends us back into the world, he does so with his blessing (Numbers 6:22-27), so that we might know that he goes with us and that if he is with us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31-39).