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What About Our Worship?
There are two ideas to keep in mind as we think about worship. The first is that worship is a meeting between God and his people. Worship is a recapitulation of the Exodus. God gathers his people out of the world and to the heavenly Sinai (Hebrews 12:22). He then comes to dwell in their midst in all his splendor and glory. The second idea is summarized in the word dialogue. Worship is not a performance at which God is a distant observer. God is present and is an active participant. The rhythm of worship is the rhythm of a dialogue in which God speaks and his people respond. These two ideas create a sense of expectation for our worship and give shape to the entire experience.
• Prelude - Normally instrumental music intended to heighten our sense of anticipation of entering the presence of God in worship.
• Welcome & Announcements - This is done before the service begins. The pastors greet the worshipers and help them to focus their attention on church family matters. Having these before worship begins also ensures that worship flows in an uninterrupted fashion.
• Silent Preparation - A time of prayer and contemplation helping us transition from the outside world full of noise and distraction.
• Choral Introit - A short choral prelude to the service that focuses on God, his glory, his grace, and the joy of worship.
• Call to Worship - God, through the pastor, summons his people into his presence. The people add their voices in expectant response.
• Opening Hymn - A hymn of praise that should be viewed as a procession up into the heavenly city. The procession of the choir symbolizes this for us.
• Collect of the day - God has called us to Himself, and going up to meet Him, we have sung his praises. This, the first prayer of the service, acknowledges who He is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that we need Him. We call upon Him to show us his mercy. The collect normally follows a classic pattern: an address to God, and acknowledgement of divine attributes, a petition, an application to the lives of his people, and a final doxology praising Christ as the Mediator of our prayers.
• Affirmation of Faith - We are now together with God. The meeting has begun, and our first act in his presence is to confess our allegiance to Him. Just as Israel reaffirmed her commitment to the One and True God surrounded by the nations, so we, as those who have been gathered from the nations, reaffirm our faith in God who has redeemed us.
• Sanctus or Gloria - A song of the angels to which we join our voices in ascribing glory to the God who has gathered us to Himself. The text comes from Isaiah 6:3 and is echoed in Revelation 4:8.
• The Word of God Read - God speaks to his people. Often this is a Psalm, reminiscent of its use in Old Testament worship. It reminds us that all of worship stands under the authority of Scripture.
• Choral Anthem - The music sung by the choir underscores the truth of the Word of God read, focuses on some aspect of its teaching, or directs our attention to the coming time of prayer. Sometimes the anthem is simply an outpouring of praise and adoration, or a prayer sung on behalf of the people. Symbolically, it adorns the truth of God’s Word with beauty.
• The Prayers - God has spoken to us. The dialogue continues as we speak to God, expressing our personal and corporate needs and praises. It is our practice to kneel during these prayers; worshipers are encouraged to pray aloud.
• Word of Encouragement – Immediately following the prayers, this is a reminder to the people from God (spoken by the minister) that He loves, forgives, hears, and responds to his people. We have an Advocate in heaven, Jesus, in whose name we pray, who lives forever to make intercession for his people (Hebrews 7:25).
• Hymn - This is a hymn of gratitude to God for his goodness
• The Word of God Read - God speaks again to his people. The people rise for this reading to show particular attention, honor, and reverence for the Holy Scriptures.
• Prayer of Illumination - This prayer preceding the sermon is a plea that God the Holy Spirit would do in our hearts what Jesus did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He caused their hearts to burn within them as He explained the Scriptures. We ask God that what He has previously inspired He would now illumine to us.
• The Sermon - We hear from God again in the Word of God preached. True preaching is opening and applying the truth of God to our lives.
• Pastoral Prayer - This prayer asks God to seal to the hearts of the people the truth they have heard.
• Offering - This element of worship is a symbol of our response to the grace of God. All that we are and all that we have belong to Him, and we give freely because we have received freely.
• Doxology - Literally, “words of glory. ”We offer glory to the triune God through our praise of Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Prayer of Dedication - The consecration of our gifts and our lives to the cause of Christ before we go forth into the world to serve Him.
• Benediction - God pronounces his blessing upon his people and reassures them that He will be with them throughout their days.
• Dismissal - We go into the world with the praise of Christ on our lips, there to serve Him and represent his grace to those in need.
• Postlude - Music played in a joyous, triumphant spirit to encourage us as we go into the world to be Christ’s servants and witnesses.
Observations about St. Paul’s Worship
1. Why do we kneel? Since ancient times, kneeling has been the posture of penitence and humility before God, acknowledging that we are under his authority and direction.
2. What are the colored hangings in the chancel area, and why do they change? They are called paraments. Liturgical colors have an instructive purpose and point us to the life of Christ and the great acts of redemptive history. The four most commonly used colors are as follows:
White represents purity and is used for festivals of the Lord Jesus, primarily Christmas and Easter. It is also the color for All Saints Day.
Purple represents royalty, repentance, and even suffering. It is used during Lent and Advent, times of preparation and penitence. Red represents the fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. On Good Friday, it signifies the blood of Christ. It also signifies the blood of the martyrs.
Green is used during “ordinary time,” the period from Pentecost to the beginning of Advent, and the period from Epiphany to the beginning of Lent. It represents spiritual growth and world missions.
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