Worship

About our Worship

For us, we view every aspect of our service as an act of worship, from our confession of sin to the celebration of The Lord’s Supper. Our service has many parts, and each part is intended to awaken our souls to the reality of God’s presence and love, to fix our minds on Christ, and to prepare us to live out the Gospel in our community.

We believe that preaching and hearing the Word of God is essential, but Jesus also taught us to confess our sins, to sing praises together, to gather in fellowship, to give generously, and to remember his promises through communion. We believe that by doing these things each week, we are following God’s model for aligning our hearts and minds with His.

What to Expect

When you come to worship with us on Sunday mornings, you can expect to find a warm, welcoming church whose lives are being transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As you enter into worship with us, you should know that our service is:

Purposefully liturgical. Our worship is structured with a biblical progression using historic liturgical forms so that the worshipers are freed to worship as one, united voice. This celebration of the Gospel is saturated in God’s Word, and we will sing hymns and chant psalms set to ancient tunes as well as tunes written by contemporary composers.

Active. As we present our total selves before God, each worshiper is called to full participation in worship. The congregation is active throughout our services. We stand, kneel, raise our hands and our voices as one, unified body.

For all ages. Our worship involves everyone from infants to older saints. While we provide a Nursing Mothers Room to assist you in caring for your children, we encourage the participation of children in the service. We believe that the sound of children in our service is joyous, and we welcome entire families to join us in our celebration.

Why Do We Worship as We Do?

Why do we stand, kneel, and lift our hands?

People communicate through posture. For example, people stand when someone important enters a room. People wave to their friends. They hug their family. In other words, posture is a big part of being human. It’s not surprising then, that Scripture talks about posture in worship.

The Psalmist calls us to “bow down” before our Maker (Ps 95:6).
Bowing, or kneeling, is a sign of humility. Thus, during our evening service we kneel while confessing our sins and praying for the church and the world. Scripture also speaks of people standing or lifting their hands in prayer (Psalms 141:2; 1 Timothy 2:8; 1 Chronicles 23:29-30). We lift our hands to offer ourselves and our prayers to God. We stand during prayer in respect for our King.

Why do we read prayers?

We are worshiping as one when we gather together on the Lord’s Day. Corporate prayers promote this unity. Corporate prayer is prescribed and patterned for us in Scripture. The book of Psalms consists of 150 prayers God expects his people to pray (whether speaking or singing).

When Jesus gave us The Lord’s Prayer, He prayed “Our Father,” indicating that we are to pray as a group.

Pre-written prayers enable us to meditate upon what we say to God before we speak. Moreover, a pre-written prayer can help us express thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs that may be challenging to articulate otherwise. In other words, they are a useful instrument in fostering a worshipful spirit.

And although empty, rote recitations are always a danger, the problem is not with the prayers themselves, but the hearts and attitudes of the worshipper. When we recognize that we are just “going through the motions,” we need to correct ourselves.

Why do we recite the creeds?

Our recitation of the ancient Creeds is part of our corporate confession of our faith. “I believe” is not merely a statement of intellectual assent but means “I trust in this God and no other.” The Creeds, while not equal with Scripture, have expressed what the Christian church has believed for almost two millennia. We stand with those who have come before us and with those around the world who trust in this God who eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Celebrate the church calendar?

The Church (or Liturgical) calendar is built around the life of Christ. Jesus gave himself for us in a unique way, and He has also called us to follow in his footsteps. The Church year is “Christ- shaped.” The time of our living is to be shaped by the example Christ left us. The Church calendar is a helpful (though not obligatory) means by which we are reminded of Christ’s life throughout the seasons.