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Order of Service

The word liturgy simply refers to the order of doing things—more specifically, the order of worship in a public service. Every church—yes, every church—has a liturgy. Therefore, the real question is not whether a church has a liturgy, but what its liturgy communicates. Reformed liturgy certainly has historic precedent—but more importantly, our liturgy conforms to God’s revealed will in Scripture and is thoughtfully designed to lead us in a dialogue with our Creator and Redeemer.

 

In this dialogue, God speaks to His people through His Word and sacraments, and we respond in prayer, confession, and singing.

Every week, in public worship, God calls His people into this dialogue in order to renew His covenant of grace with us.

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The Bible consistently teaches that the covenant of grace always begins with God’s sovereign initiative—never with human seeking or negotiation—from His first dealings with Adam, to His promise to Abraham, to His covenant administration through Moses, and finally to its climactic establishment in the new covenant through Jesus Christ.

Man therefore stands in God’s covenant not as a co-author or equal partner, but as a dependent and redeemed image-bearer, receiving God’s gracious self-disclosure and answering Him only because He has first spoken.

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For that reason, our worship is responsive. God initiates with us through His covenant Word, and we respond to Him in confession, prayer, and song.

In other words, Christian worship is dialogical—a covenant conversation in which God speaks first, and His redeemed people answer Him in faith.

God Lifts Us Into His Presence

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Just as we would not barge into the Oval Office or a King’s throne room, we await God’s summons and invitation in the Call to Worship. This is a Scripture text that commands us to worship. Given that we are not able to worship God in our own power and strength, we confess that “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” and pray for His help. God responds by greeting us.  Thankfully, He greets us in “Grace and peace” - not in justice and the condemnation we deserve - so we sing a song a praise.

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  • Call to Worship

  • Votum and Invocation

  • God’s Greeting

  • Song

God Renews His Baptismal Promise

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After entering the presence of our Covenant Lord, it’s important that we’re reminded of our standing before God and our identity in Christ. Therefore, we first hear His Law read to us. It speaks justice and righteousness, so our sin and misery are manifest. We, then, respond by confessing our sins to Him. Thankfully, God has not left us under the Law. He sent Christ to fulfill its demands for us, so we then hear a reading of Gospel comfort and respond by confessing our faith. Our minister, then, pronounces God’s pardon upon those that trust in Christ, so we answer God by singing His praise, normally with the Gloria Patri.  Being washed of our sins in Christ is the promise of Baptism, which promise is renewed during this part of the service.

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  • Reading of Law

  • Confession of Sins

  • Reading of Gospel

  • Confession of Faith

  • Absolution (aka Declaration of Pardon)

  • Song of Thanks/Praise (normally, the Doxology or Gloria Patri)

God Speaks His Covenant Word

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In our Communion Service, our minister ordinarily preaches through a book of the Bible, section-by-section, what is often called “expositional” or “expository” preaching. (Our Catechism Service, on the other hand, is characterized by doctrinal preaching.) After hearing God’s word read and preached, we respond in song.

 

  • Prayer for Illumination

  • Scripture Reading

  • Sermon

  • Song

God Seals His Covenant Word

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Finally, we turn our attention toward the Lord’s Table. This begins with our longest prayer of the service, the Prayer of Intercession. We pray for our governing authorities and society, the Christian Church (including ourselves), unbelievers that need the gospel, and those who are suffering. We ask the Lord to gather all sinners to the heavenly banquet, of which we are about to receive a foretaste. After praying for the world and the kingdom of Christ, we give an offering of thanks to the Lord. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! With a spirit of thanksgiving, we continue into the Lord’s Supper, which is yet another administration of God’s word. Like Baptism, it is a visible message to us and is rightly called the “visible gospel.”  It is a sign and seal of the covenant that was just preached, directing us once again to the comfort we have in Jesus Christ.  Our celebration of the Supper is joyful, instructive, reverent, and prayerful. At the close of our worship, the Lord sends us forth with His blessing in the Benediction.  Just like God had the first word in our worship, He also gets the last word.  After all, He is the Covenant Lord, and we are mere servants.

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  • Offering

  • Prayer of Intercession

  • Lord’s Supper

  • Song of Consecration

  • Benediction

  • Threefold Amen

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