A practical guide to our weekly Sunday gatherings.
Scripture Reading
We begin and end our time of worship with the reading of Scripture. The Bible is the very word of God and therefore is authoritative, sufficient, necessary, clear and without error. When we worship, we want God to speak, so we start and end with his words. In addition to the opening and close of Scripture, we typically read an entire chapter of Scripture before the pastoral prayer.
Hymns
The church has a rich history of praising God in song. We value that rich heritage and so sing hymns from the earliest centuries of the church to hymns written today. The primary instrument of praise is the congregation singing in unity to our God. Therefore we value hymns that are rich in truth and that allow us to unite our hearts and voices together. Our worship in song is typically accompanied by the piano and/or organ with a capella singing on the last stanza.
Prayer
We worship the one true God who can hear and answer prayer. Central to our time of worship is a pastoral prayer where one of the elders prays for the people and our mission to glorify God by making and maturing disciples of Jesus Christ.
Sermon
In every age, the proclamation of God’s word has been central to the worship of believers. A sermon takes the word of God, explains its meaning and gives appropriate application for us today. Through the sermon, we are instructed, and encouraged to see and love God for who he is.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper, sometimes called Communion or the Eucharist, was instituted by Jesus as a way for his disciples to: (1) remember his work on the cross that brought the new covenant into effect, (2) to enjoy present fellowship with him and one another, and (3) to look forward to his glorious return.
In an effort to love one another, we use non-alcoholic grape juice in individual cups and have gluten-free bread available.
If you have questions concerning who should participate in the Lord’s Supper, click here.
If you want to know why we practice the Supper weekly, click here.
The Fellowship Meal
An important part of the early church’s gathering was a time of fellowship together over a meal. Most Sundays after our time of worship we head downstairs for a meal. For more details about our weekly Fellowship Meal, click here.