From your Pastor

     One of the cries of the protestant reformation of the 16th and 17th century was, semper reformanda or the church always reforming. The church recognized the necessity of a reforming church and one of their primary concerns was, "How is God to be worshiped?". They understood that God the Father was seeking worshipers (Jn.4:23) and that worship was primary for the life of the church (Heb.12:22-29).

     Central to their concern for the reformation of the worship of God was the formative principle of the reformation, sola Scriptura or Scripture alone. They recognized that God honoring worship must be according to Scripture. The concern was not to be able to do whatever was not forbidden in Scripture, but to worship God as prescribed in his Word. Those who penned the Westminster Confession of Faith outlined those prescribed elements as, "Prayer, with thanksgiving...the reading of the Scriptures with godly fear, the sound preaching and conscionable hearing of the Word,...singing of psalms with grace in the heart...the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ, are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God." (WCF 21.3, 5) While these elements prescribed by God are unchanging for his church the circumstances and forms are to be guided by "the light of nature and Christian prudence" (WCF 1.6). Therefore there is to be expected in the church a variety in how these elements may be expressed in worship.  This variety will be expressed in three ways as Dr. Terry Johnson outlines: simply without complexity yet with beauty and truth; spiritually because we worship God in spirit (Jn.4:24) and not in a prescribed place like the Temple; and substantially because God is to be worshiped with reverance and awe (Heb.12:29). (Leading in Worship, p.5)

     In following this way of the reformation Christ Church has enjoyed a history of simple, spiritual and substantial worship. The order of that worship has been according to what God prescribes for his people in worship from his Word. Whereas this worship has been according to a set order throughout the years it is not an order "written in stone". Therefore the leadership of Christ Church is going to be making some changes to the order of worship. The elements in worship will remain as those prescribed by God in his Word and the variety in the order will be carried out simply, spiritually and substantially.

     Starting Sunday October 20th we will begin to bring those elements into our worship and you will see them printed in the order of worship each week. Our order of worship will reach it fullness or final element when we observe the Sacrament of Communion on the 17th of November. Therefore I would like to take the next several weeks to introduce to you those elements of worship as we seek to be prepared for the worship of our God.

     On Sunday, October 20th we will introduce the following order, as the first movement in our worship service which will be printed in this manner:

Welcome and Announcements

Prelude

GOD CALLS HIS PEOPLE TO WORSHIP

It is God Himself who calls His people to worship. We do not call ourselves, but it is the King who opens His gates and beckons us into His courts.

Introit

Call to Worship

Prayer of Invocation

Hymn of Praise

     As you can see the opening of our worship service is much like it has been. It begins with God calling his people to worship him. God's people come to God, not as consumers coming to the mall to purchase something for themselves. God's people come to God in worship because God effectually calls his own into his presence to worship him only (Ex.20:2,3). It is God's pleasure to be worshiped by his creatures and it is the ultimate joy of his creatures to worship their Creator and Redeemer. This first movement of God's prescribed worship is a coming into his presence with praise.

     The Introit is the only addition to this movement of praise in our worship. Introit comes from the Latin word introitus, meaning entrance. It is our coming into the presence of the Lord to worship him with a song of praise from our hearts. It may be one verse from a hymn, the Gloria Patri or a verse from a psalm. It is the first movement in our corporately coming by faith to the Lord in worship. We are instructed by God's Word to sing unto him as one people songs of praise (Ps.95:1), and this is the first of those songs.

     The Call to Worship is the sounding forth of God's Word in the assembled congregation announcing the call of God to his covenant people to come and worship. It may be words read by the Pastor from a Psalm or another portion of Scripture. It may be a responsive reading as the Pastor reads a portion and the congregation responds with a public reading in response. It is this use of God's authoritative Word to summon us unto himself by his wisdom, power and goodness for the joy of our souls.

     This movement is then followed by the Prayer of Invocation. In this prayer the congregation is calling on God's name. In the Old Testament Psalms we learn to call on his name as LORD or YHWH, and in the New Testament Jesus teaches us to call on his name as Father or ABBA. We also see the many names by which God is called which gives us breadth in our language as we call upon his names. These names declare the glory of God. Therefore the prayer of invocation includes the hallowing of God's revealed nature in his names. It is in this prayer that the saints lift up their hearts and minds to love God in praise. The prayer of invocation is to be understood as a prayer that God's covenant people gathered together to pray. While the minister may be praying the prayer, he prays as one leading God's church. The congregation is involved silently before the throne of grace in this movement of prayer. This leads to another element in this prayer which involves a petition. There is a necessary asking of the one true living God to aid and help his congregation to worship him in spirit and truth (Jn.4:24). The final element in the prayer is a full Trinitarian doxology. This is the sealing of the prayer in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Worship for the gathered people of God is a service of prayer and The Prayer of Invocation is the first in this movement of the worship of God.

      The final movement in The Call to Worship portion of the worship service is the Hymn of Praise. Here again God's covenant people are coming together to God's throne of grace to lift their voices in a song of praise to their King. Terry Johnson instructs us that, "the opening hymn / Psalm should be a vigorous, majestic song of praise, focusing on the attributes and works of God, and setting the tone for the whole service." God has chosen to exalt himself upon the joy filled praises of his people (Ps.95:1-2) who come to him believing that he exists and is the rewarder of his people (Heb.11:6). This movement of God in the lives of his people finds expression in one voice streaming from the hearts of his people looking away from themselves unto the throne of grace where they have bold access by faith in Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.

     In the coming weeks I will continue to offer explanation to the elements of our transitioning worship service. We must look to Lord with joy as he gives us grace to worship him in the unfolding movements of his prescribed worship. If you have any questions concerning the worship at Christ Church please direct them toward me and I will seek to lead you in the way of understanding by God's Word. Join with me in praying that the worship at Christ Church will continue to bring honor and glory to our Triune God and joy to our people as they participate.

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For His Glory,

Jim Wilkerson