“We begin the service with the Call to Worship—God calling His people out of the world into His presence. There is an intentional covenantal element to this act of being called forth and set apart. The following hymns/songs of praise reflect the nature and character of who God is and what He has done.”

“True worship, then, will be odd and perhaps even weird to the watching world…Christian worship is, in fact, a bold political act. It subverts the world’s values by assigning glory and praise to the one whom the world despises. And as weak as the church at worship might appear to the watching world, the truth is that the powers of this world are no match for the power of God who is present among his people when they gather to sing praise, pray, and hear his Word. Moreover the church must reject the claim that worship is old-fashioned, irrelevant, and isolated from the ‘real world.’ For believers, the church at worship is the real world.” —D.G. Hart & John Muether, With Reverence and Awe

I have a few favorite quotes from With Reverence and Awe. The one above highlights the “otherness” of worship as we enter the presence of the Almighty God. The uniqueness of worship supports the gospel-centered, gospel-renewing blessing and reminder of God’s grace to His people. The structure of the weekly worship service serves to instruct and root us in the Gospel.

We begin the service with the Call to Worship—God calling His people out of the world into His presence. There is an intentional covenantal element to this act of being called forth and set apart. The following hymns/songs of praise reflect the nature and character of who God is and what He has done. The result is that we are convicted of our sin—He is God and we are not and we have fallen far short of His standard of holiness.

As we enter a time of Confession and Assurance of Pardon, we ask the Lord to search our hearts and make known our sin. Through confession, repentance and restoration, we are washed clean and are then able to hear the Word of God preached with a renewed mind and heart. God then provides a sign of His faithfulness as He feeds us at the table of Communion.

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