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WORSHIP
The Bible and Worship
The Bible, which is the Word of God, is entirely sufficient for everything in our faith, life, and practice and we do not need to add anything of our own, nor should we. Therefore our worship is to be ordered according to God’s instructions, and not according to our imaginations or traditions or in any way God has not prescribed for us. This is referred to as the Regulative Principle of Worship, which dictates our worship is entirely regulated and ruled by the teaching of scripture. Our worship is neither "contemporary" nor "traditional" but simple and biblical.
The Sabbath: Sunday, the Lord’s Day, the Christian Sabbath is to be kept holy. Only works of piety, necessity, and mercy should be performed on it.
In public worship, we do not observe so called "holy days" or follow a "church calendar." We do not acknowledge Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or any other man made occasion in our public worship. Every Lord’s Day is a day to be kept holy by God’s people, in remembrance of God who revealed himself in his eternal Son, who became man, died, rose, ascended, was glorified and is coming again.
Individuals have the Christian liberty to keep whatever cultural and seasonal days and celebrations they may wish in their homes and personal lives, provided it does not violate the commandments of God, nor violate the Lord’s Day.
Music in worship is to assist the element of congregational singing, and not an element of worship in itself. In our public worship, we do not have bands, soloists, specials, or choirs.
The content of all sung praise should be consistent with the word of God. The Psalms of David in the Bible are perfectly consistent with God’s will for praise in worship, as they are his Spirit inspired hymns and songs. As the Bible commands the singing of Psalms, our worship will include the frequent singing of metrical Psalms.
Our congregation has both those who sing Psalms only and those who believe it is permissible to sing non-canonical hymns in public worship. We include metrical Psalms in every public worship service, encourage delight in their singing with understanding, and don’t expect any to sing non-canonical hymns contrary to their convictions, as we lack clear biblical warrant to require such.
Expository preaching should be warm, aimed not merely at the intellect, but at men's hearts and convictions. The gospel is not preached unless faith in Christ is earnestly solicited. We pray for genuine biblical revival within God’s churches.
Sacraments are not regenerating ordinances. Paedocommunion is not biblical. The Lord’s table must be fenced and the faithful exhorted to examine themselves before coming to the table because unworthy partaking may result in sickness and death. Frequency of communion is a pastoral issue to be determined by the session. We currently observe the Lord’s Supper quarterly in March, June, September and December, usually the first Lord’s Day of the month.
The leadership of this congregation acknowledges we imperfectly worship a holy God. Only because of the blood of Jesus covering our sins, ignorance, and imperfection is our worship acceptable in God’s sight. However, as God leads us to greater understanding of His will, we are committed to public worship in conformity with the revealed will of God, without concern to please men, follow tradition, or some pragmatic end. Failure in past practice is no excuse for continued error, but reason for repentance and doing better. Our purpose in worship is the glory of God alone. We humbly ask for God’s guidance in seeking to worship and lead others in worship as He commands.
Typical Lord's Day Worship
✢Preparation for Worship
*Invitation and Greeting:
Be still, and know that I am God; Psalm 46:10
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
Our help is in the name of the LORD, Ps. 124:8
Who made heaven and earth.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father Rom. 1:7b
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
*Hymn or Psalm
*Prayer
*Assurance of Pardon 1 John 1:8-9
Psalm [sung metrical]
First Scripture Reading
Psalm [Sung Metrical]
Second Scripture Reading
*Prayer
Sermon
*Prayer
*Hymn or Psalm
*Benediction