Thank you for taking the time to visit this tab on our website. Our typical “Divine Service” is mainly a reflection of how God serves us with His gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation. Only then, do we render “Divine Service” back to Him. God speaks to us through His Word, and we speak back to Him through our songs, prayers and offerings.
Here’s what to expect if you worship with us for a typical service on Sunday morning.
Through the LITURGY (Order of the Worship Service) we:
This way of worship, as well as all of the FURNISHINGS in our sanctuary point to one thing. They focus our attention on Jesus, what He did, and still does, for us. From the Invocation (the call to worship) to the Benediction (the parting blessing), God puts His name on us, reminding us of who He is, and who we are in Him. A good “rule of thumb” in who is talking to who can be seen in the way the Pastor is facing. If he faces towards the congregation, God is speaking to us. If he is facing the altar, we talk back to Him, offering our prayers and praises to God.
The ALTAR is the main furnishing. It focuses our attention, front and center, on Jesus alone. That we no longer need sacrifice live animals, as they did in the Old Testament, points to the love of God in Jesus, who gave His life for us, once for all. The Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, serves to remind us of that sacrifice, as Jesus still speaks His forgiveness into us, and places it into our mouths. Holy Communion truly is a “gift of God, for the people of God.”
In our tradition, the Pastor may wear a ROBE, with a stole around his neck. These are purely symbols of the office that the congregation entrusts to him. As God’s “called and ordained servant” in this place, the congregation places on his shoulders a “yoke” or vocation of service. The colors of his stole and the paraments (or altar cloths) change periodically, to reflect the theme of the season of the church year we are celebrating.
As to the worship service, it is both printed and projected each week. Some like to take a bulletin (worship folder) home to use for their private devotions each week. Each week, while some portions of our service stay the same, the theme changes each Sunday, as do the hymns, Bible readings and prayers. One of the benefits of doing things in good order is so that worship can be committed to memory, enabling God’s people to take God’s Word with them wherever they go. In this way, we “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” all that God would give.
We hope that this is has been helpful to you. If you would like to get a glimpse of the typical format of our worship, you can access any one of our weekly bulletins by going to the “News” tab, and then opening “News and Announcements.”
We hope to see you soon. It would be our pleasure to have you join us in God’s Divine Service.