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LEITOURGIA – Worship
In the church today there is significant discussion and debate concerning the nature and form of worship. Questions are being raised regarding the Biblical model for worship, the relationship between culture and worship, and the purpose of worship. Our desire is to be faithful to the mandate of Scripture and the historic Reformed expression of worship in our gathering as a community. We do believe that the ancient maxim concerning worship is true today. Lex Orandi, Lex Credenda: literally, The Law of Prayer is the Law of Faith. What this means is that how we worship both reflects and shapes our understanding of the teaching of Scripture and our view of who God is. As a congregation committed to the Reformed faith, we believe that our worship must reflect in a clear manner who we think God is and the truths we hold to in the confessions of our faith. Above all our worship must honor and glorify the Triune God who has revealed himself in Creation, in Scripture and supremely in Jesus Christ. Our worship seeks, therefore, to be Biblical, Trinitarian, Covenantal, Liturgical, Sacramental and Congregational.
Worship as Biblical
Worship is, of first importance, shaped by Scripture. We believe that God has revealed all things for our faith and godliness in Scripture. The purpose, form and content of worship are given to us in the Word of God. All aspects of the service are informed by Scripture. From the Call to Worship, in which God addresses the people whom he has gathered, to the Benediction God’s Word is paramount. In Scripture we hear the voice of God speaking to us. The Biblical pattern of worship begins with God, not with us. God is the one who acts, who comes to us and who gives us his gracious gifts. If we are led into his presence by the Word he has spoken we can be assured that our worship is focused on the One to whom all worship is due. Worship that is biblical must not only be infused with Scripture (and it is not just a matter of having Scriptural texts as a part of the worship), but must be faithful to the redemptive purpose of Scripture. Otherwise we run the risk of substituting our own agenda for what God has determined concerning the nature and content of worship.
Worship as Trinitarian
The Trinitarian name of God is prominent in our worship. From the Greeting, to the Blessing and Doxology, we hear God’s name as Father, Son and Holy Spirit declared. This reminds us that all of worship begins and ends with the reality of the Triune God. This is foundational to all of life, knowledge, experience and relationships. We therefore recite, invoke, praise and proclaim the Triune name of God. We come to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit in our prayer and worship. In Trinitarian worship, we enter into the Triune life of God. We participate in the Son’s fellowship with the Father through the Spirit.
Worship as Covenantal
Worship is a time of covenant renewal, in which
God meets with his people by descending to us in Word and Sacrament. The
focus in worship is therefore on what God does, on his actions. In this
time we receive from God the gifts that he bestows on his people. God
ministers grace to his gathered people through the working of the Holy
Spirit as Christ is proclaimed in Word and Sacrament. Covenantal worship
is sacrificial in its nature. In covenantal worship the pattern of
approaching God, as revealed in
Worship as Sacramental
The sacramental nature of worship is rooted in the truth of Creation and of the Incarnation. God created material substance and he works through material realities to impart spiritual grace. Jesus Christ became a true human being of flesh and blood and through his body he secured redemption for us. Sacramental worship is rooted in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, who descended to us that we might know the Triune God. It is through the redemptive sacrifice of his body and blood that we are brought into communion with the Triune God. Worship does not negate the created world nor does it minimize the reality of the Incarnation. Worship rather receives these gifts as means through which we know the spiritual world. There is a union of heaven and earth in worship. We join with the festal assembly in heaven in the matrix of worship. The sacramental nature of worship finds its definitive expression in the two sacraments Christ gave the church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Worship as Liturgical
Worship that is liturgical orders our lives and shapes our thinking in a manner that results in a life that is formed spiritually. Liturgical worship is linear in that we move through a service which has a purpose and a focus. Worship is not random or chaotic. I Corinthians 14: 33 Such worship reflects the redemptive-historical purpose of God in Scripture. The pattern of worship that is observed is also derived from the pattern revealed in Scripture. And we discover that our language itself is derived from Scriptural texts and concepts. We learn the vocabulary and grammar of worship in the liturgy. We learn how to pray by the prayers that are given us. Each aspect of liturgical worship is rooted in Scripture and is designed to renew our minds as the image of Christ is formed in us. Romans 12:1,2 The formal nature of the liturgy is what ‘forms’ us. As we learn the pattern, language and movement of the liturgy, a fresh joy is experienced as we move through that framework which God has revealed to us.
Worship as Congregational/Ecclesial
The term “liturgy” speaks of the “work of the people.” Liturgy involves the gathered congregation in a dialogue, a conversation, with the Triune God. The dialogical character of Biblical and Reformed worship is intentional. God speaks and the congregation responds. Worship is not a performance or a time of entertainment, either by ministers or others who serve in leading worship. It is participatory and requires the people’s engagement in worship. The two-fold aspect of God as ‘actor’ and God as ‘audience’ is implicit in our understanding of worship. God is the one who, in sovereign grace, comes to us. And God is also the one who receives from us the glory that is due him in gratitude for his grace. Worship is not the creation of a mood or an emotional state, but is the response of the people to God’s gracious action in ministering to his people. Minister(s) and congregants come into God’s presence, receive from him his gifts, and respond in honoring and glorifying God for his goodness and grace. |