The Worship Service: “A Suggested Order”

Have you come to church one Sunday morning and wondered “Why do we always have confession at the beginning of the service?” or “Why do some people think the offering should come after the sermon?”  Well, you’ve come to the right place!  This is the first of a series of short articles, to be published in my church’s monthly newsletter, to answer those and other questions about why we do what we do during our worship service.

Since I am part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) I will be referencing our Presbyterian Book of Order.  It suggests five areas or “movements” in a worship service:

gathering around the Word;

proclaiming the Word;

responding to the Word;

the sealing of the Word; and

bearing and following the Word into the world. 

In my next several entries, I will look at what goes into each movement and what they accomplish in our mind, our heart, and our spirit.

Do you see that there is a certain flow, a certain direction to the movement?  Coming in, receiving, and going back out changed.  It’s kind of like a hospital, a restaurant, or even a gas station.  We come in with a need, we receive what is offered (healing, nourishment, a fill-up for the car), and we go out again, strengthened to continue our life.  The purpose of this order in our worship service is basically the same: we come to church needing to know God, we encounter and receive the Word, we worship, and we go back out into the world strengthened, knowing God better and ready to serve Him.  

In my next entry I’ll look at the first movement: “Gathering around the Word.”