Mission Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Liturgy has become a bad word in many Reformed and Protestant circles today. Many people assume that liturgical form stifles the thanksgiving and praise that should characterize our worship.

Despite such common protests, the fact remains that every church has a liturgy. Liturgy is simply what people do when they worship. Therefore, every congregation must ask the question: “What is good liturgy?”

The session of Mission OPC has recently considered this question and decided that our worship should reflect our theology. Reformed worship should reflect our understanding of the sovereignty of God, the saving work of Christ, the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, the sufficiency of Scripture, and the sinfulness of man. And our worship service should be organized according to the doctrine of the covenant of grace. It should follow a gospel logic that confronts people with God’s greatness and their sinfulness, comforts people with Christ’s grace, and calls people to obedience.

The service begins with a focus on thanksgiving and praise as we enter through the gates into God’s throne room (Ps. 100:1; Heb. 12:22-24). We may only enter the courts of our great King by his invitation, so the worship service begins with God welcoming and calling us to worship. And with an understanding of his greatness, the saints approach the throne of grace in song and prayer. It is appropriate for our service to begin in praise, for we have come to glorify our God.

Reflecting on His greatness reminds us of our sinfulness before a holy and righteous God. David teaches us that only those who are perfectly righteous may ascend the hill of God and stand in His presence (Ps. 15; 24:3-4). Since we enter the holy of holies in worship, it makes sense to include a time of confession and repentance in our services. This time begins with a reading of God’s law followed by a corporate prayer of confession and repentance.

After God declares his pardon to us, the congregation responds by corporately confessing their faith in creed and song.

Reminded of God’s greatness, comforted by His forgiveness, we are then fed by His means of grace. Our heavenly Father demonstrates His power to us through the Spirit and the Word. In this part of the service we are strengthened by the reading of the Word of God. After praying for the illumining power of the Spirit, Christ speaks to us through the preaching of the Word. And, once a month, the congregation is fed by the body and blood of Christ through our participation in the Lord’s Supper.

In the final part of the worship service, the people of God respond to His grace and mercy with activities of thanksgiving, obedience, and blessing. We sing in response to the Word preached; we go before the throne of grace in prayer, resting in the work of Christ; we bring our tithes and offerings with hearts that have been cheered by the generosity of our heavenly Father; and we close by singing in preparation for the service of the coming week. And the worship service closes with the benediction – God sends us out with His blessing in Christ.

There are many reasons for our worship order. But primarily, we want our worship service to point people to Christ. Non-believers who worship with us should be confronted with Christ (I Cor. 14:24-25) and believers should be comforted by Christ. And it is my hope that the gospel will be presented, not only in the ministry of the Word and sacraments, but also in the order and structure of our worship service.

May we come to worship with a renewed sense of God’s mercy and grace. And may we respond with thanksgiving and praise as we gather before the throne of our Almighty Lord and King.