Worship Service
THE LORD'S DAY
Service on the Lord’s Day is meant to promote a culture of devotion to God. This is accomplished through God-centered worship, preaching God's Word, and fellowship of the saints. These things train our hearts, inform our minds, and shape our community (Acts 2:42). Assembling together on the Lord’s Day is a corporate spiritual discipline.
Consequently, we do not aim to shape the church around people; rather, we seek to shape people with the truth in church. When an unbeliever visits our church on Sunday and is exposed to God-centered worship, biblical preaching, and deliberate fellowship, we pray that “the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you” (1 Corinthians 14:25).
WORSHIP
Our worship is intentionally God-centered. This means two things. First, the music and singing are not entertainment, but praise. The point of worship is for the congregation to join in one voice and sing about the worthiness, glory, and greatness of God in Christ. Therefore, and second, we are deliberate with our song selection. The songs we sing point away from ourselves and point to God as the only one deserving honor and glory.
The point of worship is not to receive, but to ascribe to the Lord the thanksgiving and praise due to him. “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken" writes the author of Hebrews, "and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28–29).
We aim to offer God a worship in joyful reverence, knowing that if God’s people were silent, then the rocks themselves would cry out in praise (Luke 19:10)
PREACHING
Preaching in our church primarily takes the form of biblical exposition; the opening, explaining, and application of God’s Word. We do this because "the word of God is living and active sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12–13).
It is the Word itself that penetrates the depths of a person. Thus, biblical exposition relies on the inherent power of God’s written Word to shape His church (Palm 110:105).
Since the Bible was not written in doctrinal outline however, Wednesday Bible study is an important supplement to exposition on Sundays. In our systematic theology classes we seek to grasp Christian doctrine by organizing the information in Scripture into a coherent system of thought, thus shaping our understanding of reality.
FELLOWSHIP
A loving and devoted fellowship of saints is not simply found; it is forged. The church in Acts “devoted themselves…to the fellowship” (Acts 2:42). That is, they committed themselves to an identifiable group of people. This devotion worked itself out tangible ways as they shared their possessions “as any had need” (v. 25), “breaking bread in their homes” (v. 46), and “praising God” together (v. 47).
In our church we aim to forge this kind of fellowship in three ways. First, the greeting time in service is intentional. It is meant to promote a spiritual kinship in our church. Second, meeting in homes for Bible studies and prayer extends our relationship beyond the Sunday service. Third, through membership we formally commit to pray for one another, serve one another, edify one another, and lock arms together in the mission of the church (Matthew 28:20).
CHILDREN'S CHURCH
After singing and prayer, parents may take their children to children's church if they choose. Currently, children are studying the book of Genesis and learning the New City Catechism.