When you come to our service, you may notice that it follows a rhythm. This is called liturgy. Liturgy is simply a way of organizing worship so that, every week, we hear and experience the good news of Jesus again.
Christians have worshiped this way for centuries because it retells the story of God:
God is great and worthy of praise.
We are broken and need forgiveness.
Jesus has come to rescue and renew us.
We respond with gratitude, faith, and hope.
That’s why our service moves in four main steps:
Praise – We begin by lifting our eyes to God’s greatness and giving him glory in song, prayer, and Scripture.
Commitment – We bring our whole lives before God through the blessing of our children, announcements of life together, the giving of our offerings, and most importantly, hearing God’s Word read and preached.
Renewal – We honestly confess our sins, hear God’s promise of pardon, affirm our faith in the Creed, and come to the Lord’s Table for Communion.
Faithfulness – We pray for the needs of the church and the world, sing a sending song, receive a charge and blessing, and are sent out to live as God’s people in everyday life.
This pattern isn’t about going through motions. It’s about reminding us that our whole life is centered on God’s story, not our own. Worship grounds us in the past (what God has done), gives us strength for the present, and points us to the future when Jesus will make all things new.
So why do we worship this way? Because it shapes us week by week to live in God’s grace, together as his people, and to carry his hope into the world.
Adapted from Worship In The History Of Redemption & Planning Worship and Liturgy (October 26, 2019) by Pastor Scott Crosby, Liberti Church Fairmount.