From time to time I like to share one of our worship services from Grace Fellowship Church. In that vein, here is how we worshiped on one summer Sunday morning. This week’s cast of characters included John (a pastoral assistant) as the service leader, Allie as the lead worshiper, Dwight as the elder who prayed and read the sermon text. I preached. The band was comprised of piano, violin, and guitar. The various elements of the service are in bold with the name of the person who led the element in parentheses. Items in quotes represent roughly what the person said to the congregation. Items not in quotes are explanatory. The entire service took approximately 90 minutes.
Welcome and Call to Worship (John)
“Because God is both all-powerful and full of love, the Psalmist calls on us to turn to Him: ‘Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us’ (Psalm 62:8). The Triune God is a refuge to His people. Let’s begin our worship of GOD by calling on Him—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—to help us praise Him as we pour our hearts out to Him.”
Singing (Allie)
- “Come Thou Almighty King”
Corporate Reading (John)
“One of the many ways God provides us refuge is by giving us His Word. Our Bibles. Please read out loud with me these words of praise to God for His comforting and consoling and counseling Word.” (Together we read Psalms 119:129-136 from the CSB.)
Singing (Allie)
- “How Firm a Foundation”
Complementary Text Reading (John)
“Once a year, Israel’s High Priest was to enter the Holy Place in the temple to make atonement. This day was called Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. Listen carefully as I read of this day.” (John read Leviticus 16:29–34)
Prayer of Confession (John)
John used the fact that God decreed an annual Day of Atonement for Israel to lead the congregation in a prayer of confession for their sins.
Word of Assurance (John)
“The Psalmist wrote: ‘For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you’ (Psalm 86:5). If you have called upon the powerful and loving God to forgive you in Christ, be assured he has done it. You are forgiven, because he is so loving.”
Singing (Allie)
- “O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus”
- “Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me”
Pastoral Prayer (Dwight)
Dwight led the pastoral prayer and prayed for a number of matters pertaining to the life of the church.
Scripture Reading (Dwight)
Dwight read the text for the sermon—Hebrews 4. He prefaced his reading by saying, “This is what holy Scripture says” and ended it by saying, “This is the word of the Lord” to which the church responded with “Thanks be to God.”
Singing (Allie)
- “I Know That My Redeemer Lives”
Sermon (Tim)
I preached a sermon titled “The Heart of Christ in our Weaknesses” with the outline “Jesus Knows, Jesus Cares, Jesus Helps.”
Singing (Allie)
- “Jesus Strong and Kind”
Commission & Benediction
John called the church to live out the truths we had encountered in the service, then said, “Receive this blessing of the Lord from His Word: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’”
