PCA Conversations

by Joel Garver

As we saw in the last post, we can recognize in the Emmaus story the pattern of historic Christian worship as it began to take shape. It resonates over and over again with the shape of the biblical story, with the actions of our Triune God in the events of salvation history. We have argued that the liturgy draws us into the enacted story of salvation and that in the liturgy we rehearse the gospel message. So how might a church reflect these convictions in worship? What should the general shape of the liturgy be?

Worship moves through a specific pattern or rhythm:
God SUMMONS us as his people
God SANCTIFIES us to himself
God SPEAKS to us in his word
God STRENGTHENS us at his table
God SENDS us into the world

1. God SUMMONS us as his people:
“Calling”
As we meet together each week, we recognize in the preparation that God, through his word and Spirit, gathers us into his presence and calls us into his life and mission. We enter his presence with our opening song to him. As God begins to speak to us, we then answer responsively with a Psalm or other text drawn from the biblical hymns of God’s people. As God draws us to himself, we take up his call in a prayer of adoration and thanksgiving that directs our hearts to what he will show us today. We end this prayer by singing the doxology, or praise, of our Triune God.

2. God SANCTIFIES us to himself:
“Cleansing”
Throughout Scripture, when people find themselves in God’s presence, they sense how far short they fall and become aware of their own shame and brokenness. In the same way, we make a confession of sin, both as a community and also silently as individuals for ourselves and for the world. Sometimes here we will ask together the phrases of the ancient prayer, called the “Kyrie”, saying “Lord, have mercy.” After our confession, with words of comfort and assurance of pardon we are reminded that God is always ready, by his mercy and grace, to forgive us. Then, renewed in our identity as baptized Christians and assured of God’s forgiveness, we celebrate with songs of praise and thanksgiving.

3. God SPEAKS to us in his word:
“Counseling”
God speaks his word to us here today, addressing us as his forgiven people. In the public reading of the word of God and its exposition in the sermon, God shares the story of his saving mission in Jesus, encouraging us to join in that mission and orienting us again to his priorities. With Christians through the centuries, we respond aloud in thanks and praise to God after his word is read to us. Instructed by his word, we offer ourselves to God’s service through our offering and presentation of gifts and then by confessing his story to be our own story in the creed, which is simply a summary of faith from the early church. Having offered ourselves up in faith through the creed, affirming the power of God’s redemption, we lift up the church, our world, and other needs to God in prayer for his provision and healing.

4. God STRENGTHENS us at his table:
“Communing”
God accepts the offering of our prayers, our gifts, and our selves, symbolized by bread and wine set upon the table. United to Jesus’ own self-offering, God draws us together with our meager gifts, preparing us to be a renewed and equipped people, the evidence and vehicle of his redemptive mission. As communion begins, we lift our hearts to God, give thanks to God in the Eucharistic prayer, and sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” with the multitudes of heaven through the Sanctus. In the Memorial Acclamation we affirm that through this meal Jesus gave us, we remember his death and proclaim his new life as the centerpiece of God’s mission. Then, using the Lord’s Prayer, we offer ourselves in service to his kingdom both now and forever. God invites us to his table to feed us with his own life, to strengthen us before sending us out. In communion, he unites us together in Jesus Christ as his reconciled and reconciling people.  We respond by receiving the Lord’s Supper, sharing together in the bread and wine, as a communion in the body and blood of Christ given for our salvation. We remember together his gift to us, singing a communion song as we receive from the Lord’s Table. After eating together, we give thanks and praise in the prayer after communion.

5. God SENDS us into the world:
“Commissioning”
At the close of worship, God sends us out to carry forward the gospel story. In our worship, we have responded to God’s call, heard his word, offered ourselves to his service, and received strength at his table.  God has weaved us together as a new people, oriented to his mission. We recognize and celebrate this in song. God then grants us his assurance and blessing in the benediction, based upon scripture and given in his Triune name. Finally, in the dismissal, we respond in thanks and go out in peace to serve him in the world.

There are abundant resources available on worship both in print and online. Several helpful resources include:

-Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

-Liturgical Worship: A Fresh Look - How It Works, Why It Matters, by Mark Earey

-The Work of the People: What We Do in Worship and Why, by Marlea Gilbert, Christopher Grundy, Eric Myers, and Stephanie Perdew

-Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship, by Leonard J. Vander Zee

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Joel Garver is professor of philosophy at La Salle University and chief liturgist for City Church in Philadelphia.