The elements of our liturgy are as follows:
1. Call to Worship: The Lord officially summons us to worship Him. This is usually done with the reading of an appropriate Scripture passage.
2. Silent Prayer: We each call upon the Lord to assist and prepare us for the solemn task of worshipping Him; that our worship would be acceptable to Him.
3. Votum: Our declaration of our utter dependency on God—” Our help is in the name of the Lord…”
4. Salutation: God welcomes us in His house of worship, and greets with His “Grace, mercy and peace…”
5. Song of Praise: As a congregation we extol the Lord in singing.
6. Reading of the Law (AM): Here we hear God’s law proclaimed to us. The Law is normative for our lives and reveals God’s will for Christian living.
7. Song of Confession (AM): In acknowledgment of our failure to keep the Law, we implore the Lord for His mercy, or sing with thankfulness for His mercy.
8. Assurance of Pardon (AM): In response to our song of confession, the Lord responds with the assurance that our sins are forgiven in Christ, wholly by grace.
9. Recitation of the Apostles’ Creed (PM): We join with the church universal in confessing the truths of Scripture as they are confessed in the Apostles’ Creed.
10. Hymn of Response (PM): Having just confessed our faith using the Apostles’ Creed, we extol our triune God in song.
11. Psalm Reading (PM): One by one we read through the Psalms—the hymnal of the Bible.
12. Song of Response (PM): Having just heard one of the Psalms read, we then sing that Psalm back to our God.
13. Congregational Prayer: Here the worship leader addresses the Lord with the petitions of the congregation. Prayer is composed of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication, or ACTS.
14. Song of Preparation: This song prepares us to hear the Word of God, often anticipating the theme of the sermon.
15. Scripture Reading: Here we read from a portion of Scripture that will be explained to us in the sermon.
16. Sermon: This is the center of the worship service. It is not because we place a premium on oration or human eloquence. It is because at this point the Lord speaks to His people, through His Word and His servant. The purpose of a sermon is to focus on Christ and His finished work. The desired response is never “what a preacher,” but always “what a Savior!”
17. Song of Response: We respond to the hearing of God’s word to us in the sermon with appropriate singing, again emphasizing the theme of the sermon.
18. Offerings: This is an offering to the Lord, usually for a cause we support.
19. Doxology: This is a song in which we celebrate the glory and supreme majesty of God, while accentuating our complete dependence on Him and His goodness to us.
20. Benediction: The Lord dismisses us with His blessing.