What we are about to do is intended to be purely clinical.  There is sufficient opportunity for actual worship within the 36 hours we are here.  For this hour we are asking you to be participant observers, reflecting on the Christian faith you profess-centering on the atoning work of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but also with an eye toward analyzing how you are transmitting your faith to other believers and nonbelievers via the worship you are designing and leading. 

We have designed a particular style of Christian worship that is faithful to the Reformed tradition. We make no pretense of commending one style of music, worship, or prayer over any other style.  We are more concerned with content than we are with style.  Sadly, in many places, this distinction is frequently reversed.

Throughout this hour we hope to pay attention to the question, "Why?"  Why do we plan the worship we do and how does our understanding of Jesus and his saving work inform our praise?

Establishing a Worshiping "Church"

What is important about our first impression of the worship and music?

The pre-service music can:
o     Establish an atmosphere conducive to worship
o     Draw people into the place of worship
o     Establish the "tone" of the worship
o     Assist people in making their transition from the world to the holy

Why gathering songs?

Singing as the church assembles allows for:
o   an invitation to active, personal preparation for worship
o   the introduction of key theological ideas
o   the uniting of the congregation in praise

How is the Atonement important to the gathering music?

Distinctive to the Christian faith is the reality that although we are more sinful than we can ever imagine, in Jesus Christ we are more loved than we can ever know.  Our worship is only possible because of this reality.  We do well to remember God's love vividly as we gather to worship.

The music does not have to address the topic or theme of the service at every turn.  For example, the first gathering song is a simple statement of the reality of God's love.  The second text affirms that God loved us first-only then giving the first specific reference to the theme of Christ's death and resurrection.  As we plan worship and music, we must remember that the Christian Gospel is good news, but it is also strange news to the ears of secular-minded believers as well as "seekers" (whoever they may be!) 

Declaring that God Loved Us First

What questions can the Call to Worship answer?

o        Why worship God?
o        Why do we need God?
o        What has God done for us?
o        What does God require of us?
o        Can we do what is expected by God?
o        What is Christ's role in worship?
o        What is our role in worship?
o        How will worship affect our lives or our world?

Glorifying and Enjoying God

What can an opening hymn accomplish?

It is the first act of corporate worship, uniting the redeemed in praise.

Offering Gospel Assurance and Inviting Personal Honesty

If we are so loved by God, why bother with confession?

o        We are called to confession with the assurance that God has already forgiven the sin we earnestly confess.

o        In making our confession, we are reminding ourselves and each other that the wrong we have done is far more than a character flaw or an example of bad judgment.  We are sinful people and we deserve God's judgment. 

o        In confession, we remember that it was Christ who paid the price for our sin, and that he paid that price completely.

o        In confession we are made aware that when we dare look into the eyes of our eternal Judge, we see the fullness of our Savior's love looking back at us.  

o        When we confess, we are invited to participate fully in God's amazing love and grace-turning from the sin we have known to a life we can hardly imagine.

In declaring God's forgiving grace, we can also declare the joy of the Law-the gift God has given us to show us the fullness of his joy.

After declaring the un-fathomable love of God, the congregation has an opportunity to sing (shout) God's glory and praise.  This response is greatly diminished if it is allowed to be mundane, half-hearted, or simple rote.

Invoking the Supernatural

What can we expect from the Prayer for Illumination?

Supernatural power to:

o        Honor the Word of God as different from human words
o        Realize our dependence on the person and work of  the Holy Spirit
o        Anticipate that the Word, no matter how unsettling, will lead us to true joy.

Worship leaders within the Reformed tradition must remember that the first mark of a true church  is the reading and hearing of the Word (Calvin).  We must also remember that the only contact a majority of our worshipers will have with the Bible are the readings they hear in worship. 

The Old Testament read along with the New Testament can set the context of Christ's saving work in the proper perspective of the full salvation history.

Helping Worshipers Respond to God

How does the music we use in worship affect the faith of the worshipers?

o        Music effectively doubles the power of the spoken word.
o        Music (melody and rhythm) can also obscure the meaning of a text, distracting or discouraging worshipers from finding any meaning in what they are singing.
o        Music and text, old or new, must be worthy of the work our people will invest in learning them and singing them.  

Many composers and arrangers are beginning to rediscover hymn texts long forgotten, setting them to new and engaging tunes, and reintroducing them to new generations of worshipers.

Making Informed Intercession

How does redemption effect our prayers?

o        We offer prayer in response to God's Word
o        We realize the difference between "good thoughts" and intercessions
o        The love we know from God burdens our hearts for the needs of others.

Transforming Self-giving

What difference does the Atonement make in our tithes and offerings?

o        Offering, like prayer, is a response to God's initiative, not a venue for winning God's affection or favor.
o        The self-giving love of God in Jesus Christ, as we come to know that love more fully in our own lives, transforms our entire world view, beginning with our use of possessions and our need to control them.
o        Part of making our offering is humbling ourselves; ".stand[ing] in awe of." God with no expectation of reward or return beyond the pure joy of being in God's presence.

Remembering Our Salvation Story

What's so "great" about the Great Thanksgiving?

In praying this prayer, we:
o        Remember that God is with us
o        Remember that praise is a personal sacrifice
o        Remember to nurture a thankful heart and to turn our heart to God.

There are three sections in the tradition of the Great Thanksgiving, corresponding to the three persons of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Each section of the prayer concludes with a congregational response-an affirmation of praise specifically intended to address the work of God that the prayer has recalled:

o        Thanksgiving to God the Father, our Creator, concludes with the great hymn from Isaiah 6, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord!"
o        Thanksgiving to God the Son, our Redeemer, prompts us to proclaim the whole Gospel in three short acclamations, "Christ has died!  Christ is risen!  Christ will come again!"
o        Following thanksgiving to God the Holy Spirit, including a Spirit-inspired doxology, we pray our affirmation and agreement with a simple, "Amen!"
o        Traditionally, this prayer is followed by the words Jesus himself gave his disciples (which the Spirit also enables us to pray).

"If They Keep Quiet."

Why make people sing during Communion?

If we are "making" our people sing during Communion, the point of it is already lost.

At his entry into Jerusalem, Jesus was commanded to silence the people who welcomed him so loudly.  His response was compelling, "If they keep quiet, the very stones will cry out!"  This can be true for us also if we approach Communion as the "joyful feast of the people of God."

Our response to Communion is perhaps the most telling measure of our faith.  Are we selling all we have to possess it? 

The music we sing as we make our communion can:

o        Remind us that this meal is God's gift
o        Remind us why we are invited here, and at what cost that invitation has been made
o        Remind us that Christ is with us, not just at the Table, but in the liturgy of our daily lives: vocation, family, recreation, et al.

As in the planning  of any "set" of songs or hymns, the logical progression of texts is significantly more important than the proximity of the musical key or the "flow" of the harmony and rhythm.

In the examples we suggest, the movement begins with the simple humility of believers "coming to the Lord" on what Don Hustad has called "level ground" around the cross.

We then move to a South African joy cry with the verses recalling that the self-giving of Christ was not for a select few but for all who can be saved.

The next piece serves as our "Agnus Dei,"  recalling the proclamation of John the Baptist, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" and thanking God for that holy Lamb-because of whose grace we can live.

Finally, we are reminded that the same Spirit who makes sacrament reality also makes reality sacramental.  God, who faithfully offers redemption, also is faithful to his promise of a Holy Presence-keeping us in his loving care until the appointed time of Christ's return.

The prayer following Communion is a simple reminder of thankfulness for all God has provided.  Many within the Reformed tradition still use the 103^rd psalm as the basis for this acclamation.

Practicing for Mission

Does it really matter what we sing at the end of the service?

YES! If the opening hymn shapes the focus of our corporate praise, the closing hymn defines the nature of our missional identity by:

o        Recapitulating the important themes of the service
o        Turning our focus away from worship and toward the liturgy of our daily life
o        Assuring us of God's activity in our present world and God's promise for our future hope
o        Providing one final opportunity for us to be part of a worshiping, singing, praying, praising community of believers until we gather again.

Intentional Leaving

What does the Atonement have to do with daily life?

When all is said and done, the truest measure of the impact the gospel has made can be found in the liturgy of our daily life, not in the eloquence of our hour of praise.