The Priority of the Church’s Worship
Worship is the natural and joyful response of creatures to the glory of God revealed in creation and redemption. God is jealous for his people’s worship (Exodus 34:14), and has redeemed the Church to worship him in spirit and in truth (Exodus 7:16; John 4:24). As a living temple and holy priesthood, the Church is called to the sacred service of the Triune God (1 Peter 2:25), and destined to worship around God’s throne as a numberless multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language (Revelation 7:9–10). It is the high calling of every Christian to be a wholehearted participant in the Church’s public and perpetual worship (Psalm 95:6–7; Psalm 100).
While the Protestant Reformation is best known as a movement to recover the pure gospel, the reformers were zealous for God’s glory and equally committed to the recovery of true worship. John Calvin wrote that “the whole substance of Christianity” is comprehended under two things: “a knowledge, first, of the mode in which God is duly worshipped; and, secondly, of the source from which salvation is to be obtained.” Evangelical faith cannot be separated from “receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God has appointed in his word” (WSC 50).
The Church’s Worship in Scripture and History
The Church’s priorities in corporate worship are concisely summarized in the description of the Church after Pentecost: “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
First and foremost, the Church is devoted to the apostles’ teaching—reading, teaching, preaching, singing, and confessing God’s Word. Paul commanded Timothy, “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13). “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). A major part of early Christian gatherings was simply reading and expounding lengthy portions of Scripture. In his First Apology, Justin Martyr (c. 100–165 AD) gives us one of the earliest accounts of the church’s weekly worship:
On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things.
Irenaeus characterized the ministry of faithful Elders: “They expound the Scriptures to us without danger.” To ensure that no part of Scripture was neglected, and that the readings were arranged in a thoughtful way, churches developed lectionaries or lists of appointed readings for each Sunday of the year (see, for example, the Revised Common Lectionary). Even in our day, when the Bible is more easily accessible, there is no replacement for public reading and preaching. The gathered Church, God’s covenant assembly, is the primary context in which God has promised to address his people.
Second, the Church is devoted to the fellowship. The earliest Christians voluntarily chose to have “all things in common” (Acts 2:44), and “there was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34). The Church in all times has been faithful to care for the needs of its members, especially the poor, orphans, and widows. Paul instructed the Corinthians to contribute to the collection for the saints by setting aside a portion of their income on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2). Justin Martyr records the Church’s universal practice:
They who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need.
Third, the Church is devoted to the breaking of bread in the Lord’s Supper. In the New Testament, “the breaking of bread” is a common way of referring to the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16; Luke 22:19), which was often shared in the context of a larger, corporate meal. The Lord’s Supper was a central and characteristic act of early Christian worship: “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them” (Acts 20:7). At least weekly communion was the practice of the apostolic churches (see “How Often Should We Receive the Lord’s Supper?“). While Paul corrected several abuses of the Lord’s Supper in the Corinthian church, he repeats five times that they shared the meal when they came together (1 Corinthians 11:17, 18, 20, 33, 34), and that they came together “on the first day of every week” (1 Corinthians 16:2). In fact, their common participation in Christ’s body at the Table was the primary way in which the church’s scattered members came together as one body in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17). Paul refers to the Lord’s Supper as the church’s “spiritual food” and “spiritual drink,” (1 Corinthians 10:3–4), and as a proclamation of Christ’s death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:26). Acts 2:46 records that the early house churches broke bread “day by day,” and almost four centuries later, Augustine notes that many churches were still gathering every day for the Lord’s Supper. John Wesley communed nearly every day of his life, preached on “The Duty of Constant Communion,” and wrote that the Eucharist was “daily received in the beginning by the whole Church of Christ, and highly esteemed, till the love of many waxed cold, as the grand channel whereby the grace of his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God.” Justin Martyr records the universal practice of the early Church:
Bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons.
Finally, the church is devoted to the prayers. The Church is “a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7). Paul writes, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (1 Timothy 2:1). The Church’s prayers have always included the Lord’s Prayer and selections from the Psalms, the church’s prayer book (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:19), commonly sung along with hymns and spiritual songs (1 Corinthians 14:26), in keeping with the Jewish tradition of worship (see “Singing the Psalms: Recovering the Church’s God-Inspired Hymnbook“). Some prayers are spontaneous, while others are carefully written in advance to honor God with thoughtful words and fulfill the apostolic commands concerning prayer. By calling upon the Lord in prayer and praise with thanksgiving and confession of sin, the Church responds to the Lord’s gifts of Word and Sacrament.
Historic Rites of the Church
In keeping with the Lord’s command that “all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40), the Church developed standard rites or forms for corporate worship. These rites were never meant to be administered in a stale, lifeless, or inflexible manner, lest the Church have the form of godliness but deny its power. Rather, they were meant to ensure that the Church consistently worshiped according to God’s Word, and fulfilled biblical expectations for the church’s gathering. Without such rites, the church tends to neglect important aspects of biblical worship. Furthermore, these rites help to ensure that worship is deeply formative, even in dry seasons when the presence of God is not as strongly felt or the Spirit’s power is not as clearly manifested. Used properly, with an appropriate balance of form and freedom, the rites of the Church are an invaluable aid for worship.
Among the many Protestant liturgies of the 16th century are Martin Luther’s Form of the Mass (1523) and German Mass (1526); Zwingli’s Act or Custom of the Supper (1525) and Form of Prayer (1525); Calvin’s Form of Ecclesiastical Prayers (1542, 1545, and 1566); and, most famously, Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer (1549 and 1552). John Wesley adapted the 1662 BCP for the Sunday Service of the Methodists in North America (1784): “I believe there is no liturgy in the world, either in ancient or modern language, which breathes more of a solid, scriptural, rational piety than the Common Prayer of the Church of England. … the language of it [is] not only pure, but strong and elegant in the highest degree.” (For further study, see Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present).
Using the Resources from Holy Joys
Holy Joys is committed to providing worship resources and sample liturgies which draw from the wisdom of the whole Church while staying rooted in the tradition of the Book of Common Prayer. In the BCP, the Sunday service is simply called “The Holy Eucharist,” but as with most historic liturgies, it can be divided into two major parts: the Service of the Word and the Service of the Lord’s Supper.
The Service of the Word includes the reading, preaching, and confession of God’s Word, with prayer and singing. Holy Joys is regularly publishing new sample liturgies and adding to our collection of Calls to Worship, Written Prayers, Benedictions, and other resources for use in the Sunday Service. When choosing weekly Scripture readings, we recommend consulting the lectionary of the Book of Common Prayer or the Revised Common Lectionary.
The Service of the Lord’s Supper is also saturated with Scripture, but focuses on participation in Christ at the Lord’s Table. The Table is commonly spread with a clean white cloth. An overlay may be used in the color of the season (see “Introduction to the Church Calendar“), and candles may be lit to signify that Christ, the light of the world, is present at the Table. Only bread and wine (the fruit of the vine—not necessarily alcoholic), the elements which Christ ordained, may be used (see Catechism Q. 46). If wine cannot be obtained, bread alone is sufficient to observe the feast. The church should keep their eyes open for the eucharistic prayers, or at least for the Prayer of Consecration, since the sacrament is ordained as a visible sign of God’s grace. The Prayer of Consecration contains the words of institution, which must never be omitted.
Except in extraordinary circumstances, Holy Baptism should be administered by an ordained Minister in the presence of the gathered local church into which the candidate is being admitted as a member (see Catechism Q. 44). Baptism may be administered at any time, but it is especially appropriate at Easter, on the Day of Pentecost, on All Saints’ Day or the Sunday after All Saints’ Day, and on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord (the First Sunday after the Epiphany). For the baptism of infants, parents and/or godparents answer the questions (see Catechism Q. 45). Those who were already baptized, whether as an infant or adult, can never be baptized again. Those already baptized may be received into the local church by renewing their baptismal vows, preferably at a time when others are being baptized.
The forms for Holy Marriage and the Burial of the Dead are intended for baptized members of the Church in good standing. They may be adapted at the godly discretion of the Minister.
The forms for the Ordination of Elders and Deacons are included for the growing number of independent or nondenominational churches seeking to reestablish the biblical offices of Deacon and Elder. Churches with established rites and processes should be careful to follow them. These forms assume that candidates have been thoroughly examined.
