ABOUT

Worship begins with God because everything began through God. All of creation worships because God created it to reflect His glory (Ps. 19:1). We worship because God hardwired us to do so by creating us in His image (Gen. 1:27). In this way, every new day is a call for us to worship God; every encounter is a call for us to worship God, and in our sin God calls us back to Himself so we might worship Him (Luke 5:32). Therefore, when we Gather to remember the Gospel, we begin with a Call to Worship. God speaks, we respond.

What to Expect:

-Instrumental Music to announce the beginning of gathered worship.

-A greeting followed by a Scriptural invitation such as Psalm 100 or Matthew 11:28-29. Sometimes there is a portion of Scripture which the congregation reads aloud together.

In response to God’s call to worship, we continue with a song of Adoration. Gathering together from a world filled with gods demanding our worship, we not only sing of God’s worth, but simultaneously declare God to be the only One worthy of our worship. Therefore, this song will be marked by expressing love and devotion for who God is and what He’s done.

What to Expect:

-A song which expresses love & devotion for God, often making much of a specific attribute of God.

-Sometimes there is a Scripture reading or prayer to guide our adoration.

As we enter the light of God’s presence, we become increasingly aware of the darkness of our sin. An appropriate response is not self-pity, self-loathing, or fleeing, but confession. God tells us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Healthy confession is directed to God and based upon the understanding that if we confess, we are assured that Christ’s forgiveness awaits. True confession never occurs without assurance that Christ will forgive us our sins.

What to Expect:

-We alternate methods to keep confession and assurance from becoming a dead religious practice. Some weeks we’ll read a passage of Scripture aloud together which guides our confession. Other weeks we’ll allow 30-45 seconds of silence to go before God with our sin. Many weeks we’ll hear a Scripture passage like 1 John 1:9 read and explained.

-Some weeks we offer laments, voicing cries to God for the fallenness not only of ourselves, but the world we live in.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Therefore, we strive to present the Word of God in it’s fullness, drawing out the plain meaning of the text and demonstrating how it points to the work of Christ in the Gospel. We never move past that basic message, yet always strive to contextualize it to our day. Additionally, our aim is not to avoid offense, but that the only offense would be the call to faithfulness and obedience.

What to Expect:

-A Scripture reader has the congregation stand for the reading of the sermon text. This captures the reality that the Word of God speaks before the preacher.
-A pastor will then come up and teach from the passage for about 30 minutes.

Communion is our response to the Proclamation of the Gospel, partaking in the broken body and shed blood of Christ as a church family. With roots that stretch back to the Exodus, and symbols pointing forward to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, no other event captures the timelessness of the Gospel like communion. This is why author James K.A. Smith says of communion, “It’s as if the story we’ve been hearing and rehearsing now comes with live illustrations.” Together we enjoy an earthly encounter with the heavenly Christ.

What to Expect:

-The preaching pastor will give instructions for communion following the sermon.
-A pastor will administer communion, offering words from Scripture as we partake together.

At the end of service, we commission our church body to pass the peace of Christ to one another and represent Christ to those we encounter throughout our week. We are reminded that we do not cease to be the church when we leave the building. Rather, we are still the church, now sent and scattered throughout Columbia.

What to Expect:

-A pastor will offer a commission based upon the truths of the sermon.
-The church body will greet and interact with one another.