SERVICE ORDER FOR THE LORD’S DAY
Eastminster Presbyterian Church
Eastminster Presbyterian Church
The worship of God is the heart of the Christian faith and the center of our life together as disciples and a faith community. The Westminster Shorter Catechism affirms that our chief end in life is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” This places the worship of God at the very center of what it means to be God’s people and makes worship the highest expression we can give to our God-given humanity. Christian worship is a corporate act of the people of God where we gather to realize God’s presence and respond with praise to God’s gift of love to us in Jesus Christ. Worship is the activity we share; the liturgy is the form of structure of that activity.
Through a series of actions, we express what we believe and who we are. The sequence of the service was developed in the Church based on ancient Hebraic worship, shaped by early Christians, and confirmed by Christian congregations throughout our Church’s history. Our service of worship has four major parts. The separate acts within these major sections are described here in the confidence that our experience of worship can be enhanced by greater understanding of what we do in Christian worship and why we do it.
GATHERING AROUND GOD’S WORD
The Greeting and Opening Prayer are opportunities to welcome visitors, make necessary announcements, and bring to the attention of the membership timely events in the life of our church, and then center ourselves as we prepare to worship God.
The Voluntary marks the beginning of the service of worship. How we prepare for worship can determine the quality of the experience. In silent prayer and with a meditative spirit, we are invited to prepare ourselves for worship.
The Processional Hymn reflects the fundamental purpose of Christian worship. Praise is the people’s joyful response to God’s gift in Jesus Christ.
The Opening Sentences draw our attention from our many concerns to the primary concern of the moment. Through words drawn from scripture, we are led toward God, and invited to “come and worship.”
The Call to and the Prayer of Confession invite us, as both individuals and as a corporate body, to acknowledge the need for forgiveness in order to hear and receive the Word and Sacrament. To come into the presence of God dramatizes how far we fall short of God’s intended glory; so together we openly acknowledge our need for repentance, forgiveness and grace.
The Assurance of God’s Forgiveness reminds us of God’s promise that forgiveness follows the sincere confession of and repentance for our sins. The Assurance declares the amazing grace God in Christ offers to each of us who truly are sorry for our sins and desire to live a more faithful life.
The Response varies from week to week, but is a sung or spoken thanksgiving to God in response to the good news that we, in Jesus Christ, stand forgiven.
PROCLAIMING GOD’S WORD
The Prayer for Illumination invites the presence of the Holy Spirit to bless us with the understanding of God’s Word in scripture.
The Scripture Readings are central to this section of the service, which is drawn from the ancient synagogue service concerned primarily with the reading and preaching of God’s Word. While the synagogue service consisted of readings from the Old Testament, readings from the New Testament were added as Christians began to develop their own scriptures. Most weeks at Eastminster Presbyterian Church will include a reading from each testament reflecting the biblical center of our worship.
The Anthem is the worship of the congregation sung through the voice of the choir. The Sanctuary Choir offers praise to God on our behalf.
The Sermon Hymn offers a time for all to hear the words and meaning of scripture through the medium of music.
The Sermon is the proclamation of the Word of God as set forth in scripture. Drawn from the scripture readings, as a foundation, the sermon seeks to make the messages of these texts come alive in the faith and life of the hearers. The sermon provides a bridge between the ancient, unchanging truths of scripture and our contemporary experience. The faithful proclamation of the Word has been a central concern and strength of Presbyterian and Reformed worship.
RESPONDING TO GOD’S WORD
The Affirmation of Faith is recited as a corporate affirmation of what we believe and serves to place the contemporary Church in the tradition of Christendom which has endured through the centuries. The Apostles’ Creed, the oldest creed, is found on page 14 of the Presbyterian Hymnal. (The phrase “holy catholic church” printed in the Apostles’ Creed means the universal church, not the Roman Catholic Church.)
The Prayers of the Church are a vital part of our response to God. Prayer is indeed a lifting up of our hearts to the Lord, who invites us to ask, seek and knock. In prayer we approach God in openness of mind and heart to experience God’s power and presence. The prayer of intercession asks for God’s guidance and blessing on all God’s people. It seeks to express the spiritual needs, the longings, and the thanksgiving of the whole body of Christ.
The Lord’s Prayer concludes our series of prayers. This prayer, taught by Jesus to his disciples, is the prayer which binds all Christians together in service and devotion.
The Offertory Sentence is the invitation to return to God the gifts of our time, talent and treasures in thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings and goodness.
The Presentation of Tithes and Offerings is our response to God’s Word by giving and is a significant act within the liturgy. As we dedicate our gifts to God, we also dedicate our lives and acknowledge once more that we are God’s and what we have is but a gift to be held in trust.
The Offertory is a time of musical offerings of thanksgiving. The offerings comes by way of song and instrument,
The Response, generally known as a doxology” is a Trinitarian song of the praise we sing as our gifts are brought forward. “Doxology” is Greek for “words of praise.”
The Prayer of Thanksgiving is a prayer that thanks God for being who God is: generous and eternal provider and self-giver of love, grace and mercy to us all.
THE HYMN OF FAITH is an affirmation that what we do in response to hearing God’s word is crucial. This hymn is usually more reflective and meditative, and often is tied to the theme of the morning’s scripture and sermon
GOING INTO THE WORLD WITH GOD’S WORD
The Benediction is the blessing spoken by the pastor that sends all gathered into the world to enact the Christian faith we have confessed.
The Recessional Hymn moves us from our worship into the world with renewed commitment to our faith and service in God’s world.
Through a series of actions, we express what we believe and who we are. The sequence of the service was developed in the Church based on ancient Hebraic worship, shaped by early Christians, and confirmed by Christian congregations throughout our Church’s history. Our service of worship has four major parts. The separate acts within these major sections are described here in the confidence that our experience of worship can be enhanced by greater understanding of what we do in Christian worship and why we do it.
GATHERING AROUND GOD’S WORD
The Greeting and Opening Prayer are opportunities to welcome visitors, make necessary announcements, and bring to the attention of the membership timely events in the life of our church, and then center ourselves as we prepare to worship God.
The Voluntary marks the beginning of the service of worship. How we prepare for worship can determine the quality of the experience. In silent prayer and with a meditative spirit, we are invited to prepare ourselves for worship.
The Processional Hymn reflects the fundamental purpose of Christian worship. Praise is the people’s joyful response to God’s gift in Jesus Christ.
The Opening Sentences draw our attention from our many concerns to the primary concern of the moment. Through words drawn from scripture, we are led toward God, and invited to “come and worship.”
The Call to and the Prayer of Confession invite us, as both individuals and as a corporate body, to acknowledge the need for forgiveness in order to hear and receive the Word and Sacrament. To come into the presence of God dramatizes how far we fall short of God’s intended glory; so together we openly acknowledge our need for repentance, forgiveness and grace.
The Assurance of God’s Forgiveness reminds us of God’s promise that forgiveness follows the sincere confession of and repentance for our sins. The Assurance declares the amazing grace God in Christ offers to each of us who truly are sorry for our sins and desire to live a more faithful life.
The Response varies from week to week, but is a sung or spoken thanksgiving to God in response to the good news that we, in Jesus Christ, stand forgiven.
PROCLAIMING GOD’S WORD
The Prayer for Illumination invites the presence of the Holy Spirit to bless us with the understanding of God’s Word in scripture.
The Scripture Readings are central to this section of the service, which is drawn from the ancient synagogue service concerned primarily with the reading and preaching of God’s Word. While the synagogue service consisted of readings from the Old Testament, readings from the New Testament were added as Christians began to develop their own scriptures. Most weeks at Eastminster Presbyterian Church will include a reading from each testament reflecting the biblical center of our worship.
The Anthem is the worship of the congregation sung through the voice of the choir. The Sanctuary Choir offers praise to God on our behalf.
The Sermon Hymn offers a time for all to hear the words and meaning of scripture through the medium of music.
The Sermon is the proclamation of the Word of God as set forth in scripture. Drawn from the scripture readings, as a foundation, the sermon seeks to make the messages of these texts come alive in the faith and life of the hearers. The sermon provides a bridge between the ancient, unchanging truths of scripture and our contemporary experience. The faithful proclamation of the Word has been a central concern and strength of Presbyterian and Reformed worship.
RESPONDING TO GOD’S WORD
The Affirmation of Faith is recited as a corporate affirmation of what we believe and serves to place the contemporary Church in the tradition of Christendom which has endured through the centuries. The Apostles’ Creed, the oldest creed, is found on page 14 of the Presbyterian Hymnal. (The phrase “holy catholic church” printed in the Apostles’ Creed means the universal church, not the Roman Catholic Church.)
The Prayers of the Church are a vital part of our response to God. Prayer is indeed a lifting up of our hearts to the Lord, who invites us to ask, seek and knock. In prayer we approach God in openness of mind and heart to experience God’s power and presence. The prayer of intercession asks for God’s guidance and blessing on all God’s people. It seeks to express the spiritual needs, the longings, and the thanksgiving of the whole body of Christ.
The Lord’s Prayer concludes our series of prayers. This prayer, taught by Jesus to his disciples, is the prayer which binds all Christians together in service and devotion.
The Offertory Sentence is the invitation to return to God the gifts of our time, talent and treasures in thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings and goodness.
The Presentation of Tithes and Offerings is our response to God’s Word by giving and is a significant act within the liturgy. As we dedicate our gifts to God, we also dedicate our lives and acknowledge once more that we are God’s and what we have is but a gift to be held in trust.
The Offertory is a time of musical offerings of thanksgiving. The offerings comes by way of song and instrument,
The Response, generally known as a doxology” is a Trinitarian song of the praise we sing as our gifts are brought forward. “Doxology” is Greek for “words of praise.”
The Prayer of Thanksgiving is a prayer that thanks God for being who God is: generous and eternal provider and self-giver of love, grace and mercy to us all.
THE HYMN OF FAITH is an affirmation that what we do in response to hearing God’s word is crucial. This hymn is usually more reflective and meditative, and often is tied to the theme of the morning’s scripture and sermon
GOING INTO THE WORLD WITH GOD’S WORD
The Benediction is the blessing spoken by the pastor that sends all gathered into the world to enact the Christian faith we have confessed.
The Recessional Hymn moves us from our worship into the world with renewed commitment to our faith and service in God’s world.
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Eastminster Presbyterian Church
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 571188, Dallas, TX 75357 Physical Address: 6550 Samuell Blvd., Dallas, TX 75228 214-381-4693 officeadmin@eastminsterdallas .org Sunday Schedule Breakfast: 9 am Church School: 10 am Worship: 11:30 am |
