Recommendation - [[Prelude]] - before? - [[Prelude and postlude should be 'background music']] - Light candles during? Make a formal part. - Could officially start service at 9:55am to accommodate. - 10:00am - Chiming of the Hour - Welcome / Greeting - "Let us worship God" (omitting extended "Call to Worship") - - "Let us confess our sins" -> Confession -> Assurance - or ## The Word - First Reading - Sung Word - Psalm or relevant Anthem - Second Reading / Sermon ## Response to the Word - Affirmation of Faith (Credo) - Prayer of the People [[Offertory]] (Band, Congregational component) **Doxology** / Affirm faith? ## Go Forth and Serve Prayer of Thanksgiving / [[The Lord's Prayer]] Charge/Benediction *Postlude* --- TO HEAR A WORD FROM THE LORD When we are truly sorry, we listen to what it is the person we have wronged would have us do to make things better between us. After the time of confession and assurance that we all live as forgiven sinners in the light of Christ, we move deeper into relationship with God by hearing the Word of the Lord. God’s Word comes to us in many ways—through scripture, special music, sermons. The words spoken are quite human, including those of scripture, yet God chooses to speak through them. Listen for God's eternal Word addressing you with good news about the Lord’s love for you and all people among all the human words. Presbyterians believe the Word is central to our faith; hence, we put the service of the Word right in the middle of our service. Created by tstricklen - 4 - Prayer for Illumination This is a prayer for the Spirit to open our lives to really hear God’s Word among human words. Without the Spirit to help us discern God’s voice, the words that we hear are just a bunch of dead letters that cannot adequately convey the living, transformative nature of the Word of God. Scripture Since before the time of Christ, the Jewish tradition, which Jesus participated in, has had a list (a lectionary) of appropriate readings (lections) for daily prayer services. The Christian church continued this tradition, though the lectionary was often not used by revival preachers from the nineteenth century on in the United States. Shaped by both revival and liturgical traditions, your church may or may not use the New Revised Common Lectionary, which is a three-year list of an Old Testament, Psalm, Gospel, and Epistle reading for each Sunday and special holy days. When the three years are up, we start over again with Year A. What the lectionary does is help us experience the broad sweep of God’s salvific work over the course of the church year. The lections often correspond to the different seasons of the year, which also determines the different colors we use on the fabric arts present in worship. Sometimes the lections are designed to run continuously through a book of the Bible to help form our faith through one particular Biblical book. Since Psalms were originally sung, the psalm may be chanted or sung. Lections may be used elsewhere in the service in an appropriate place. For example, the psalm is often the basis of the call to worship. Sometimes the epistle reading for the day makes a good affirmation of faith. Those churches who do not follow a lectionary follow whatever the pastor discerns needs to be preached from scripture. Other churches may choose to follow the Reformation’s lectio continua tradition of reading through a book of the Bible and preaching on its various sections. Anthem God’s Word can come to us in a variety of ways—not just through scripture and preaching. God speaks through many means, including music. Indeed, many people say God speaks best to them through the music of the church. Having a choir or band of instruments isn’t about good musicians putting on a superb recital in the middle of the service, which is why applause isn’t appropriate for anyone but God in a worship service. We are not being entertained by a musical interlude. Of course, sometimes we burst into applause as a way of expressing thanks for the Spirit that has moved us, but we need to be careful that worship is not perceived as us getting something, but about giving ourselves to God in praise and prayer and service. Sometimes the anthem is done as an offertory, an offering of our gifts in thanksgiving for all God’s gifts to us. The choir is intended to be representative of the congregation’s voices rising in praise or petition to God. Similarly, God speaks to us through the music of the choir. So when the choir sings, the people become instruments—instruments of the congregation and/or instruments of God’s Spirit blowing through them to sing the good news. Created by tstricklen - 5 - Because each piece of music functions differently, the choir’s anthem may be more appropriate elsewhere in the service, but if it functions to expound upon the Word, it will be placed here in the service.