Worship Style

Worship style

If you examine the worship liturgies of the church throughout history, you find that they included the same elements (though called by different names) in the same order. Why?

Because the ancient church recognized that worship shapes us. Whether we acknowledge it our not, our liturgy teaches us about how we are accepted by God. The order of the elements of worship (call to worship, confession, pardon, etc.) narrates the story of the Gospel. This order serves to rehearse (or re-enact) the Gospel for His glory and the good of His people.

We call this a "gospel-driven liturgy." On a practical level, if you were given the opportunity to share the gospel with a friend, you could follow the outline of our liturgy; it covers all the essential elements of the gospel--in the right order!

Why should we worship in a way that integrates the richness of our heritage and the relevance of the Gospel in our ever-changing culture? It takes great wisdom and prayer to balance two biblical mandates:

The richness of our heritage: When we ignore historic traditions, we break our solidarity with Christians of the past. We lose the richness of our identity as Christians saved into a historic people that spans the generations. An unwillingness to consult tradition contradicts both Christian humility and Christian community.

The relevance of the Gospel: The Bible also calls us to express the timeless truths of the gospel in a timely way that connects with the people of our generation in new and fresh ways. For this reason, the Reformers encouraged musical innovation. Luther introduced hundreds of new songs, insisting that old Latin songs be rewritten in the vernacular and put to contemporary German ballads and tunes. Calvin did the same thing; critics referred to the songs he introduced as "Geneva Jigs."

Unity In Essentials