Sojourners Church Liturgy

Why do we do that?: Corporate Singing

Corporate singing is essential. Why? First, because God commands it. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16) But aside from this, why else do we sing? Singing is slow-release theology. As we sing the truths of Scripture, God's word embeds deeper and deeper in our hearts. Singing tunes our hearts to see God, ourselves, and the world in light of God's Word. As we sing together, we not only tune our hearts; we tune one another. We strengthen each other's faith as we sing of joy and sorrow and longing and the hope of the gospel to one another. As each of us adds our God-given voice to the corporate song, we display our union with Christ and one another—and we show what God himself is like: unity without sameness. All this and more happens when we sing. So let us sing!

This post is part of a series of posts on the Sojourners Church Sunday morning liturgy. See the whole series here.

Why do we do that?: Prayers of Petition

Having heard the Good News and expressed our desire to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel, we naturally turn to prayer. The Prayers of Petition express our continued dependence upon God's grace. We offer prayers to God in obedience and in confidence that God will give what is good. In interceding for others, we join Jesus in his ministry of intercession—remembering that the Good news calls us to love both God and neighbor. We all participate as the leader prays on behalf of the entire congregation. Our pattern at Sojourners is to pray for a member household, a local gospel partner, and a global gospel partner. We also pray for specific community needs as they arise. We conclude the prayer by asking God's aid as we prepare to hear from him in his Word. In praying these prayers together on Sunday morning, we also stir our hearts to continued prayer during the week.

This post is part of a series of posts on the Sojourners Church Sunday morning liturgy. See the whole series here.

Why do we do that?: Announcement of the Good News

The good news—or gospel—is the center of the Christian life. Jesus saves sinners. We never outgrow our need to hear this news. We spend our entire lives learning the universe-shaking ramifications of it. And all who believe it will spend eternity growing in our enjoyment of everything that is ours in Jesus. The Announcement of Good News is one of the most joyful and beautiful parts of our liturgy. Having confessed the magnitude of our sins, God meets us with overwhelming mercy and reminds us afresh of the hope we have. We hear this good news from the only unfailing source—God's Word. The reader urges those who do not believe to believe and experience the joy found only in Jesus. And the reader assures those who believe that there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus. Through this good news, God assures us that we are embraced, forgiven, and strengthened to live a renewed life.

This post is part of a series of posts on the Sojourners Church Sunday morning liturgy. See the whole series here.

Why do we do that?: Call to Confession

Confession of sin is foreign in this world's graceless culture. If we have no hope of mercy and grace in light of our failures, then we must hide them at all costs. The gospel culture of Christ and his church is entirely different. We are in covenant relationship with the living God not because of our steadfastness, but because of his grace and kindness towards us in Jesus. Therefore, we are free to confess our failure to live with covenant faithfulness in the safety and certainty of the promise that God will meet our confession with forgiveness and grace. So we confess—in things done and things left undone—the ways we fail to live faithfully towards God. And we confess in the peaceful assurance that God will meet us with renewed mercy and grace because of his great covenant love for us his people.

This post is part of a series of posts on the Sojourners Church Sunday morning liturgy. See the whole series here.

Why do we do that?: Prayer of Invocation

After hearing God speak through his Word and call us to worship, we respond with the Prayer of Invocation. In this prayer, we invoke or "call upon" God to work powerfully through his Spirit during the worship service. By responding to the Call to Worship with prayer, we express our longing for God and our deep and humble dependence upon him. In this prayer, we begin the dialogue with God that characterizes Christian worship—he speaks to us through his Word read and preached and we respond to him in prayer and song and sacrament.

This post is part of a series of posts on the Sojourners Church Sunday morning liturgy. See the whole series here.

Why do we do that?: Call to Worship

In Christian worship, our liturgy is gospel-shaped. We rehearse the reality of our relationship with our Creator and Redeemer. And so, we begin with a Call to Worship. Just as our story begins with God speaking, so too does our worship service. In the Call to Worship, God speaks to us through his Word and invites us to respond to him. The Call to Worship invites us to turn from the world and to focus our hearts, minds, and actions on God. It is an invitation to participate in the activity of all creation—to declare the glory of God. And it is an invitation to respond in worship to the reality of the gospel given to us by God in his Son Jesus Christ. The gospel shines forth even in the Call itself. How else could sinful people come before the Holy God and live unless He himself has made a way?

This post is part of a series of posts on the Sojourners Church Sunday morning liturgy. See the whole series here.

Why do we do that?: Sunday Morning Worship

Our Sunday morning service is the pinnacle of our week as we enter into dialogue with the Lord of the universe. On our own, we are separated from Christ, alienated from his people, and strangers to the covenants of promise—without hope and without God. And yet, our great God does not leave us in our hopelessness. He speaks light into our darkness in the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we gather weekly to hear God speak the gospel of Jesus to us in his Word and in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And we gather to respond in faith as we pray, read, and sing God’s Word together.

This post is part of a series of posts on the Sojourners Church Sunday morning liturgy. See the whole series here.