Liturgical Worship

Traditional liturgical worship is a celebration centered at the very heart of the Gospel and connected to the ancient traditions of the Church.  In liturgical/traditional worship we embrace the mystery of our eternal God, remember the atonement of Jesus Christ, and prepare ourselves for the challenge of living out His command to be a missional light to the world. The word liturgy comes from the Greek and means “the work of the people.”  In a liturgical service we all actively participate in offering worship to God every Sunday:

We say prayers together.  We confess our sins as individuals and corporately through our prayers of confession.  We speak the words that Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer.  We ask for God’s intercession for our own needs and the needs of others.

We read the Scriptures together.  In a lectionary cycle, the Church all over the world hears the word of God spoken in worship.  The message of the prophets, Jesus Christ, and the apostles and early church comes alive for us.

We confirm our faith together.  As a corporate body we recite the Apostles Creed.  The Creed clears up the basics of our faith, keeps us centered as a Church, is a testimony to what we believe, and joins us with millions of brothers and sisters all over the world who speak this affirmation with us every Sunday.

We sing together.  The traditional hymns of Charles Wesley and others contain much of Methodist theology.  We worship as we sing these words of praise that remain a cornerstone of our faith and practice.

We participate in the proclamation of the word together.  Through the pastor’s sermons, based on Scripture, we explore the meaning of the Bible and its application to our individual spiritual journeys.

We take communion together.  At the very heart of the Gospel is Christ’s Table.  Each week we enter the glorious mystery of our faith as we celebrate the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion.  We actively participate in Christ’s command, “Do this in remembrance of me,” each week as we celebrate with the Church this Sacrament open to all.

We observe the Church year together.  Through a series of Holy days and seasons we mark the passing of time in a structure within which Gods story of redemption is recounted.  We are taught about significant aspects of our Christian faith in the yearly rhythm of Advent/Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. Liturgical/traditional worship joins us with Christmas past, present and future as we embrace the mystery of our faith, experience the intersection of heaven and earth, learn about the Scriptures and apply all of this to our own Christian journeys.

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• Revitalizing liturgical worship: Stephen R. Holmes on history and location (liturgical.wordpress.com)