“Why is the worship service like this?”

The structure (or liturgy or service) of worship at Faith Anchorage is generally the same every Sunday. In addition, we like to occasionally explain the elements (or components) of our worship structure as we worship, which may be awkward for some. Below you will find an explanation of each of the basic elements of a worship service at Faith.

The call to worship
The invitation to worship on Sunday does not come from the minister, but from God. Because His holiness is unique to Himself, nobody has the right to ‘call’ a worship service except God, and He does so out of His own graciousness. Therefore, we begin our service with one of the many calls to worship found throughout Scripture, often from the Psalms.

Opening hymn
The response of Christian worshippers to God’s invitation to worship is a hymn of praise. That is, we respond to His invitation by singing about one of His attributes (majesty, power, wisdom, etc.), uniquely belonging to God. This dialogue of ‘gracious call’ followed by a ‘glory’ sets the pattern for not only Christian worship, but the Christian life.

Confession of sin and assurance of forgiveness
The cosmic significance of Christian worship shines a light on our lack of holiness. As we worship, we desire to do so with a clean conscience and, therefore, early in our service we confess our sins. As a Christian does this, they are actually breathing deeply the grace that God provides in the cross of Jesus. The assurance of forgiveness is addressed to Christians as the promise of the gospel: God’s word, delivered by God’s appointed minister, as a means of strengthening faith.

Tithes and offerings
Our giving is an acknowledgement that God is our Provider and that our ability to create wealth comes only from Him. Like other provisions from this Provider (time, energy, skills, etc.), Christians worship Him by bringing the first or the tithe, of our increase to Him.

Prayers
There are a number of prayers in our Sunday service. The ‘prayers of the people’ is designed to help us bring our requests to God as a congregation. In this prayer, we lay our cares before God because He is our Good Shepherd. The ‘prayer for illumination’ before the sermon recognizes our need for the Holy Spirit to help us see and understand His word, being convicted of its truth. After the sermon, the ‘prayer of application’ asks the Spirit to use God’s word to renew our hearts throughout the week. We pray before the communion meal to set aside the bread and the wine for God’s special use in worship.

Sermon
God has chosen to work in the lives of His people by using His written and preached words. Preaching was the primary activity of Jesus and the apostles. The Scripture says preaching is a “foolish” means to convince and convert people, but that God has chosen this “weak” means to ensure that we give Him credit for changing lives rather than crediting the eloquence or personality or creativity of a minister.

Benediction
The Benediction dismisses us in the name of the Lord, assuring those who live in faith that the power and presence of God will accompany them. While a prayer is something offered to God, a benediction is received from God (hence, our benedictions come from the Bible). Therefore, the way we receive the benediction is with our heads lifted (you may notice that some in the congregation stand with their hand out, palms facing upward, as a reminder that they are receiving God’s word).