Liturgy: Shaped by Shaped Worship
“Liturgy” is a word that comes from the Greek λειτουργία — “λεώς” meaning “people,” and “ἔργον” meaning “work.” From its biblical and historical use, “liturgy” has come to refer to the shape that our worship takes, whether in public (historically) or private (more recently). Just as the priests of old would work in the temple, offering sacrifices of thanksgiving and leading the people in praise, so God’s people still “work” in the house of the Lord. In other words, “liturgy” gestures toward our shaped worship.
All people are worshipers. We acknowledge that the one worthy object of our worship is God, the Creator of the universe and the Savior of the world — God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Bible teaches that we become like what we worship:
Their [the nations’] idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
(Psalm 115:4–8, ESV)
And so our Liturgy is shaped worship — careful, ordered, structured — because we understand that worship shapes us.
The shape of our public, gathered worship at Christ Church follows a pattern set forth perhaps most clearly in Isaiah 6. In this passage, Isaiah has a vision of God (Isaiah 6:1). He looks up at God in his splendor with the angels crying, “Holy, holy, holy” (6:3). He looks down in humble confession at his own comparative lack of holiness (6:5). The Lord lifts his head up again in forgiveness and atonement, as the angel touches the very place of his sin with a coal from the altar (6:6–7), and then God sends him out on mission, to proclaim the message of God to the nations (6:8ff). Up, down, up, and out.
Our worship services are organized along these lines, falling into four sections:
The Glory of God (up)
The Gravity of Sin (down)
The Grandeur of Grace (up)
The Grace for Mission (out)
The Glory of God
We always start our services with singing the Doxology. By singing together this old song of the saints, we proclaim to God and to each other the Glory of God, and we give him praise for who he is: the God “from whom all blessings flow.”
We then move into a “Call to Worship.” Usually the Pastor reads a passage of Scripture which proclaims the worthiness of God as the object of our worship, and blesses the people with “The Lord be with you!” We all respond together, “and with your spirit,” and the Pastor then calls us to proceed with worshiping God.
More than a mere formality, this Call to Worship is an important part of our service. It serves as a point of re-orientation. In this moment each Sunday we effectively say to ourselves and to each other, “Whatever cares and failures I have carried on my shoulders this last week — ultimate reality is not about success or strength, it’s about God Almighty. I’m turning my attention to him!”
We then proceed to sing God’s praises for his glory with doctrinally-sound and theologically-rich “songs, hymns, and spiritual songs.”
The Gravity of Sin
Once we have gazed upon the holiness of God through Scripture and praise, we turn to a moment of confessing our own sins and failures. We may shine brightly as humans, but no light bulb is bright when compared to the sun. The praise and adoration of God is like sun-gazing.
Sometimes this confession is a moment of silent, personal confession before God. Sometimes the Pastor will pray on behalf of the people, confessing the sins of the people. And sometimes we will sing or read a song or prayer of corporate confession together. It may follow something like this historic prayer, from the Book of Common Prayer:
“Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.”
Sometimes the sermon text will fall into this Liturgical moment, when the passage being preached leans into the gravity of sin. But no matter how long we linger in “looking down,” the Lord will always lift our head in forgiveness through the gospel of Jesus!
The Grandeur of Grace
Grace is only appreciated as grandeur after understanding the gravity of sin. And in the gospel of Jesus Christ grace is shown as grand, indeed! For sinners such as us to be washed clean by the blood of Christ and to stand with heads lifted high in the presence of a Holy God — what a kingly gift! Usually this Liturgical moment will begin with another song of praise for the free forgiveness we have in Jesus Christ, or else with a gospel-centered sermon.
No Christian who has confessed sin should go without assurance of pardon and forgiveness through the blood of Christ! So we eagerly press into this moment, knowing that no matter how far we have strayed from God, Jesus is our all-sufficient sacrifice. No penance is needed to see the smile of God; only faith in Jesus, who died and gave himself for us!
After we have heard and received the gospel through preaching and prayer, we move into Holy Communion — which is always in the “Grandeur of Grace,” since that is what it’s all about! In the Lord’s Supper, we receive a visible, edible sermon to preach to our very souls the grace of Jesus. And we proclaim — to ourselves, and to each other — the Lord’s death, until he comes again. We do it “in remembrance” of him. In other words, since we are united to Christ by the Spirit, through faith, then his memory becomes ours, and we enact the fact that our identity is now “in Christ.” Our past doesn’t shape our future; Jesus’ past shapes our future. Grandeur of grace, indeed!
The Grace for Mission
If we are live out the truth that Christ is our life, then we will go and do the works that Jesus does, and seek to follow the will of the Father. After he had risen, Jesus said,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV)
We have work to do! And we are given the grace of the very presence and power of Jesus, by his Spirit, to see it through. So all of our community-building activities — whether it’s shared meals, seminars, Bible studies, home groups, yard sales, etc. — are carried out in and by the grace of Jesus.
In this Liturgical moment we will pray, share whatever news we need to about the upcoming activities of this local church, hear from church plants and missionaries that we love and support, and we put our money to use for God’s mission by giving to support the work of God in the local church.
Each service ends with a Benediction — literally, a “good word.” A benediction is not a prayer. It doesn’t begin with “May,” such as “May the Lord bless you.” Following the clear teaching and patterns of Holy Scripture, the Pastor will simply bless you, under the powerful authority of God through his word. When we receive the Aaronic Blessing, for instance, the Pastor is not saying “I hope the Lord blesses you…” No, he is saying, “If you will receive this by faith in the Son of God, the Lord will bless you.”
That is why most of us lift our hands to receive the Benediction. It is a physical gesture, an act of posture, which reflects the inward reality of one who receives.
The Lord said of the priests in Numbers 6:24–27,
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Credit is due to Zac Hicks, whose teaching in seminary and whose book helped shaped my understanding of worship; to Pastor Ken Lippold, who helped me see the “up, down, up, out” shape of Isaiah 6; and to Nathan Merrick, our resident “Liturgist,” without whom I would be pulling out whatever hair I have left each Sunday.
