What to expect at worship
Christ for us
The center of the Scriptures is what God has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us in Christ. Every time we gather, Christ for us is the center of our worship.
Liturgy
Living Hope is a liturgical church. That means…
The congregation is more than the pastor’s audience. The pastor leads worship; the congregation participates in worship.
Our services follow the basic outline the Christian has been using for many centuries.
We follow a three-year calendar of Scripture lessons. The fancy word is lectionary. Each year these lessons present the chief teachings of the Christian faith.
Singing
Christians have taught and caught God’s truth through singing since the very beginning. Each Sunday we sing three or four hymns. Some were written in the fourth century, others in the 21st. We also sing psalms and songs of the liturgy.
Don’t worry if you can’t hold a tune. Many of us can’t either. There won’t be a spotlight on you. If you’d prefer, you can just sit back and listen.
All ages
Sunday worship is our family reunion. It is the one weekly activity where we don’t divide into groups according to age or interest. We worship together.
We’re used to the sounds that little ones make. And we love it. Like Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.”
Children soak up more than we often give them credit for. Don’t be surprised to hear a three-year-old singing along with the liturgy or answering a rhetorical question during the sermon!
Thoughtful preaching
We want our pastor to give high priority to his Sunday sermon—and he does. He wrestles with one of the appointed Scripture lessons in its original language, lets it speak to his heart, and then preaches it to yours.
Expect an engaging, Christ-centered exposition and application of a Scripture reading. The average sermon is twenty minutes.
You might think that the pastor has been listening in on your life. That’s simply evidence that the Bible speaks to our greatest needs and that the pastor isn’t so different from the rest of us.
Excellence
Sunday worship is the highlight of our congregation’s week. We give it our best.
The pastor carefully prepares the sermon. Our choir and soloists work hard to introduce new musical settings to the congregation and support its singing.
The goal of it all is that God’s Spirit may work through his word, spoken and sung, and everyone may leave church with this joy: “Mine is a God who saves!”