Liturgy: A Work of the People (pt. 1)

“Church meetings should not be regarded simply as a means to an end – a preparation for worship and witness in everyday life – but as ‘the focus-point of that whole wider worship which is the continually repeated self-surrender of the Christian in obedience of life.” David Peterson (Engaging with God)

At The Oaks, we hold our Sunday gatherings in high regard. This is an important time where believers can come together to worship God with one voice, where we are reminded of the hope we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ and where we can once again redirect our worship toward the one true God.  The question is, “How do we do this well?” How do we determine what practices should be included in our corporate gatherings?  Methodology continues to be a controversial subject in the Church because the Bible simply does not give us detailed instructions as to how we are to shape our corporate gatherings. “When the Bible calls us to sing God’s praises, we are not given the tunes or the rhythm. We are not told how repetitive the lyrics are to be or how emotionally intense the singing should be. When we are commanded to pray corporate prayers, we are not told whether those prayers should be written, unison prayers or extemporary. So to give any concrete form to our gathered worship, we must ‘fill in the blanks’ that the Bible leaves open. When we do so, we will have to draw on tradition; on the needs, capacities, and cultural sensibilities of our people; and on our own personal preferences. ” - Tim Keller (Worship By The Book)

Over a series of articles, we hope to explain our worship methods and practices - why we do what we do. Specifically, we will look at our liturgy and how we structure our services.

Over the past few year, many churches in contemporary evangelical Christianity have begun to look at their practices in corporate worship; specifically the use of liturgy in corporate worship. Many others still don’t know what it means or how it would be relevant in their Sunday gatherings. Regardless, most of these churches would probably consider themselves a non-liturgical church. In the purest sense though, any church that has an order of presentation and a way for the congregation to participate can be considered liturgical. Liturgy comes from the Greek word, “Leitourgia” and is literally translated: “the work of people.” When we assemble as a body of believers, our “liturgy” is the work that we do together. In Ancient Greece, before the birth of Jesus, this word referred to the work done by citizens of a community, for the community. Understanding liturgy in this way raises several question for the church:

I. What are our goals for our Sunday gatherings?
II. What has history and tradition taught us about liturgy?
III. What liturgical elements should be included in our corporate worship at The Oaks

Roger Scruton, a well-known British philosopher, suggests that corporate worship is one of the most important indicators of what a church really believes about God. He said, “If you want to know what a people really believe about God, don’t spend time reading their theologians, watch them worship. Listen to what they sing. Listen to what they say. Listen to how they pray. Then you will know what they believe about this God whom they worship.” Our liturgy at our Sunday gatherings will hopefully always reveal our love for God and his glory, our confidence in the gospel of Jesus, and our passion for changed lives through prayer, community and God’s word. Over the next few week we will explore this topic of liturgy and answer some of the common questions that usually accompany such a discussion.