But Why?
Why was one of those words that my parents were tortured with as well as my teachers and lately my collage professors and supervising ministers. when I was a child it was a question that would be asked about almost everything. When I wasn't satisfied with the answer I would add the word but, so it would become "But why?" and if I still wasn't satisfied with the answer I'd ask it again, "But why? over and over again until often I was told "just because" or told to "go away" or something that really didn't answer the question like "well why do you think". I like to know the reason why. For those of you who are part of Lissara you will know that every September though to December after the announcements and before the Call to Worship I try to explain biblically the reason why we do what we do in worship because we believe that… ‘the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture’. (WCF XXI.1)
If you are anything like me you grew up never really understanding why our worship is the way it is and no-one ever explained it. We have spent countless Lord's days meeting together to worship and why we do what we do in worship is not something that we may have really thought about. Understanding what we do will help us in our understanding of how we engage with the Living God. Believe it or not worship is not our idea. We worship because it is God’s idea. The word worship, “worth-ship” means to attribute worth, we in worship attribute worth to God. Jesus himself makes the way for us to do so, we do not invite God to be present, nor do we have to impress him by how good the singing is or any other part of the service. My hope is that this section of the website will be updated over time to help us to understand 'Why We Do What We Do In Worship'.
Below you will read a helpful article written about the Call to Worship and Benediction by Robert McCollum who is an RP minister in Lisburn and has kindly given his permission for me to republish it on our website.
If you are anything like me you grew up never really understanding why our worship is the way it is and no-one ever explained it. We have spent countless Lord's days meeting together to worship and why we do what we do in worship is not something that we may have really thought about. Understanding what we do will help us in our understanding of how we engage with the Living God. Believe it or not worship is not our idea. We worship because it is God’s idea. The word worship, “worth-ship” means to attribute worth, we in worship attribute worth to God. Jesus himself makes the way for us to do so, we do not invite God to be present, nor do we have to impress him by how good the singing is or any other part of the service. My hope is that this section of the website will be updated over time to help us to understand 'Why We Do What We Do In Worship'.
Below you will read a helpful article written about the Call to Worship and Benediction by Robert McCollum who is an RP minister in Lisburn and has kindly given his permission for me to republish it on our website.
The Call to Worship and Benediction
By Robert McCollum
Whether we're taking a flight, sitting down for a three-course meal or listening to musical symphony, we all know and appreciate the value of things beginning and ending well. It should be the same in our services of worship. We don't use what some would call a traditional, set liturgy (responsive readings, prayer books, recitations of creeds etc.). Yet, when the people of God gather for corporate worship, our services shouldn't be haphazard or confusing; they should be conducted "decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). There should be a logical flow taking the congregation from one element of worship to the next. In this article, we want to focus on the beginning and the end of the service, otherwise known as the Call to Worship and the Benediction.
The Call to Worship
A worship service begins when the minister summons the assembly to worship God. Historically, this moment is described as the 'Call to Worship' (the Westminster Directory for the Public Worship of God, published in 1644, references "the minister's solemn call for the people to worship God"). There will typically be some kind of invitation extended to come and worship God. Sometimes it will be incorporated into the words of the opening Psalm; other times it will be clearly stated along the lines of, "Our Call to Worship today comes from...". In either case, the Call serves to make a clear transition from the service preamble (the welcome, announcements etc.) to the commencement of corporate worship.
A Call to Worship is, in essence, the reading of a fitting text from God's Word. As such it should be understood as God himself summoning, inviting and even commanding his gathered people to worship. When we come to the moment of worship, God speaks first. That is highly appropriate, since worship is a covenantal act between us and the Triune God. Just as he first condescended towards us in salvation, so he is the first mover in our worship. He is the one graciously inviting us into his presence.
Hebrews 12:22 ff. is helpful on this point. There, the writer reminds us that in worship we come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in Heaven, and to God, the judge of all... and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant... To worship God is to approach the throne-room of Heaven; we can only do so if we are invited. This would seem to run contrary to the recent practice of some evangelicals who will 'invite God to be with us as we worship. We would hardly invite a king to be present with us if we entered into his throne-room; the king does the inviting! It is in response to God's gracious invitation, through the Lord Jesus, that we come. Consequently, we should love to hear the Call to Worship.
As I write, I am sitting in my study in the Lisburn manse. One of the favourite moments of my day is when Emma sends one of our children to call me to come to the kitchen for food, "Daddy, dinner's ready!" In a far greater way, the Call to Worship can be thought of as God calling us, through his appointed messengers, to come and feast at his table. "The table is prepared, everything is ready; come!”
The Call to Worship is a call to lay aside our personal agendas, to realise where we are and what we're doing. to focus our attention on the unseen God, and to yield to him our full attention. No matter what kind of week we have had, no matter how tired we may be, in the face of all our competing, concerning thoughts, the Call to Worship jolts us back into reality. As we hear it, we once again remember, "Yes, this is who I am; this is why I'm here; this is what I'm called to do!”
The Benediction
It is perhaps helpful to consider firstly what the Benediction is not. It is not the cue to pack up your stuff to make a quick exit, or to start thinking about your lunch; it isn't the spiritual equivalent of the credits of a movie, where you just switch off and disengage. Nor is it the minister's farewell or closing prayer. Indeed, it is not even the minister speaking - rather, God is speaking once again. The service began with God's words and it ends with his words.
The word benediction comes from the Latin word for good word or good saying. Benedictions appear in most of the letters of the New Testament and were pronounced by the priests in the Old Testament. The Church has continued this practice of concluding worship by pronouncing God's blessing upon his people.The Westminster Assembly’s Directory for the Public Worship of God prescribes that the minister "dismiss the congregation with a solemn blessing". It is a glorious privilege for those in pastoral ministry to pronounce the Benediction week after week. Indeed, it is one of a minister's very first acts after being ordained to the Gospel Ministry.
The Benediction isn't a mystical performance in which the pastor invokes his own authority to bless the people; rather, he stands before the congregation and pronounces upon them a blessing from the Lord. That's why the Benediction is typically taken directly from a passage of Scripture, so that the pastor is simply speaking God's words of blessing. That's also the reason why most ministers lift their hands while giving the Benediction: not as a mindless tradition, but to visibly portray the conveyance of the blessing of God, following the pattern of Leviticus 9:22 and Luke 24:50-51.
The Benediction is therefore not a prayer, but an authorised statement of intent from God through the mouth of his ministers. Thus, something glorious is happening in the Benediction. It sends us out from the place of worship with the blessing of God and the assurance of his covenant promises upon us, that he will never leave us nor forsake us, that we are Christ's and that we will be Christ's forever. The words are meant to linger in our hearts and minds. We may experience trials and difficulties in the incoming week, but we are covenant children living underneath the umbrella of covenant blessings. We ought to treasure and love the Benediction.
Consider opening your eyes and lifting your head to eagerly receive it. Seek to teach, by example, the next generation to value and appreciate it. Even if all you "get out of the service" is the Benediction, you are still "getting" an awful lot. Every time you receive it, you are receiving the very things you need for life: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). Just before you get ready to clean up the Cheerios your children have spilled all over the pew and enter the world once again, God's final word to you is a reminder of his intent to bless you. Don't miss it!
Conclusion
With the Call to Worship and Benediction, our worship services are beautifully bookended, beginning when God calls us, and ending when he sends us out with his blessing. Since he is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), having the first and the last word in our lives, why would we want our worship to be any different?
The above was written by Robert McCollum and is reproduced with his permission and edited. First published in Covenanter Witness magazine.
Whether we're taking a flight, sitting down for a three-course meal or listening to musical symphony, we all know and appreciate the value of things beginning and ending well. It should be the same in our services of worship. We don't use what some would call a traditional, set liturgy (responsive readings, prayer books, recitations of creeds etc.). Yet, when the people of God gather for corporate worship, our services shouldn't be haphazard or confusing; they should be conducted "decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). There should be a logical flow taking the congregation from one element of worship to the next. In this article, we want to focus on the beginning and the end of the service, otherwise known as the Call to Worship and the Benediction.
The Call to Worship
A worship service begins when the minister summons the assembly to worship God. Historically, this moment is described as the 'Call to Worship' (the Westminster Directory for the Public Worship of God, published in 1644, references "the minister's solemn call for the people to worship God"). There will typically be some kind of invitation extended to come and worship God. Sometimes it will be incorporated into the words of the opening Psalm; other times it will be clearly stated along the lines of, "Our Call to Worship today comes from...". In either case, the Call serves to make a clear transition from the service preamble (the welcome, announcements etc.) to the commencement of corporate worship.
A Call to Worship is, in essence, the reading of a fitting text from God's Word. As such it should be understood as God himself summoning, inviting and even commanding his gathered people to worship. When we come to the moment of worship, God speaks first. That is highly appropriate, since worship is a covenantal act between us and the Triune God. Just as he first condescended towards us in salvation, so he is the first mover in our worship. He is the one graciously inviting us into his presence.
Hebrews 12:22 ff. is helpful on this point. There, the writer reminds us that in worship we come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in Heaven, and to God, the judge of all... and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant... To worship God is to approach the throne-room of Heaven; we can only do so if we are invited. This would seem to run contrary to the recent practice of some evangelicals who will 'invite God to be with us as we worship. We would hardly invite a king to be present with us if we entered into his throne-room; the king does the inviting! It is in response to God's gracious invitation, through the Lord Jesus, that we come. Consequently, we should love to hear the Call to Worship.
As I write, I am sitting in my study in the Lisburn manse. One of the favourite moments of my day is when Emma sends one of our children to call me to come to the kitchen for food, "Daddy, dinner's ready!" In a far greater way, the Call to Worship can be thought of as God calling us, through his appointed messengers, to come and feast at his table. "The table is prepared, everything is ready; come!”
The Call to Worship is a call to lay aside our personal agendas, to realise where we are and what we're doing. to focus our attention on the unseen God, and to yield to him our full attention. No matter what kind of week we have had, no matter how tired we may be, in the face of all our competing, concerning thoughts, the Call to Worship jolts us back into reality. As we hear it, we once again remember, "Yes, this is who I am; this is why I'm here; this is what I'm called to do!”
The Benediction
It is perhaps helpful to consider firstly what the Benediction is not. It is not the cue to pack up your stuff to make a quick exit, or to start thinking about your lunch; it isn't the spiritual equivalent of the credits of a movie, where you just switch off and disengage. Nor is it the minister's farewell or closing prayer. Indeed, it is not even the minister speaking - rather, God is speaking once again. The service began with God's words and it ends with his words.
The word benediction comes from the Latin word for good word or good saying. Benedictions appear in most of the letters of the New Testament and were pronounced by the priests in the Old Testament. The Church has continued this practice of concluding worship by pronouncing God's blessing upon his people.The Westminster Assembly’s Directory for the Public Worship of God prescribes that the minister "dismiss the congregation with a solemn blessing". It is a glorious privilege for those in pastoral ministry to pronounce the Benediction week after week. Indeed, it is one of a minister's very first acts after being ordained to the Gospel Ministry.
The Benediction isn't a mystical performance in which the pastor invokes his own authority to bless the people; rather, he stands before the congregation and pronounces upon them a blessing from the Lord. That's why the Benediction is typically taken directly from a passage of Scripture, so that the pastor is simply speaking God's words of blessing. That's also the reason why most ministers lift their hands while giving the Benediction: not as a mindless tradition, but to visibly portray the conveyance of the blessing of God, following the pattern of Leviticus 9:22 and Luke 24:50-51.
The Benediction is therefore not a prayer, but an authorised statement of intent from God through the mouth of his ministers. Thus, something glorious is happening in the Benediction. It sends us out from the place of worship with the blessing of God and the assurance of his covenant promises upon us, that he will never leave us nor forsake us, that we are Christ's and that we will be Christ's forever. The words are meant to linger in our hearts and minds. We may experience trials and difficulties in the incoming week, but we are covenant children living underneath the umbrella of covenant blessings. We ought to treasure and love the Benediction.
Consider opening your eyes and lifting your head to eagerly receive it. Seek to teach, by example, the next generation to value and appreciate it. Even if all you "get out of the service" is the Benediction, you are still "getting" an awful lot. Every time you receive it, you are receiving the very things you need for life: the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). Just before you get ready to clean up the Cheerios your children have spilled all over the pew and enter the world once again, God's final word to you is a reminder of his intent to bless you. Don't miss it!
Conclusion
With the Call to Worship and Benediction, our worship services are beautifully bookended, beginning when God calls us, and ending when he sends us out with his blessing. Since he is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), having the first and the last word in our lives, why would we want our worship to be any different?
The above was written by Robert McCollum and is reproduced with his permission and edited. First published in Covenanter Witness magazine.