Presbyterian Worship Questions

David Gambrell

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780664263973
• eBook ISBN: 9781611649345
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

Presbyterian worship is known for its balance between form and freedom, seeking to be faithful to the leading of God's Word and open to the movement of God's spirit. For those who plan, lead, and participate in worship, living within this tension can be a creative challenge, one that poses many questions for our liturgical theology and practice.

Presbyterian Worship Questions and Answers draws on the author's scholarly insights, pastoral instincts, and decade of experience in the Presbyterian denomination's Office of Theology and Worship to provide accessible answers to the questions people frequently ask about Presbyterian worship along with a few we ought to ask more frequently. From the philosophicalâ€"What is worship and what does it have to do with real life?â€"to the practicalâ€"Why is there a pink candle and when do we light it?â€" Presbyterian Worship Questions and Answers seeks to shed new light on the meaning and mystery of worship in the Reformed tradition.

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Worship Basics

1	What is worship?

The word worship comes from an Old English root: “worth-ship.” It suggests something or someone worthy of honor, glory, and praise. As a noun, worship can mean an act of reverence, a religious practice, or a feeling of respect. It is, in ordinary and universal use, a sign of worth.

But for Christians, it might be better to think of worship as a verb. To worship is to love the one who first loved us. To worship is to bless the one from whom all blessings flow. To worship is to show our gratitude for God’s amazing grace. To worship is to give your life to the giver of life.

For Christians, worship is a Trinitarian event. Our worship is always directed to God, through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. This is why many of our prayers and hymns end with some version of this Trinitarian doxology (expression of praise). The holy, triune God is the only one worthy of our worship. Jesus is our model and mediator, the one who shows us what true worship is and the one through whose grace we stand in God’s presence. The Holy Spirit reveals God’s gracious word and action and empowers our grateful response.

For Christians, worship and service are two sides of the same coin. In fact, in biblical Hebrew, “worship” and “serve” are two meanings of the same word, ‘abad (see Exod. 8:1, e.g.). The word liturgy comes from the Greek term leitourgia, meaning “work of the people” or “public service” (see Heb. 8:6). There should be no contradiction between our Sunday worship of God and our daily service of God. Our words and actions in the sanctuary are always connected with what we say and do in the street. As we are called to show our love to God in worship, so we are called to show God’s love to our neighbors in the world.

Therefore, to worship means to lead a life worth living—a life that honors the giver of our life and makes a positive difference in the lives of others. In short, it’s the only thing worth doing.

2	Why do we worship?

We worship to glorify and enjoy God (see the introduction). The purpose of worship is to give blessing and honor and praise and thanksgiving to God. In good times and in bad, in joy and in sorrow, we glorify the giver of our life. Even—or especially—when we’re not enjoying life very much, through the worship of God we experience the deep promise and joy of life restored and made new in Christ. We worship God because God is God. We worship because God is.

But let me tell you a secret. There are other good things that happen when we worship God. You might think of them as positive side effects or fringe benefits, overflowing from the gracious abundance of God.

Worship builds relationships and forms community. When we gather in God’s presence, we draw closer to one another in the body of Christ. Worship teaches faith and shapes discipleship. When we hear God’s word, we learn and grow as believers and followers of Christ. Worship feeds our souls and fills our hearts. When we enjoy Communion with Christ, we are nourished by the grace of God. Worship inspires action and equips for service. When we are sent out in Jesus’ name, we go forth to show God’s righteousness, justice, and mercy to others.

We have to be very careful that we never mistake these side effects or fringe benefits for the main thing: giving glory to God. When building relationships and forming community become the main thing, worship becomes a social club. When teaching faith and shaping discipleship become the main thing, worship becomes a school. When feeding souls and filling hearts become the main thing, worship becomes a museum or concert. When inspiring action and equipping for service become the main thing, worship becomes a political rally.

So we keep returning to the main thing, the real purpose of worship: to glorify and enjoy the holy, triune God—made known to us in Scripture, made present by the Holy Spirit, and made flesh in Jesus Christ. This is our lighthouse, our landmark. As long as worship is God-directed, God will keep us in faithful paths and pour out the blessings of deep relationships, strong faith, abiding wonder, and inspired service.

3	Do Christians really have to go to worship?

Why do we need to attend worship services? Isn’t what we believe and how we live more important? In fact, what we believe, how we worship, and how we live are deeply and inextricably connected. Like a three-legged stool, if any of these elements is missing, we lose our balance, and the life of discipleship cannot be supported or sustained.

Early Christians knew this very well. In the fourth century, those who wanted to join the church were expected to memorize the Apostles’ Creed (what we believe), the Lord’s Prayer (how we pray or worship), and the Ten Commandments (how we live). The sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers also understood this. They wrote catechisms around those same core texts, with questions and answers to elaborate on their implications for Christian faith, Christian worship, and Christian life.

These three aspects of Christian formation may also be connected with the distinguishing marks of the church in the Reformed tradition. John Calvin said that the true church is found where the Word of God (what we believe) is preached and heard and where the sacraments are celebrated (how we worship) according to Christ’s institution. The Scots Confession added a third note—ecclesiastical discipline (how we live) uprightly administered.

There remains in the Reformed tradition a strong emphasis on common faith, corporate worship, and public life. In the Presbyterian Church, we seek the mind of Christ (what we believe) together through communal discernment in the councils of the church (as in sessions, presbyteries, and General Assemblies). We experience the saving grace of God (whom we worship) together, especially through the gifts of Word and sacrament. We strive to follow the way of the Spirit (how we live) together in our common life and witness in the world.

These days, it is common to hear people talk about church membership in terms of “believing, belonging, and behaving.” This is but a new variation on an old theme. Being a part of the body of Christ is about a common faith (believing), grounded in the Word; a common identity (belonging), forged in worship; and a common way of life (behaving), carried out in the world. Each of these things informs and influences the others as facets of the whole. None of them can stand without the others.

So yes, Christians do need worship. In fact, our faith and life depend on it. To put it another way: through worship we come to have faith in the holy, triune God—on whom our lives depend.

4	What are the essentials of Christian worship?

This is a frequently asked question—and, to be honest, one that I don’t find particularly helpful. Too often, this kind of thinking leads to a deadly combination of liturgical minimalism and legalism—a short checklist of nonnegotiables. Pretty soon someone is asking, “What can we get away with omitting?” and “What’s the least we have to do to hold a valid service of worship?” And that’s not the kind of thinking that glorifies God or edifies God’s people.

Our Directory for Worship, part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Order, offers a better way to approach the matter. Like a compass, the Directory for Worship orients us to primary things in the theology and practice of worship. (We use it together with a “map,” such as the Book of Common Worship, in order to navigate the landscape of the liturgy.) The opening chapter of the Directory for Worship provides a helpful overview of these primary things.

First, and fittingly, the Directory for Worship points to the grace and glory of the triune God (W-1.01). It emphasizes God’s initiative in worship and describes our participation as a response to God’s saving love. It underscores the church’s encounter with Jesus Christ in Word and sacrament. It shows how the Holy Spirit uses these gifts to illuminate and serve the nature and purpose of the church.

Second, the Directory for Worship explores the grand and cosmic themes of time, space, and matter (W-1.02) as they relate to Christian worship. We worship in time, devoting hours, days, and seasons to the Lord. We worship in space, setting aside particular places for an encounter with the Holy One. We worship with matter, using the good gifts of creation as signs of God’s grace and our gratitude.

Third, the Directory for Worship discusses human language, symbols, and culture (W-1.03). Christian worship relies on ordinary words to convey the wisdom and wonder of the God who is beyond our comprehension. Christian worship uses simple symbols as signs of God’s mighty and merciful work of salvation. Christian worship inhabits the challenge and complexity of human culture, just as God came to dwell among us in Jesus Christ.

As the Directory for Worship demonstrates, the real “essentials” of Christian worship are not elements of the liturgy, such as “confession and pardon,” “sermon,” “great thanksgiving,” or “blessing and charge.” The real essentials are so much bigger and more important—graceful acts of God and grateful human responses; cosmic gifts of God’s creation; living communities of faith and faithfulness. When we focus on these broader horizons, we are less likely to get lost in the weeds of minimalism and legalism. When we are oriented to these primary things, the other elements seem to fall into place.

5	What if there are some parts of worship I hate?

Christian worship was never intended to be a walk in the park, a ride on a roller coaster, or a day at the spa. There are always going to be parts of worship that...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Worship Basics
• 2. Leadership and Participation
• 3. The Order of Worship
• 4. The Word
• 5. The Sacraments
• 6. The Christian Year
• 7. Special Services
• 8. Music and Art in Worship
• 9. Worship Space
• 10. Signs and Symbols
• Glossary
• Excerpt from Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers, Revised Edition, by Donald K. McKim