Worship
Worship Time and Location
At New Covenant we believe that worship is one of the most significant things we are called to do together as the church in the world. The Christian mission in the world includes evangelism, discipleship and worship. The goal of bearing witness to our Lord Jesus Christ in the world is that men, women, boys and girls will come to a saving knowledge of Him and will become His worshipers. To that end, we earnestly want to know God and how He wants to be worshiped. We believe that the term worship should be used with reference to the totality of the service we render as we gather to ascribe to God for the glory due His name–and not simply to the time of singing. As we search the Scriptures we find the following elements: Prayers, Singing, Reading of God’s word, Preaching of God’s word, Confession of sin, Confessions of faith, Assurance of Pardon, Giving, and the Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper). In our desire to consistently apply these elements of Scriptural worship to our church in the most robust way, we use the following order of worship in our service:
Call to Worship – The Call to Worship is generally a few verses out of the Psalms in which the people of God are called into the presence of God, and are exhorted to give to the Lord the glory due to His name.
Prayer of Invocation- The Prayer of Invocation is a short prayer in which the minister calls upon God to be present with the gathered assembly, and to accomplish His purposes through the worship service.
The Gloria Patri - A short Trinitarian praise chorus.
Psalm/Hymn of Praise – We begin our services with a Psalm or a Hymn of Praise that directs our worship to our high and exalted God.
Reading of the Law of God - We read a portion of God’s Law out of the Old or New Testament to remind us of God’s revealed will, and to show us–who are sinners–our continual need for the Savior.
Confession of Sin – We observe a time of silent confession of sin after the reading of the Law–acknowledging the ways that we have transgressed that Law.
Assurance of Pardon - The pronouncement of the Gospel, and the assurance of full pardon of sin for those who are repenting of their sins and trusting in the Savior.
Confession/Affirmation of Faith – We generally use the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed or some portion of our Reformed Confessions.
Old Testament Reading – We read through a book of the Bible, one chapter at a time. (if preaching from the NT we would read from the OT, or if from the OT we would read from the NT). This is also called Lectio Continua Reading of Scripture.
Prayer for the Church and the World – A Pastoral Prayer for the congregation, other local churches, for our denomination, serminaries, missionaries, country, etc.
Doxology- A short hymn of praise to God for all our blessings and possessions. We sing this prior to giving back to the Lord our tithes and offerings.
Giving of Tithes and Offerings - We believe, according to 1 Cor. 16:1, that it is an essential part of our worship to give back to the Lord as He has
Sermon Text - The Reading of the text of Scripture upon which the sermon is based.
Sermon – We are committed to textual, expository, Christ-centered preaching. It is our practice to preach through a book of the Bible text by text.
Lord’s Supper – We observe the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper every week. We believe that it is a means of grace, and as such should be celebrated as often as possible.
Benediction – The Benediction is the covenantal blessing that God pronounces on the congregation–through the minister–at the end of the service. Our benedictions generally come from one of the following portions of Scripture: Numbers 6:24-26; Romans 15:13; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 13:20-21; and 2 Peter 1:2