Chapter One

The Sunday Morning Worship Service

I. Characteristics of the worship service

1. Introduction to the worship service

The Sunday morning worship service is the major service of the week in the church. It is designed specifically for the purpose of the worship of God. Nothing is so important as this. Man is not fit to serve God until he has first worshiped Him. Worship is man's first duty. When we worship God, we revere and honor Him, we praise and adore Him, we offer ourself and our gifts to Him, for He is worthy.

More people normally attend the Sunday morning service than any other. The believer who attends should be inspired for everyday Christian living in the office, the factory, the home, the markplace, and the school. The non-Christian who attends should be made to feel something like this: "These Christians have something I want, I want to know their God. I need Him!" For these reasons and the others the church workers can afford to devote major attention to the Sunday worship in order to make it worthy of the God who we worship and serve.

2. Characteristics of the Worship service

As the worker plans the Sunday morning worship service, there are several characteristics that he should keep in mind. Let us note them.

A. It should be unified

That is, there ought to be harmony between the various parts of the service. For example, if the sermon subject is prayer, the other parts of the service, such as the Scripture reading, the hymns, the special music and, to a certain extent, even the prayers, should be made to harmonize with the pastor's subject. This will not result in monotony if done properly. Unity and continuity will serve to leave a more lasting impression upon the worshipers than a service which is not unified.

B. It should be cooperative

The service should be so conducted that the whole congregation will take part in it. Those who sit in the pew should not be just silent listeners. They have a responsibility to worship God along with the man behind the pulpit and those who sing in the choir. Everything possible therefore should be done to gain total participation in this human obligation.

C. It should be animated

We worship a living God. He is the dispense of life that is life indeed. Therefore, the worship service should never be allowed to become dreary, dull, or perfunctory. Every part should be vibrant and meaningful, contributing to the spiritual benefit of those in attendance.

D. It should be dignified

This is does not mean that it should be unduly formal or stilted. But nothing cheap, grotesque, flippant, or offensive should have a part in this service which is to honor God. The minister should always have an attitude of reverence, remembering that he is the leader of the service of God. The word DIGNITY comes from the Latin "dignus", which means worthy, with distinction, elevation, honor, excellence, or stateliness. The Sunday morning worship service should contain those elements that are worthy of being associated with God's high and holy character.

E. It should be edifying

The singing, praying, reading of Scripture, and the preaching should all be intelligible with the intention of lifting the worshipers into the presence of God. At the conclusion of the hour of worship, the members of the congregation should be more conscious of God than when the service began.

II. Preparation of the Worship Service

The church minister should be fully prepared for his responsibilities before Sunday morning arrives. Lack of preparation will make it difficult for him to enter whole heartedly into the spirit of the occasion and to contribute to this spirit.

A. A good sleep or rest

Let the pastor retire early enough on Saturday night so that he will be refreshed for his Sunday tasks. He should never leave arduous preparation until Saturday night. If he does, His sermons are likely to suffer from immaturity. "Sleep as soundly as possible all Saturday night if you want to keep your congregation awake on Sunday." was Theodore Cuyler's admonition to ministers, and it makes good sense.

B. Preparation of content

Enough of preparation, the sermon should be well in hand, the order of the service ready, and the announcements carefully worded. He should make sure that the information on the hymn boards is correct.

C. Pray with co-worker and choir

The minister should have prayer with his co-worker and choir before going into the service. This will help both the preacher and the choir, the co-worker. It will tend to create an atmosphere of reverence and seriousness for all of them as they assume the tasks for which they are responsible.

III. Operation of the Worship Service

A suggested content for a Sunday morning service is presented here with brief remarks on the various parts. This content, of course, allows for considerable variation to suit the situation. But the writer believers that there is good reason for each of the items suggested.

1. Organ or piano prelude

This lets the congregation know that the service is about to begin. It helps to create a worshipful atmosphere.

It is the signal for everyone to get in his place, thus preparing for an auspicious and dignified beginning to the service. This prelude should last about five minutes and should merge into the main service.

2. The choir entrance

It is very fitting for the choir, after entering, to remain standing and singing prayerfully, "The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silent before Him." Or a similar refrain.

3. The doxology by the congregation

When the choir is in its place and has finished its entering hymn or refrain, it is well for the congregation to stand and join with the choir in singing doxology.

Such a beginning tends to set the tone or atmosphere for the entire service. It expresses the fact that this service is dedicated to the purpose of worship.

4. The pastor's invocation

This should be carefully worded and should be what the word implies, an invoking of God's blessing upon the service, care should be exercised by the pastor not to include too much in this prayer lest there be a duplication in the regular pastoral prayer.

Some pastors like to use a call to worship in the form of pertinent Scripture just before the invocation. Such passages as Psalms 95:1-3, 96:8-9 or 100:1-5 are often used for this purpose. This can be done with good effect providing the portion of Scripture is not too long and is carefully chosen. The passage used should direct the congregation to the privilege and responsibility of worship.

5. Congregational singing

From time to time the pastor ought to stress the importance of congregational singing. It goes without saying that care should be exercised in the choice of the hymns the congregation is asked to sing. These hymns ought to be in harmony with the main emphasis of the service, which is worship. Hymns should be chosen for correct doctrine, good poetry, and good music. This music should be singable so that the congregation will enjoy singing.

6. Responsive reading

This is one way to gain participation of the whole congregation in the experience of worship. Many folks seldom read the Word of God at other times. It is good for them to read it aloud at least in the church service.

In order to be done well, the congregation needs some instruction in reading of the Scriptures. The pastor himself should set the pace in a proper responsive effort. Such reading should not be fast or too slow.

There should be a proper observance of commas, colons, semicolons, question marks and periods. They should not be too long.

7. The Scripture lesson

By this is meant that portion of the Scripture which includes the text of sermon. Since the Scripture should be so well read that the reading becomes an interpretation of the passage, the pastor should practice reading the passage so that it will be done most effectively. It is a shame for a minister to stumble over big words or to mispronounce names. It is an evidence that he has not spent the necessary time with the Scripture passage before coming to the pulpit.

8. The pastoral prayer

Andrew Blackwood calls attention to six weaknesses often to be observed in public prayer. They are:

1/ Lack of the note of reality.

2/ Lack of proper purpose.

3/ Lack of proper subject matter.

4/ Weakness of structure.

5/ Unfortunate style.

6/ Undue familiarity in the use of the Lord's titles.

Let the pastor study his public praying to see how he can improve this ministry, when he stands to voice the supplications for the whole congregation, he has no right to do it in a haphazard manner.

9. Announcement time

Doubtless it will always be necessary to make certain announcements from the pulpit. However, unnecessary ones should be eliminated. Let the bulletin carry those announcements that pertain only to certain groups in the church. The time of the entire congregation should not be taken up by presenting matters that concern just few people.

The announcement time should be kept as brief as possible lest attention be diverted from the main purpose of the service. Ten minutes is too long for announcements. If the pastor will train his congregation to read the bulletin carefully, he will rarely need to make public announcement.

10. The ministry of giving

This part of the service should be considered a definite part of the total worship experience. Apologies should never be offered for receiving and offering. The offering should be received in a dignified manner, attended by a fitting offertory played on the organ or piano. Prayer for God's blessing upon the offering may be made either before or after it is taken, as best suits the individual pastor or congregation.

11. Special music

This is a matter of importance and one that needs careful direction. It is better to have no so-called "special" music than music which does not fit or which is poorly rendered. Message in song by the choir, a quartet, a duet, or individuals can be very effective just before the sermon or at other places in the program.

12. The sermon

The evangelical church should stress the preached Word. Men are still saved by preaching. By it they are built up in the Christian life and challenged to devoted service.

The sermon should not be too long. Nor should it be so short as to merit being called a sermonette. Usually thirty minutes is a good length for the regular Sunday morning sermon. The minister can say what needs to be said in that length of time if he is well prepared.

People can concentrate for only a limited period on one particular trend of thought. If the minister wishes to hold his congregation week after week, he had better not preach too long.

13. The closing moment

The moments following the sermon are exceedingly important. It may includes the following items.

1/ Invitation.

2/ Dedication.

3/ Benediction.

The organ or piano should continue playing for a short time following the benediction. This will tend to allay the congregation too often witnessed at the conclusion of worship services and to continue the worshipful atmosphere.

The congregation should leave the church assured that it has been in the presence of God. A holy hush should have settled down upon the people during the service and ought not to be allowed to depart too quickly. God's people should go forth better fortified to meet the varied experiences that life brings from day to day.

IV. Suggestions to Worship Service

In order to have that service attain its highest purpose we offer the following suggestions, especially for the Lutheran church.

1. Wherever at all possible have a churchly sanctuary. Let the church building, the furniture, and especially the chancel furniture and arrangement, be churchly. See that everything reflects the beauty of holiness and invites to reverence.

2. Do not force the service on an unwilling congregation, but rather introduce service gradually. Prepare congregation for it by public and private instruction.

3. Let every service be in conformity with the spirit and thought of the season of the church year.

4. Be careful of your conduct after the service is ended.

It is well for the pastor to greet strangers at the door and invite them to come again. But this should not be done with the robe on. To avoid this, have the doxology sung after the benediction is pronounced, during the singing the minister can quietly lay off his robe and go to the door.