Planning—For years I met on Thursdays with my executive pastor, part-time minister of music, and a spiritually and aesthetically minded member of the congregation to plan corporate services. After prayer, the first part of our time was spent evaluating the previous Sunday. Next we planned future services, and then we gave attention to any loose ends for the coming Sunday. This hands-on approach was for me an education in itself.
Now that we employ a full-time minister of music, the burden has shifted to his capable shoulders. His practice is to study the upcoming texts on his own to discover their themes or “melodic lines” (he consults me only if necessary) and then to mold the order of corporate worship around the biblical text. Weekly evaluation takes place first in the staff meeting and then by ourselves in a brief meeting.
In addition to keeping an eye on the six distinctives of worship, special attention is given to planning services that are unified around the biblical text from beginning to end. The services are characterized by creative excellence and joyous warmth. Generally, the congregation is unaware of the depth of unity as it worships. We like it this way. Self-conscious “unity” can be strained and distracting.
We vary the order of corporate worship from time to time. Below are two examples, listed side-by-side for comparison:
Here we will confine our comments to the principle aspects of these services.
Pre-service—The entire pastoral staff and participants meet thirty minutes before the first service to go over the corporate worship folder and pray. All staff attend the meeting whether or not they have an upfront part in the service. Details completed, mention is regularly made about ourselves authentically engaging in worship as we lead it. For example, we must sing the hymns with our minds and hearts engaged, rather than thinking of our next duty. This goes for everything: the choir anthems, the prayers, the reading of Scripture, even listening to the announcements. We have a saying at College Church: “Our people will become in macrocosm what we are in microcosm.” Our individual and corporate ethos must be one of engagement and authenticity if we are to expect our people to adopt the same stance.
Often we all sense ourselves buoyed and sustained for the day as we conclude our pre-service meeting in prayer. After prayer, we disperse to rotating spots in the congregation to greet our people during the prelude. We have found this as beneficial as greeting after services because it enhances our congregation’s sense of warmth and connectedness before a time of corporate worship that is largely vertical. After the benediction many people are in a rush to get to classes or pick up children, but they are much more relaxed when gathering for corporate worship. Also we are able to greet people who, for various reasons, exit around us.
Welcome and Silence—Announcements are made at the time of welcome, and as every pastor knows, they are notorious time consumers. They go best when we insist that they be written out and timed—not to be read, of course, but so that they may be given with a relaxed economy. We plan them in terms of seconds, not minutes. Generally, they all can be done in less than two minutes.
After the welcome we ask the congregation to bow in silent preparation for corporate worship. The time is brief, perhaps ten seconds, but it helps us “center down” (as the Quakers say). My experience is that many in the Free Church tradition are afraid of silence. One very dear retired pastor in my congregation (now deceased) would say, “Pastor, can’t we have the organ play during those silent times?” He even asked that I have the organ play while I prayed! No, we need times of silence—to listen and think. We carefully work silence into our meetings, before and after prayer. And when serving communion we will sometimes serve the bread or the cup in several minutes of silence.
Apostles’ Creed—You will note that the congregation weekly affirms the Apostles’ Creed. Often it is in answer to the ringing question “Christian, what do you believe?”—“I believe…” We employ the Creed for three reasons: (a) to affirm weekly the essentials; (b) to emphasize (because we are a church with no denominational affiliations) that we are in the stream of historic orthodoxy; and (c) to provide a familiar reference to visitors from Catholic and mainline churches whom we hope to evangelize. The congregation’s response is not perfunctory, but resounding.
Congregational Prayer—I agree with Horton Davies’s comment on free prayer: “Free prayers, under the guidance of a devout and beloved minister who knows well both his Bible and his people, have a moving immediacy and relevance that set prayers rarely attain.”1 At the same time, if prayers are not prepared, they can become a stream of clichés and repetitions that numb the mind and ice the heart.
So I prepare. I do not write them out in full, but I outline my prayers and make careful lists of petitions. The Puritan foil, the Book of Common Prayer, is a magnificent source of ideas and “prayer starters,” as is the Presbyterian Book of Common Worship and other denominational sources. Hughes Oliphant Old’s Leading in Prayer: A Workbook for Ministers is an excellent resource.2 He draws from the Didache, the Apostolic Constitutions, the Geneva Psalter, and various Reformed and Puritan sources such as Luther, Calvin, Matthew Henry, Isaac Watts, and Richard Baxter to provide an indispensable resource. The long lists of his own Scripture-based prayers provide examples of how to do it.
Next to preaching, I spend most of my preparation time on prayer. My hope is not to pray a beautiful prayer, like the Boston preacher whose prayer the papers reported as “the most eloquent prayer ever offered to a Boston audience.” My goal rather is to be so filled with the Word and the needs of my people that we are all borne up to God.
My typical prayers include a time for silent confession and conclude with us praying in unison the Lord’s Prayer. Congregational prayer has a dynamic potential for edification as it not only corporately leads in worship of God but also teaches people how to pray.
God at Work—This heading provides the place for the many variations that are a part of our corporate worship pattern. God at Work in Families is where infant baptisms and dedications take place. God at Work in Missions provides a three-minute missionary focus. God at Work in Our Lives is a place for a four-minute testimony. The variations go on.
Reading Scripture—Those who read Scripture are likewise asked to prepare well for this ministry. “After all,” we say, “whether the preaching is good or bad, we can be sure this is the Word of God!” To this end my pastoral staff and I, along with our ministerial interns, periodically set aside a couple of hours to practice the public reading of Scripture under the instruction and critique of a professional speech instructor from nearby Wheaton College. My colleagues enjoy it—especially when “the boss” is corrected! Here mention must be made of Thomas McComiskey’s Reading Scripture in Public.3 As a respected Old Testament scholar, he employs both theological acumen and pastoral sensitivity in his thoroughgoing treatment of the subject. Helpfully, each chapter concludes with practical exercises.
We give prominence to the reading of Scripture by asking the congregation to stand for the reading of God’s Word. At the completion of the reading the reader says, “This is God’s Word,” and the people respond with “Amen!” and then sing the “Gloria Patri.” Such care and emphasis has served to enhance our people’s focus on the centrality of God’s Word. (See Appendix C for an account of the profound effect of the bare reading of God’s Word.)
Music—College Church is blessed with immense musical resources that have developed over the years through the intentionality of our music leadership. At present, there are six choirs: the Chancel Choir, Cherubs (grades 1–2), Boys and Girls Choirs (grades 3–6), Junior High and Senior High, plus “God’s Children Sing” (a music and worship curriculum for ages 4–5). We also have four instrumental groups: brasses, handbells, and combinations of our string and woodwind musicians. Our pastor of worship and music constantly refreshes the musicians to their biblical responsibility so that those who lead do so to God’s glory. (See Appendix D.)
The preaching text for that morning was 2 Timothy 2:8–13, in which Paul affirms that the resurrection is at the heart of the gospel he preaches: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel…” (v. 8). Providentially, this passage from an ongoing series on the Pastoral Epistles fell on the Sunday following Easter, which provided us with a natural and exciting opportunity to continue the celebration of Easter while at the same time expounding the full text of the passage.
The tune chosen for the doxology was LASST UNS ERFREUEN, which with its “Alleluias” expresses resurrection joy. We use this tune from Easter to Pentecost. The haunting anthem “Christ Is Now Arisen” focused powerfully on the scriptural theme, as did the bell choir’s “Alleluia! The Strife Is O’er.” The progression of the three hymns “The Day of Resurrection,” “Good Christian Men Rejoice” (which might have seemed out of place had this passage been preached in another season), and “Jesus Lives and So Shall I,” all worked to build ringing unity. The final hymn became a resounding congregational response to the Word preached.
[As you are seated, please move to the center of the pew, so others can join you in worship.]
| Prelude | Morning | Edvard Grieg |
| O Sons and Daughters Let Us Sing | arr. F. Gramann |
And we with holy church unite
As evermore is just and right
In glory to the King of Light.
Jubilation Ringers, Bryan Park, conductor
Choral Call to Worship
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs. (Ps. 100:1–2)
| Welcome† | Pastor Marc Maillefer |
| Silence | |
| Invocation | 9:00—Pastor David White |
| 10:40—Pastor Niel Nielson | |
| Doxology* | LASST UNS ERFREUEN |
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Apostles’ Creed*
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin, Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy, catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn #168*† The Day of Resurrection
Congregational Prayer/Lord’s Prayer
| (See inside back cover of hymnal) | Pastor Kent Hughes | |
| Hymn #170† | Good Christian Men, Rejoice and Sing | |
| Anthem | Christ Is Now Arisen | Lee Scott |
| Chancel Choir | Greg Wheatley conducting |
Now the song is begun, for the battle is done, and the victory won:
Now the foe is scattered: Death’s dark prison shattered:
Sing of joy, joy, joy; sing of joy, joy, joy;
And today raise the lay, Christ is now arisen!
They that followed in pain shall now follow to reign, and the crown shall obtain;
They were sore assaulted, they shall be exalted:
Sing of life, life, life; sing of life, life, life;
Earth and skies bid it rise, Christ is now arisen!
For the foe nevermore can approach to that shore, when the conflict is o’er;
There is joy supernal; there is peace eternal;
Sing of joy, joy, joy; sing of joy, joy, joy;
Earth and skies bid it rise, Christ is now arisen!
Then be brave, then be true, ye despised and ye few, for the crown is for you:
Christ, who went before you, spreads His buckler o’er you.
Sing of strength, strength, strength, sing of strength, strength, strength;
Earth and skies bid it rise, Christ is now arisen!
Lo, the vict’ry is won, and the foe is scattered, death’s dark prison shattered!
Hallelujah! Earth and skies bid it rise, Christ is now arisen!
Hallelujah! Come today, raise the lay, Christ is now arisen!
Tithes and Offerings**
| Offertory† | Alleluia! The Strife Is O’er | arr. F. Gramann |
| Jubilation Ringers |
Death’s mightiest powers have done their worst
And Jesus hath his foes dispersed
Let shouts of praise and joy outburst. Alleluia!
On the third morn he rose again Glorious in majesty to reign
O let us swell the joyful strain. Alleluia!
| Scripture Reading* | 2 Timothy 2:8–13 | 9:00—Mrs. Diane Jordan |
| (P. 1178) | 10:40—Mr. Bill Ladd | |
| Gloria Patri* | GREATOREX | |
| Hymn #575 |
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Amen.
| Sermon | The Essential Memory | Pastor Kent Hughes |
| Hymn #159* | Jesus Lives and So Shall I | |
| Benediction* | Pastor Kent Hughes |
[Please be seated for a moment of reflection]
| Postlude | Good Christians All, Rejoice and Sing | H. Willan |
| Ed Childs, organ |
[Reception for visitors in the Fireside Room immediately following each service.]
The preaching text for that summer morning was 2 Timothy 3:14–17, which contains a foundational text on the inspiration of Scripture, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (v. 16). We didn’t have to look hard for a theme!
You will observe that the opening hymn does not address the theme. This is because we could find no hymn that perfectly touched the theme and yet worked well in the opening slot. A slavish devotion to theme can, ironically, create dissonance if the tune and tempo are inappropriate. Thus, we chose the stately Trinitarian hymn “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” to focus our minds God-ward. The theme was made the major emphasis of the Congregational Prayer. Then, with the special hymn “Powerful in Making Us Wise” from Psalm 119 (provided on an insert in the worship folder), the Word-focus was heightened.
The Chancel Choir further expanded on the theme with “Send Your Word,” based on the text of a Japanese hymn which intones the prayer
Send your Word, O Lord, like the rain…
Send your Word, O Lord, like the wind…
Send your Word, O Lord, like the dew…
Following the sermon, the congregation sang “O Word of God Incarnate” to emphasize that to be Word-centered is to be radically Christ-centered.
The prelude is a gift to God’s people, prepared as a bridge between our busy lives and this hour of worship.
| Prelude | Oboe Concerto #1, adagio and allegro | G. F. Handel |
| Nate Elwell, oboe; Ellen Elwell, piano |
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. (Ps. 100:1–2)
| Welcome† | 9:00—Jim Johnston |
| 10:40—Pastor Adam Rasmussen | |
| Silence | |
| Invocation | 9:00—Mr. Jay Thomas |
| 10:40—Pastor Niel Nielson | |
| Doxology* | Hymn #572 |
| Apostles’ Creed* | [See inside back cover of the hymnal] |
Hymn #9† Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
| God at Work in India | 9:00—STAMP/India |
| Hymn (White Insert)† | |
| Congregational Prayer/Lord’s Prayer | |
| Lord’s Prayer | [See inside back cover of the hymnal] |
| Anthem | Send Your Word | T. Keesecker |
| Chancel Choir |
Send your Word, O Lord, like the rain, falling down upon the earth.
We seek your endless grace, with souls that hunger and thirst, sorrow and agonize.
We would all be lost in dark without your guiding light.
Send your Word, O Lord, like the wind, blowing down upon the earth.
We seek your wondrous power, pureness that rejects all sins, though they persist and cling.
Bring us to complete victory; set us all free indeed.
Send your Word, O Lord, like the dew, coming gently upon the hills.
We seek your endless love.
For life that suffers in strife with adversities and hurts, oh send your healing power of love;
We long for your new world.
Text by Yasushige Imakoma, tr. by Nobuaki Hanaoka4
| Offertory† | Oboe Concerto #1, largo | G. F. Handel |
| Scripture Reading* | 2 Timothy 3:14–17 (p. 1179) | Mrs. Diane Jordan |
| Gloria Patri* | Hymn #575 | |
| Sermon | Continue in the Word | Pastor Kent Hughes |
| Hymn #219* | O Word of God Incarnate | |
| Benediction* | Pastor Kent Hughes |
[Please be seated for a moment of Reflection]
| Postlude | H. E. Singley III, organ |
[Reception for visitors in the Fireside Room immediately following each service.]
If you would like to pray or share a need with church leaders, they will be available at the front of the Sanctuary following the service.
We schedule communion about every five weeks, but we do not interrupt our sequential expositions with a special communion message. Often the scheduled text fits perfectly, and rarely is there any difficulty in making the segue to the table. On this particular Sunday, Daniel 4:1–37, which exalts God’s sovereignty in the humbling of King Nebuchadnezzar, worked beautifully.
Because we have multiple morning services, some of the regular features of corporate worship have to be set aside or economized. The welcome is restricted to a maximum of 60 seconds, and the congregational prayer is abbreviated and subsumed into the prayer over the bread. Shorter hymns are used if possible.
The opening hymn, “All Creatures of Our God and King,” which emphasizes God’s sovereignty, beautifully anticipated the humbled monarch’s declaration in its final stanza, which begins “Let all things their Creator bless / And worship him in humbleness.” The Chancel Choir and orchestra provided an eschatological parallel to Nebuchadnezzar’s declaration by singing Bach’s “Alleluia! O Praise the Lord Most Holy,” which is based on Revelation 5:12.
Following the sermon, the congregation rose to sing George Herbert’s two-verse hymn “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing: My God and King!” thus providing a brief, rousing response to the text. The sermon concluded with a call to humble ourselves before almighty God as did the Babylonian king, for this has always been the pattern of saving grace—and therefore the perpetual posture of those who would come to the Lord’s Table.
Communion was introduced with the words of institution from 1 Corinthians 11:23, 24 before the bread and 11:25 before the cup.
We normally make no attempt to sustain the sermon theme with the hymn excerpts sung before the bread and the cup. The excerpts vary widely, and one of them is typically sung a cappella. Periods of silence precede and follow both partakings.
The concluding hymn, “The God of Abraham Praise,” provided a return to the sermonic theme. Its stately synagogue melody and Trinitarian emphasis provided a fitting conclusion. As Nebuchadnezzar praised Daniel’s God, so we sang to Abraham’s and Israel’s God.
Let the first sound of music be a call to silent worship.
| Prelude | My Heart Ever Faithful | J. S. Bach |
| College Church Orchestra | ||
| Welcome† | 9:00—Pastor Marc Maillefer | |
| 10:45—Pastor Jim Johnston |
Silence
| Choral Call to Worship† | Taste and See | G. Wheatley |
Taste and see how good the Lord is;
blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. (Ps. 34:8)
| Invocation | 9:00—Pastor David White |
| 10:45—Pastor Jim Johnston | |
| Doxology* | Hymn #572 |
| Apostles’ Creed* | [See inside back cover of the hymnal] |
Hymn #59* All Creatures of Our God and King
Tithes and Offerings**
| Offertory† | Alleluia! O Praise the Lord Most Holy | J. S. Bach |
| Chancel Choir with Orchestra |
Alleluia! O praise the Lord most holy!
Alleluia! Lord most high.
He is worthy to receive power, wealth, and glory, wisdom, might, and honor, blessing now and ever more.
For He is the true and righteous Lord of all in heaven and earth.
King of kings and Lord of lords, we do worship at Your throne.5
| Scripture Reading* | Daniel 4:1–37 | 9:00—Pastor Randy Gruendyke |
| (p.877) | 10:45—Pastor Niel Nielson | |
| Gloria Patri* | Hymn #575 | |
| Sermon | The Lord Is King | Pastor Kent Hughes |
| Hymn #24* | Let All the World in Every Corner Sing |
Silence
The Lord’s Table
| Meditation for the Bread | Now | Carl Schalk |
Now the silence, now the peace, now the empty hands uplifted;
Now the kneeling, now the plea, now the Father’s arms in welcome;
Now the hearing, now the Power, now the vessel brimmed for pouring,
Now the body, now the blood, now the joyful celebration;
Now the wedding, now the songs, now the heart forgiven leaping;
Now the Spirit’s visitation, now the Son’s epiphany, now the Father’s blessing,
Now.
Text by Jaroslav Vajda6
| Hymn before the Bread | Beneath the Cross of Jesus | Hymn #151, v. 2 |
Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One who suffered there for me;
and from my smitten heart with tears two wonders I confess—
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.
| Meditation for the Cup | Meditation on SEYMOUR | See Hymn #238 |
| Hymn before the Cup | Alleluia! Sing to Jesus | Hymn #174, vs. 3 |
Alleluia! Bread of Heaven, Thou on earth our food and stay;
Alleluia! Here the sinful flee to Thee from day to day;
Intercessor, friend of sinners, earth’s Redeemer, plead for me, Where the songs of all the sinless sweep across the crystal sea.
| Care and Share Hymn | The God of Abraham Praise | Hymn #36 |
| Benediction* | Pastor Kent Hughes | |
| Choral Benediction | Romans 14:19 | E. Thompson |
Let us therefore follow the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Amen.
| Postlude | Toccata on leoni | art. G. Young |
| H. E. Singley III, organ |
If you are visiting, we would like to greet you personally. Please join us in the Fireside Room for a cup of coffee immediately after the service.
If you would like to pray or share a need with church leaders, they will be available at the front of the Sanctuary following the service.
We have two primary goals in our Evening Service: to engage the people in congregational singing, and to preach an expository sermon. The service is generally a simple bipartite structure—the song-service followed by the sermon. Song services might be thematic, based on the sermon text; thematic, based on another theme of Scripture; highlights from a particular hymn writer; or, as in the case of the first example below, songs that express praise and devotion to Jesus Christ.
The music in the evening service is more eclectic, so that from time to time nearly every musical style is employed. But we do not pursue a “blended” ideal. Rather, we want our singing and musical expression to be “us,” not a proportioned balance or a blend. Evening worship naturally provides more opportunity for mutual encouragement, testimonies, and congregational participation in prayer. This regular evening fare is punctuated by seasonal services, missions conferences, special evangelistic emphases, and nights of prayer.
In an evening series called “The Storyline of the Bible,” the sermon on this Sunday placed the Old Testament prophets in the context of the entirety of Scripture. Instrumental music included the piano prelude “Scaramouche” (by 20th-century French composer Darius Milhaud) and American folk hymns played on the Appalachian dulcimer.
The extended time of singing at the beginning of the service wove hymns with familiar choruses and moved the ambience of the service from the brilliance of the two-piano prelude to the intimacy of the dulcimer. Along the way, the congregation sang words and melodies that spoke a well-rounded testimony of affirmation, affection, and action. The prolonged time of singing was made suitable for the congregation by its variety of mood, the familiarity of the songs, and by designating some hymn verses to be sung by men or women alone.
In this service we made no attempt to develop the preaching theme; our purpose was to engage in a vision of a God who is both transcendent and immanent. Following the sermon, then, we affirmed that this is the God who spoke in various times and in many ways, but in these last days has spoken through his Son and, by his written Word, continues to speak today.
(Sermon 8 in a 13-part series)
Evening Service, May 9, 1999
| Prelude | Debbie Hollinger, Melody Pugh, piano |
| Welcome & Prayer | Pastor Jim Johnston |
| Congregational Singing | Pastor Chuck King |
* Hymn #62—All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
* Page 3—Glorify Thy Name
* Page 4—How Majestic Is Your Name
* Page 5—Great Is the Lord
* Hymn #67—Fairest Lord Jesus
* Hymn #87—I Love Thee, I Love Thee
As with the morning corporate worship services, we strive to maintain the same biblicism, unity, and creative nuance in making our Lord’s Day evenings worship in the Word from beginning to end. As mentioned above, these times are less structured, more casual and spontaneous. The music is more eclectic.
In this evening setting, the sermon text was Acts 4:23–31, “Who Is in Control?” Following on the heels of an instrumental prelude, the congregation was led in a spontaneous, unaccompanied, joyous “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” This familiar spiritual set the character of an informal pastiche of music—including hymns, spirituals, and choruses.
“God of Creation, All Powerful” is sung to a familiar Irish melody, while “Children of the Heavenly Father” is Swedish. The folk character of the congregational songs was picked up in “Simple Gifts” (Shaker), performed by “One Voice,” an a cappella men’s group of Wheaton College. Led by a College Church intern from Princeton, New Jersey, “One Voice” was the catalyst for an a cappella movement on campus much like that at Princeton University. “Ain’t Got Time to Die” (African American) sung by “One Voice” continued the pleasant folk character of the evening while also reinforcing a joyful commitment to the God who is in control. Praise and worship choruses rounded out the evening: “He Is Able,” itself folklike in character, and the powerful Jude Doxology engaged our affections at the conclusion of the service.
| Prelude | H. E. Singley III | |
| Congregational Singing | He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands | |
| Songbook, pg. 2 | God of Creation, All-Powerful | |
| Simple Gifts | Jared Alcantara & Friends | |
| Songbook, pg. 3 | He Is Able | |
| Hymn #41 | Children of the Heavenly Father |
Announcements & Offering
| Offertory | Ain’t Got Time to Die | Jared Alcantara & Friends |
| Who Is In Control? | Acts 1:23–31 | Pastor Niel Nielson |
| Songbook, p. 4 | Jude 24 & 25 | |
| Benediction | Pastor Niel Nielson | |
| Postlude | H. E. Singley III |
Assisting in congregational singing this evening is Kevin Casey with guitar and banjo.