What is "liturgical worship"?

At Grace of God, we worship in what we consider a fairly "traditional" Christian style: the congregation (and the pastor) sing hymns/songs, the congregation and pastor speak collectively through "call and response" liturgies, we pray both silently and together. The pastor shares sections of the Bible, preaches a homily / sermon, and prays. (See more details about the liturgical elements our services contain.) 

Some of the visual elements of worship have ancient origins. For example: the colors and symbols of the different church seasons (seen in the clothes the pastor wears, and the fabrics on altar, ambo, and font) - have centuries of tradition and meaning behind them. But if the meanings are never explained, then these don't mean anything! So we hope the brief explanations on this page help you understand some of the visual parts of liturgical worship.

If you have any questions, let Pastor know!

The colors of the liturgical year

There are four main colors used in liturgical worship.

🟪PURPLE is the color for Advent and for Lent.

Advent, the beginning of the year, looks ahead to the arrival of the King (traditionally, purple is associated with royalty.) Purple was a very expensive dye color to produce in the ancient world. Consequently, purple is also associated with sacrifice, because it cost so much. During Lent, the use of purple looks ahead to Jesus' own sacrifice, the costly price of our salvation. (Sometimes other colors are used for Advent and Lent; our own church uses◼️BLACK on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Some churches use 🟦BLUE for Advent rather than purple.)

⬜ WHITE is the color of Christmas, Easter, and a few other small special occasions.

The color white calls to mind the bright appearances of the angels who announced Jesus' birth, and resurrection.

🟥 RED is the color of festivals celebrating particular events in the Church's history.

Red symbolizes "fire", How fire spreads, how fire warms, and how fire illuminates call to mind the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, red is used for festivals that emphasize the spread of Christian faith, like Pentecost. 

 

🟩 GREEN is a catch-all color for the "ordinary" Sundays in the year, when there's no particular festival going on.

Green symbolizes growth, reminding us that as we gather to hear God's Word, we grow in faith and love.

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When he is leading the service, our pastor wears clothing coordinated with the seasons of the church year. You can see from the picture (above) that our pastor wears a robe, known as an alb, and a scarf-like accessory known as a stole. 

The alb and the color white symbolizes how his sin (and ours!) has been "washed clean" by God's redemption. (Psalm 51:7 - “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”)  On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the pastor usually wears an all-black robe, known as a geneva, without a stole to symbolize mourning, mortality, and penitence. 

The stole the pastor wears, as well as the cloths that cover the altar, ambo (lectern), and font, may also have Christian symbols on them which have special meanings too. Want to know more? Ask the Pastor!

Liturgy
Our worship services (9:30am) are structured, and "timeless" (though they're usually an hour long). They contain elements used some 2000 years ago, as well as elements from today. Worship generally includes the following liturgical components:

  • Confession of Sins, and Absolution: We confess to God that we have failed to live up to the perfect standards in his law, and we plead for his mercy. The pastor announces the forgiveness of sins won for us by Jesus, our Savior, who lived a perfect life, suffered and died for us as our substitute. 

  • Songs of Praise: The hymns we sing during the service are thematically chosen based on the Bible verses we study that day, and remind us of the wonderful things the Triune God has done for us. Members of our church use their musical abilities to accompany songs. 

  • Scripture Readings, and Sermon: The pastor reads three selections from the Bible: from the Old Testament, from the New Testament epistles (letters), and one from the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John). The pastor offers insight, encouragement, and instruction through a longer "speech" (about 20 minutes). Expect to hear God’s guidance for dealing with the problems of life, along with the promises of forgiveness and eternal life in heaven. 

  • Response to the Word: We respond with prayers, thanks, and offerings. We ask for the things God has promised us and for strength to do what he has asked us to do. We bring our concerns and prayers to God, who cares about us and has promised to hear us. In every service, the pastor asks if the congregation has any special prayer requests, too. 

  • Free-will Offering, and Greeting: At our particular church, we "pause the service" in order to get up from our seats to place (financial) offerings in a communal basket, and at the same time we casually (and some may say enthusiastically) greet one another.  

  • Holy Communion: We celebrate the Lord's Supper regularly on the first, third, and fifth Sundays of each month. Before receiving this sacrament in worship, we ask any visitor to please speak with the pastor. (See the "FAQ" column, below, about the Eucharist which explains this further.) 

  • Blessing: At the end of the service, we hear a beautiful assurance of God’s care for us, his guidance and his love.