We are delighted that you have decided to worship with us at Zion Presbyterian Church! The purpose of this section is to provide you an overview of our style and philosophy of worship.
First and foremost, we believe worship is an act where the Almighty God calls His people into His presence to worship Him.
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)
Worship is primarily "for the Lord". God, in His overwhelming grace, desires to be worshipped in a way that provides a unique blessing for His people. But since it is "for Him", we are careful to worship Him as He so desires. Scripture itself declares there is an "acceptable" worship:
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29)
But how do we worship acceptably? Our Confession of Faith states it as such:
"The light of nature shows that there is a God, who has lordship and sovereignty over all; is good, and does good unto all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted in, and served, with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the might. But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture." (Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 21.1)
Put simply: God expresses in His Word how we are to worship Him, and we strive to worship Him in that way. We worship the Triune God "with reverence and awe" by exalting the Lord Jesus Christ in the joy and power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father. A simple mantra which explains how we go about our worship is: "Read the Bible, Sing the Bible, Pray the Bible, Preach the Bible, Confess the Bible, See the Bible". This means:
- Read the Bible: We worship God through the public reading of God's Word (the Bible);
- Sing the Bible: We sing back to God with truths from His Word using psalms, hymns, and "spiritual songs";
- Pray the Bible: We pray to Him using His words, for things agreeable to His will;
- Preach the Bible: We hear God's preached Word wherein His gospel message of hope in Jesus Christ is proclaimed to His people;
- Confess the Bible: We confess the truths of Scripture through statements of faith passed down to us from previous generations of the Church;
- See the Bible: We see visible signs and seals of God's covenant promises to His people through the regular administration of the Lord's Supper and Baptism.
We invite active participation from all worshippers. Our order of service for worship follows a "dialogue" in which we all participate: God speaks from His Word, we respond in song. We pray, God responds from His Word. And so on, in an order that proclaims the hope of the gospel: God initiates by calling us to worship; we respond in praise. We confess our sins; God forgives; we give thanks. God speaks through His Word; we praise Him. God gives us visible signs of His grace; we partake and praise Him. God sends His people out in blessing.
When God's people gather for worship, the Lord desires all of His people to gather to worship Him. As such, we welcome kids of all ages to worship together with their parents. God delights in hearing the praise of even children and infants, as Scripture says:
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2)
and
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14)
We do have a nursery/cry room for those times when our kids simply need an opportunity to calm down. However, we sincerely delight to worship our God together with your entire family (even with our "wiggly and whiny" kids!)
At Zion we celebrate the Lord's Supper together each week. You do not need to be a member of Zion Presbyterian Church to participate with us -- we invite anyone who has made a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and who is a member in good standing of a gospel-preaching church to celebrate the Lord's Supper with us.
We look forward to worshipping together with you as we gather to praise and exalt our great God each Sunday morning. To God be the glory forever and ever!
