LITURGY

“Liturgy”—sometimes called “order of worship” or “service”—refers to the basic order of the components of a worship meeting. At Summit Church, our meetings follow a simple pattern guided by scripture and informed by the historic practice of the church. We desire Holy Spirit-led meetings in which all things are done “decently and in order.” (1 Co. 14:26, 40)

Following Acts 2:42, we seek to devote ourselves to “the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship,” “the breaking of bread,” and “prayers.” The church has cherished the simple means of Word, sacrament, and prayer from ancient times. Justin Martyr—writing around AD 155—described a church meeting consisting of scripture reading and exhortation, corporate prayer, and the sharing of the Lord’s Supper.

At Summit Church, our liturgy shares a deep continuity with ancient, Protestant, and Reformed churches. But the proper use of tradition is, as one writer put it, “not the worship of ashes but the preservation of fire.” Far from being frozen in time, we continue to explore the treasures of Christ’s church and incorporate the best of “things new and old” in our meetings. (Mt. 13:52)

The best way to understand our liturgy is to experience it for yourself!

Our meetings begin with a Call to Worship. This call takes the form of the reading of a passage of Scripture and a short prayer that focuses our attention and calls us to worship God.

Scripture is filled with calls to worship God, such as the call in Revelation 5:12:

     Blessing and honor and glory and power

     Be to Him who sits on the throne,

     And to the Lamb, forever and ever!

Our time of confession begins with a responsive reading confessing sin—in ourselves, our church, our nation, and our world. After the reading and, at times, brief thoughts on the reading we enter a time of silent, private confession and are led in a prayer of corporate confession. This weekly practice of self-examination brings humility and healing as we examine our lives for undiscovered and unconfessed sin.

The Assurance of Pardon consists of a passage of Scripture read aloud as a proclamation of God’s forgiveness. In this way, God’s own words assure us that He has pardoned us of sin we confessed on account of Christ’s redemptive work alone.

Our Scripture reading consists of a passage from God’s Word. These readings are often selected from one of the gospels. The Word—read aloud—has inherent power to change us. In the inspired, infallible text of Holy Scripture, we hear God speak to us.

The Pastoral Prayer is a time of corporate intercession and supplication, led by an elder, lifting up the needs of the congregation, the universal church, the nation, and the world.

Our practice is to preach expository sermons through entire books of the Bible. That said, we will at times divert from this customary practice to study the Bible’s teaching on a specific issue.

God has blessed us with several men who are able to teach and preach God’s Word. Thus, you will not see the same man preaching every week, as is customary in some churches. Rather, a variety of men share the burden and privilege of preaching and teaching.

The Lord’s Supper occupies a central place in our gathering. It is a time of thanksgiving, remembrance, and communion as we share a simple feast of bread and wine to remember the Lord and proclaim his death on the day on which He rose.

We sing to worship and glorify God. We sing Christ-exalting Psalms, hymns, and songs.

We sing several times during our liturgy. Songs of praise follow the Call to Worship, songs of thanksgiving follow the Assurance of Pardon, and songs of remembrance directly precede the Lord’s Supper.

You will notice in our liturgy at Summit Church a variety of men lead the various components of the meeting. No one man performs the same task from week to week. This structure allows us to put into practice the Bible’s teaching that all believers are priests to God, set apart to offer spiritual sacrifices of praise, prayer, and worship. This practice allows us to hear the Spirit work through a variety of Spirit-gifted men.

Beyond the worship gathering itself, we recognize that the Spirit has gifted all believers in different ways—as He wills—and it is the goal of Summit Church’s leadership that every believer at Summit Church would find exercise of his or her spiritual gifts in service of Christ’s church.

At the end of our meeting, we close with a word of blessing over the congregation and by singing the Doxology at the end of our meeting:

     Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

     Praise Him, all creatures here below;

     Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

     Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 

     Amen.

This allows us to leave our gathering with praises to the Triune God echoing from our united voices.