What is Worship at CPC?
Worship is the joyful and reverent response of God’s people to who He is and what He has done. It is our way of saying with our hearts, voices, and lives: "God is worthy.”
The Bible teaches us that worship is both a whole-life response to God and a sacred gathering of His people. In the broadest sense, worship happens when we live every moment to honor the Lord (Romans 12:1). But in a special, focused way, public worship is when God gathers His people together each week to meet with Him as a covenant community through His Word, His Spirit, and His ordained means of grace.
At Christ Presbyterian Church, our worship is:
- God-centered: Not about what entertains us, but what glorifies Him.
- Christ-exalting: We come only through Jesus, our Mediator, who makes us acceptable before a holy God.
- Spirit-empowered: True worship happens as the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to respond with faith, love, and awe.
- Scripture-directed: We don’t invent worship; we receive it from God’s Word. That’s why we read, preach, pray, sing, and see the gospel (in baptism and the Lord’s Supper).
Worship is not a performance or a product; it is a meeting with the living God. He calls us into His presence, cleanses us through the gospel, feeds us by His Word and sacraments, and sends us out to live for His glory.
Each part of our service has a purpose:
- We begin with God’s Word calling us to worship — because our Triune God always makes the first move.
- We praise and adore Him — because God has graciously called us to Himself.
- We hear God’s Word read and preached — because man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
- We confess our sins — because the Spirit has shown us our lack of holiness and need for His grace.
- We hear the assurance of pardon — because Jesus’ righteousness is truly ours as those adopted into His covenant family.
- We pray giving thanks and interceding — because we are dependent upon God alone.
- We participate in the sacraments — because God strengthens our faith through visible signs and seals of His promises.
- We end with a benediction — because we live from God’s blessing for the week ahead.
We gather on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, because it is the day of Christ’s resurrection, the first day of the new creation, and the sign of our eternal rest in Him. This weekly rhythm is not about personal preference; it’s about remembering who we are and whose we are. Gathering for worship is a public declaration: “God is our God, and we are His people.”
At its heart, worship is about love. We love because He first loved us. In worship, we respond to that love together with praise, trust, and devotion.
Come and worship with us. Come and meet with God.