Hudson Valley United Reformed Church
God-Centered Worship: Who Does What And Why?
Today many churches are fighting worship wars. This battle between traditional and contemporary styles of worship
challenges us to get back to the basics of the Bible. According to the scriptures, worship is a two-way conversation between
God and His people (Isaiah 6:3-8; Revelation 19:5-6). God (represented by the Pastor) speaks to us through scripture and we
respond to Him in singing, praying, giving, thinking, and listening. This biblical pattern insures that God is the Audience and
Actor in worship who will edify His saints and save the lost. Our worship service is designed to keep God at the center of
attention so that He may be the object of our affection. When scripture is the standard for the style and substance of worship
then we will praise the Lord in a way that’s worthy of His glory and our destiny (Hebrews 12:29). Our prayer for public worship
is that the Lord may be the hub around which everything revolves because when God is most glorified then we are most
satisfied. To help you follow our heart-to-heart dialogue with God, we offer this guided tour of our worship service.
Silent Prayer: We prepare to meet with God by praying that the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts may be
acceptable in His sight (Psalm 19:14; Ecclesiastes 5:1-3).
Call to Worship: Having made us for this moment, God brings us into His presence to praise Him for Who He is and What He
has done through Jesus Christ (Psalm 95:1-5; John 4:23-24).
Votum and God’s Greeting: We declare our dependence on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to sustain and save us (Psalm
124:8; Acts 4:12). God greets us with the blessing of His love so that we may worship Him in the full assurance of faith.
Song of Adoration: We adore the Lord for His wonderful works and ways (Psalm 100).
God’s Will For Our Lives: God shows us our sin in the mirror of the Ten Commandments so that we are driven to Jesus Christ
for His full and free forgiveness (Romans 7:7-12). The Lord also shows us how to live out of gratitude for His grace that is
greater than all our sins.
Song of Confession: Having been shown how far we fall short, we confess our sin to the Lord and plead with God to cross out
our sins in the blood of Jesus Christ (I John 1:7-2:2).
Congregational Prayer: We unite our hearts together in prayer to adore the Lord for His deeds of love, to confess our sin and
Savior, to thank God for His abundant blessings, and ask God for what we stand in need of both for body and soul (Acts 2:42-
47).
Presentation of Tithes and Offerings: We give God the first-fruits of our labors as a token of our gratitude to build His church
and advance His kingdom (I Corinthians 16:1-2).
Song of Preparation: We ask the Lord in song to bless us with receptive hearts so that we may hear and heed His word of life
(Psalm 119:11-12; James 1:22).
Scripture Reading: God reveals Himself through His word so that we are made wise unto salvation (Nehemiah 8:1-8; I Timothy
5:13).
Sermon: God through the Pastor speaks to us His life-giving and life-directing word about what we must believe and how we
must live (Romans 10:14-17; II Timothy 4:1-5).
Song of Dedication: We thankfully dedicate our lives in song to serving the Lord with all that we are and all that we have
(Romans 12:1-2).
God’s Parting Blessing: God dismisses us with the blessing of His presence to worship Him the rest of the week (II
Corinthians 13:14).
Doxology: We glorify the Lord in response to the joyful sound that Jesus saves (Romans 11:36).
Today many churches are fighting worship wars. This battle between traditional and contemporary styles of worship
challenges us to get back to the basics of the Bible. According to the scriptures, worship is a two-way conversation between
God and His people (Isaiah 6:3-8; Revelation 19:5-6). God (represented by the Pastor) speaks to us through scripture and we
respond to Him in singing, praying, giving, thinking, and listening. This biblical pattern insures that God is the Audience and
Actor in worship who will edify His saints and save the lost. Our worship service is designed to keep God at the center of
attention so that He may be the object of our affection. When scripture is the standard for the style and substance of worship
then we will praise the Lord in a way that’s worthy of His glory and our destiny (Hebrews 12:29). Our prayer for public worship
is that the Lord may be the hub around which everything revolves because when God is most glorified then we are most
satisfied. To help you follow our heart-to-heart dialogue with God, we offer this guided tour of our worship service.
Silent Prayer: We prepare to meet with God by praying that the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts may be
acceptable in His sight (Psalm 19:14; Ecclesiastes 5:1-3).
Call to Worship: Having made us for this moment, God brings us into His presence to praise Him for Who He is and What He
has done through Jesus Christ (Psalm 95:1-5; John 4:23-24).
Votum and God’s Greeting: We declare our dependence on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ to sustain and save us (Psalm
124:8; Acts 4:12). God greets us with the blessing of His love so that we may worship Him in the full assurance of faith.
Song of Adoration: We adore the Lord for His wonderful works and ways (Psalm 100).
God’s Will For Our Lives: God shows us our sin in the mirror of the Ten Commandments so that we are driven to Jesus Christ
for His full and free forgiveness (Romans 7:7-12). The Lord also shows us how to live out of gratitude for His grace that is
greater than all our sins.
Song of Confession: Having been shown how far we fall short, we confess our sin to the Lord and plead with God to cross out
our sins in the blood of Jesus Christ (I John 1:7-2:2).
Congregational Prayer: We unite our hearts together in prayer to adore the Lord for His deeds of love, to confess our sin and
Savior, to thank God for His abundant blessings, and ask God for what we stand in need of both for body and soul (Acts 2:42-
47).
Presentation of Tithes and Offerings: We give God the first-fruits of our labors as a token of our gratitude to build His church
and advance His kingdom (I Corinthians 16:1-2).
Song of Preparation: We ask the Lord in song to bless us with receptive hearts so that we may hear and heed His word of life
(Psalm 119:11-12; James 1:22).
Scripture Reading: God reveals Himself through His word so that we are made wise unto salvation (Nehemiah 8:1-8; I Timothy
5:13).
Sermon: God through the Pastor speaks to us His life-giving and life-directing word about what we must believe and how we
must live (Romans 10:14-17; II Timothy 4:1-5).
Song of Dedication: We thankfully dedicate our lives in song to serving the Lord with all that we are and all that we have
(Romans 12:1-2).
God’s Parting Blessing: God dismisses us with the blessing of His presence to worship Him the rest of the week (II
Corinthians 13:14).
Doxology: We glorify the Lord in response to the joyful sound that Jesus saves (Romans 11:36).