One of our most noticeable characteristics at Providence is our worship service.
It is our desire to worship the Lord God in as God-honoring and as Biblical a manner as possible.
The principle that we follow is that God ordains how He is to be worshiped,
and we are to seek in the Scriptures direction for what we are to do in worship,
and how those things are to be done.
View a sample order of service here.
What then should you expect to see and hear worshiping with us?
You should expect to hear the Bible pervade the service.
It is the word of God that is living and powerful, and able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. And thus, we have significant Scripture read throughout the service.
- We read the Law of God - a passage of Scripture which reminds us of our sinful condition and need of a Savior.
- We read the Gospel - a passage of Scripture which reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ, the substitute for sinners, and the new life that those who believe in Him have in His name.
- We read the scriptures - a simple reading, generally not even commented upon, so that we come to be more familiar with God's word.
- We sing the scriptures - in addition to the historic hymns of the church, we also sing extensively from metrical Psalm arrangements. The hymns themselves are rich in Biblical theology and Scriptural allusion. Both the hymns and Psalms are God-centered expressions of praise for our Lord Jesus Christ.
You should expect to hear expository preaching.
Although topical or systematic sermons which draw together threads from multiple texts are valuable at times, we believe a regular diet of verse by verse exposition of a book of the Bible, from beginning to end, is most useful for the edification and growth of the congregation. (Nehemiah 8)
You should expect to see, hear and taste the Lord's Supper.
God has given the Lord's Supper as a means of grace, to bless, strengthen and unify the church. At Providence we partake of this "gospel in sensible signs" weekly.
You should expect to see and hear the congregation together praising God.
God has given the ministry of the sacrifice of praise (Jeremiah 33:11, Hebrews 13:5) to the body of Christ corporately - the holy priesthood of all believers. Thus our worship reflects this theological foundation. So in our worship, the congregation together sings to God. When we praise God we do so as a body, and do not have a stage or a worship team up front. So also, the piano is part of the corporate worship, and is used for accompaniment rather than separately to set mood. Finally we try and choose settings which are primarily arranged for the congregation to sing, rather than for the accompaniment.
You should expect to see and hear children.
The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17) was made with him and his children, even the infants. It is that Abrahamic covenant which comes to full bloom in the New Covenant (Galatians 3). Thus our worship includes the children, who worship together with the adults (Psalm 8:2, Ezra 10). As the apostle Paul addressed the children directly (Ephesians 6:1), so our children are also addressed from the pulpit. We recognize that having our children in worship with us can take some training, especially with with young children. We provide both a staffed nursery for very young children, and a cry room for parents to take their children and train them.
You should expect to hear nothing.
Silence before God is an important part of worship. It is good for us to reflect quietly at times during the service. In our world where one cannot ride an elevator without ubiquitous music, we esteem times of silence.
- The piano is not used for background or mood music, but as part of the congregational singing.
- There is a time of quiet preparation to prepare yours and your family's hearts before the service.
- During the Lord's Supper and the offering, we have a quiet opportunity to reflect on the word of God.