Every now and again I like to share an example of one of our worship services from Grace Fellowship Church. I hope that by doing this others will begin to share their services as well so we can learn and benefit from one another. If there is something you see here that would bless your church, you have permission to pilfer freely!

This service’s cast of characters included Paul as our service leader and preacher and Steve as the elder who prayed the pastoral prayer. Our band consisted of piano and bass with three female vocalists. The various elements of the service are in bold with the name of the person who led the element in parentheses. Items in quotes represent roughly what the person said to the congregation. Items not in quotes are explanatory. The entire service took approximately 90 minutes.
Pre-Service Singing
In order to integrate a little more music into our time together, we often sing an extra song or two five minutes before our 10:00 AM start time. This week we sang Psalm 103.
Call To Worship (Paul)
“Are you lonely? Then come to the One who will ‘consider your affliction and your trouble, and forgive all your sins.’
“Are you tired? Then come to the One who ‘has been your help, in the shadow of whose wings you will sing for joy.’
“Are you caught in a mess? Then come to the One who ‘is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Since you know His name, put your trust in Him, for our LORD, has never forsaken those who seek Him.’
“Are you weighed down by sin and guilt? Then come to the One who ‘is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, If we confess our sins to Him.’
“Are you thankful and happy in God? The come to the One who ‘has told you, O man, what is good; and what the LORD requires of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’
“Come to God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit… and worship Him. There is nothing gained by departing from God, and nothing lost by being faithful to your Friend.”
Singing (Allie)

“Jesus, What a Friend For Sinners”
“One There Is Above All Others”

Pastoral Prayer (Steve)
Steve led the pastoral prayer. Each week we pray for items that are urgent but also some that are “scheduled.” This week those included one like-minded church in our city, one missionary overseas, and our annual business meeting which was later that day.
Singing (Allie)

“May Your Power Rest on Me”
“What God Ordains Is Always Good”

Scripture Reading (Paul)
“Please take your Bible and turn to Psalm 95. We will be reading the entire psalm. You will find that on page 499 if you are using one of our church Bibles. If you don’t have a Bible of your own, please take that one as our gift to you. This is what Holy Scripture says…”

[Paul read Psalm 95]

He closed the reading with, “This is the word of the Lord,” to which the congregation responded, “Thanks be to God.”
Sermon (Paul)
Paul preached a topical sermon on delighting in God through rest (this being the start of the holiday season in Canada) using as his texts Genesis 2, Psalm 95, and Hebrews 3-4. “The notion of rest sounds like music to the ears of a busy Canadian. Our lives are pounded with expectations and we rarely slow down long enough to engage with God. Perhaps this is due to our lack of comprehension of what it means to be saved? Have we entered into the Father’s rest? Are we living lives that depend on His endless grace to keep busy with good works? Are we doing our work now, in His strength, striving to get to that ultimate rest with Him forever?”

God Has Rested and Is Resting
We Are Born Into a State of Unrest
Hurry Up and Rest

Singing (Allie)

“Jesus, Lover Of My Soul”

Lord’s Supper (Paul)
It is our custom to celebrate Lord’s Supper twice a month. One of these is a “long” version in which it is the major theme of the entire service; one of these is a “short” version in which it is just one element in a full service. This was the short variation.
Singing (Allie)

“We Will Feast in the House of Zion”

Commission (Paul)
Paul tied the message of the sermon into a “commission” that challenged the church to live out its truths throughout the week.
Benediction (Paul)
The benediction was based on 1 Kings 8:57–61: “May the LORD our God be with you, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave you nor forsake you, but incline your heart to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments. May He maintain your cause, as each day requires, that everyone on earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. And may He keep your heart wholly true to Him today and every day. Amen.”

Good morning from Fiji, the last long stop on this filming journey. I enjoyed my brief time in Tonga—especially lunch with a local pastor and evangelist. The Lord is at work there!

Westminster Books is offering a deal on a book that is now available in English for the first time.
How Bethel and Hillsong Took Over Our Worship Sets
We may wish it wasn’t so, but the fact is that Bethel and Hillsong have taken over the worship sets in so many churches. This article from CT explains how it got to be that way. “A new study found that Bethel and a handful of other megachurches have cornered the market on worship music in recent years, churning out hit after hit and dominating the worship charts.”
Tiktoker Says Christians Must Choose Between Faith and Evidence
I enjoy the contrast between the sneering Tiktoker and the respectful apologist.
Slowly Going Blind
“It seems to me that one of the surest ways to go blind to the wonder of the world we live in is to see it too much. Imagine if you only ever saw one songbird, or one daffodil, or one rainbow in your whole life—wouldn’t you be overwhelmed? So why are we not overwhelmed when we’ve seen a thousand?”
4 Distinctions to Sort Through when Addressing Sin
There is lots of wisdom here to help sort through what is sin and what may not be. James Seward says, “This article is my effort to push us toward more careful, biblical thinking about addressing sin. It presents four distinctions we should sort through before addressing sin.”
The Power of Example
“You don’t have to look too far in the Bible or in life to see the power of example. We’re wired to be copycats.” There are important spiritual implications to this.
Mercy In The No
Jill explains one of those times when God’s no was just the right answer.
Flashback: It’s Far Too Easy To Buy A Tiger
The sinful heart, like the owner of the tiger, thinks it can contain the ferocity, that it can be the one who masters its strength, who subjugates its power, who persuades it to go only so far but no farther.

My scars are numerous, my flesh is powerless, my enemy is dangerous, but my God is glorious and His grace is totally sufficient. —Matt Papa

History has bequeathed to us some precious prayers. I’m grateful that many of them have been collected for our use and benefit. Robert Elmer’s Piercing Heaven is among my favorites, and in its pages I found this sweet one from the pen of Robert Hawker.

Precious Jesus, you have been a strength to my poor soul, and you will be my portion forever. Help me to see my daily need of you, and to feel my poverty and weakness.
From persecution to my guilty conscience, to the remains of sin in a body of death, to the accusations of Satan or even the just judgments of God—I am secure in you, Lord Jesus. And I continually cry out, as did your prophet, “In the Lord I have righteousness and strength, even to you do I come; and never will I be ashamed or confounded, world without end.”
You have given grace, glory, and honor to your Israel. I want your name, Lord, on the gates of my house, so that no one will walk by and miss the fact that a lover of the Lord lives there!
It is my highest honor to have it known whose I am, and whom I serve, in the gospel of his dear Son. How could I be ashamed of that name before which every knee bows in heaven and on earth?
And Lord Jesus, not only write your name upon the gates of my house, but engrave it at the center of my heart and my affections—on my first, and last, my earliest, and latest thoughts!
Let it be my joy to speak out of the abundance of my heart about you and your great salvation. In all I say, in all I do, let it be clear that I am in pursuit of the one my soul loves.
Let my every action point to your dear name. And whether at home or abroad, in my house or family, when lying down or rising up, let all creation witness for me, that the love, the service, the interest, the glory of my God in Christ is the only object of my soul’s desire.
Let every thing in my life say this: “Whom have I in heaven but you, and there is none upon earth I desire but you. Though my flesh and heart fail, yet you are the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” Amen.