Our Worship Service

We Invite You to Join Our Worship Service in Traverse City

At Redeemer Presbyterian Church, we offer one of the unique worship services in Traverse City, built upon a rich tradition of liturgical worship. Rooted in a biblical worship order, our services are designed to reflect the story of the Gospel in every element.

 

Redeemer's Liturgy (Order of Service)

Every Sunday, the Worship Service at Redeemer follows a similar order, laid out for you in our bulletin. is the meaning of liturgy – the contents of our worship service, and their arrangement. It’s not just out of tradition, though it does have a deep history. Our liturgy is gospel-centered worship, following the flow of God’s movement among his people as revealed in scripture.

 

The basic flow can be summarized as the 5 C's: Call, Cleansing, Consecration, Communion, and Commission. We believe this Gospel-centered worship structure is not only deeply Biblical but resonates with a certain "Gospel logic", explained below.

 

God Calls Us into His Presence: True worship always begins with God's gracious invitation. At Redeemer, we understand that we don't simply barge into His holy presence but are warmly invited. Each service opens with the Call to Worship – an invitation from scripture, illustrating that God calls his people to Himself. As we respond to His call, we do so with heartfelt singing, reflecting our  joy of communing with our Creator.

 

God Cleanses Us from Our Sin: As we find ourselves in God's majestic and holy presence, we become acutely aware of the creature-creator distinction. It is impossible to miss how “other” he is – the theological term for this is transcendence. This “otherness” we feel is not only due to the vast difference between mankind and God, but also because of our standing with regard to him. The other reason for this feeling is because we become aware of our unworthiness. The language may not be familiar, but the Bible says this is a result of our sin. We are each born as rebels against God by nature, and we ratify our rebellion daily when we do what we should not do, and fail to do what we should do. This is more than “messing up” – it’s treason against our highest authority! BUT – thanks be to God, He has made the first gesture in reconciling with us. At this point in the service, we move into a time of corporate confession of sin, and a pronouncement from scripture that God has given assurance of our forgiveness because of Christ’s sacrifice. This cleansing causes us to respond in songs of praise.

 

God Consecrates Us to His Service: Through the reading of Scripture and the faithful preaching of the Word, God sanctifies and prepares us to live for Him. He sets us apart for His service through our lives and vocations. This is consecration. Our hearts are stirred, and we respond with prayer, offerings, and more songs of praise.

 

God Communes with Us: Reflecting the deep bond of our covenant relationship with Him, God affirms His love by sharing a meal with us. At Redeemer, we celebrate the Lord's Supper every week, seeing it as the culmination of our Gospel-centered worship service. (Note that we do so with bread and wine, and we also provide non-alcoholic and gluten-free options.)

 

God Commissions Us into the World: As we conclude, our worship doesn't end. It simply takes a new form as we carry God's blessings into the world, aiming to be salt and light, living for and embodying His glory in a watching world. The final act of the service is the benediction – a pronouncement of blessing over God’s people, in keeping with the Biblical model.