The structure of our worship service follows what we call a covenant renewal pattern. First, there is a call to worship, where God's people are solemnly called to order in the name of Christ, making this a worship service. When we do this, the Holy Spirit gathers us up and escorts us into the heavenly realms, together with all the saints.

We know that we have sinned, and so the first thing we do at the doorway is confess our sins. We do not want to enter into the holy place in an unholy condition.

We then consecrate ourselves, by hearing the Word read, by listening to the sermon, by singing our hymns to God.

God then invites us to sit down with Him, and commune with Him in a meal, which we do every week.

These three elements - confession, consecration, and communion - follow the structure of worship in the Old Testament. There were three different kinds of sacrifices, which, when they occurred together, always follow this order. There was the guilt offering which is our confession. There was the ascension offering or whole burnt offering which is our time of consecration. This offering of dedication caused the whole animal to ascend into heaven in the smoke. Then there was the peace offering, our communion, after which the worshipper sat down and shared the meat of the sacrifice.

After covenant is renewed in this way, you all are commissioned in the benediction, and sent out into a dark world to be the light of the world, who is Jesus Christ. This is what we do, this is why we are here.

by Douglas Wilson – reprinted with permission