Explanation of Elements in Public Worship (Kingdom Emphasis)
The public worship service at Pasadena Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a heavenly encounter, where the ascended Christ, reigning in His eschatological Kingdom, meets His people through the Spirit in a covenantal dialogue. Each element reflects the spiritual reality of worship as a participation in the eternal worship of the heavenly sanctuary, where believers, united to Christ, enter the Kingdom’s glory. The service is structured to manifest the dialogical interplay of God’s initiative and His people’s response, rooted in the covenantal bond of Christ’s mediatorial reign.
Morning Worship
God Calls Us – We Respond with Praise
- Call to Worship: The ascended Christ, enthroned in heaven, summons His people into the spiritual reality of His Kingdom through His Word. This call is not merely earthly but a divine invitation to ascend by faith into the heavenly assembly, where angels and saints worship before the throne. The congregation responds by entering this sacred space with awe and joy, their hearts lifted to the King.
- Salutation: Christ greets His people with a blessing from the heavenly sanctuary, proclaiming grace and peace from His throne. This greeting seals their identity as citizens of the eschatological Kingdom, welcomed into communion with the Triune God through the Spirit’s presence.
- Hymn of Approach: The congregation sings, their voices joining the heavenly choir in a spiritual ascent to Christ, the true Temple. This act of praise reflects their participation in the eternal worship of the Kingdom, where the redeemed offer glory to their King.
- Prayer of Invocation: In humble dependence, the people pray for the Spirit’s presence, invoking Christ’s heavenly intercession to fill them with the glory of His Kingdom. This prayer acknowledges that worship is a spiritual act, enabled by the Spirit who unites them to the risen Lord.
God Cleanses Us – We Repent with Assurance
- Reading of the Law: Christ, the King, reveals His holy will from the heavenly Zion, setting forth the standard of His Kingdom’s righteousness. This divine Word pierces the heart, exposing sin and calling believers to align with the holiness of the eschatological community.
- Prayer of Confession: The people respond by confessing their sins, recognizing their unworthiness to stand in the heavenly court. This act of repentance is a spiritual offering, made in faith that the Spirit applies Christ’s atoning blood to cleanse them for Kingdom fellowship.
- Assurance of Pardon: From His throne, Christ pronounces forgiveness, assuring His people that their sins are covered by His once-for-all sacrifice. This heavenly declaration restores them to the covenantal bond, enabling them to stand in the Kingdom’s light as justified saints.
- Public Profession of Faith (Occasional): New members confess Christ as Lord, pledging allegiance to the King of the heavenly Kingdom. This public act mirrors the eschatological confession of every tongue before Christ’s throne, binding them to His eternal reign.
- Sacrament of Baptism (Occasional): Christ seals His covenant promises through baptism, a visible sign of the Spirit’s work in uniting believers to the heavenly community. This sacrament marks their entrance into the Kingdom, where they are washed and claimed by the risen Lord.
- Hymn of Reconciliation: The congregation sings of Christ’s reconciling grace, their voices echoing the heavenly anthem of redemption. This spiritual act celebrates their restoration to the Kingdom’s fellowship, where they dwell with God.
- Prayer of Intercession: United to Christ, their High Priest, the people intercede for the church and world, their prayers ascending to the heavenly throne room. This reflects their priestly role in the Kingdom, offering spiritual sacrifices through the Spirit.
God Consecrates Us – We Reply in Faith
- Reading of the Word: Christ speaks from the heavenly sanctuary, His Word consecrating His people as a holy priesthood in His Kingdom. This reading is a spiritual event, where the Spirit illumines hearts to receive the King’s revelation.
- Preaching of the Word: Through the minister, Christ proclaims His gospel, heralding the realities of His eschatological reign. The sermon is a heavenly address, calling believers to faith and obedience as citizens of the Kingdom, transformed by the Spirit’s power.
- Prayer of Application: The congregation prays that the Spirit would implant Christ’s Word in their hearts, enabling them to live as Kingdom citizens. This spiritual response acknowledges their dependence on divine grace to fulfill their heavenly calling.
- Confession of Faith: The people confess their faith, aligning with the heavenly assembly’s declaration of Christ’s lordship. This corporate act, often using ancient creeds, binds them to the eschatological community that worships the King.
- Hymn of Consecration: Singing, the congregation dedicates themselves to Christ, their voices rising as a spiritual offering to the heavenly throne. This reflects their consecration to the Kingdom’s mission, lived out in the power of the Spirit.
- Gifts and Offerings: The people present their offerings, a spiritual act of self-dedication to the King. These gifts symbolize their lives as living sacrifices, offered in the heavenly sanctuary for the advancement of Christ’s reign.
God Communes with Us – We Receive and Rejoice
- Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper: Christ communes with His people through the Supper, a foretaste of the heavenly banquet in His Kingdom. The bread and wine are spiritual signs, uniting believers to their crucified and risen Lord and sealing their participation in His eternal covenant.
- Prayer of Thanksgiving: The congregation lifts up thanks for Christ’s sacrifice, their hearts overflowing with gratitude for the spiritual nourishment of the King’s table. This prayer seeks fruitfulness in their lives, reflecting the glory of their heavenly King.
- Hymn of Communion (with Special Offering): Singing, the people affirm their union with Christ, their voices joining the heavenly worship of the Lamb. Special offerings, given for holy purposes, extend the King’s mercy, embodying the spiritual generosity of the redeemed.
- Doxology: The congregation’s final praise ascends to the Triune God, a climactic offering that mirrors the eternal doxology of the heavenly assembly. This spiritual act fulfills their chief end: to glorify the King forever.
God Commissions Us
- Benediction: Christ, the High Priest, pronounces His blessing from the heavenly throne, commissioning His people to serve in the power of His Spirit. This final Word equips them to live as Kingdom ambassadors, carrying the light of His reign into the world.
Heavenly, Spiritual, and Kingdom-Oriented Nature
Worship at Pasadena OPC is a spiritual ascent into the heavenly Kingdom of Jesus Christ, where believers, united to their risen Lord, participate in the eternal worship of the eschatological assembly. Each element—God’s initiative through Word and sacrament, and the people’s response in faith and praise—reflects the covenantal dialogue of the new creation. The service unfolds as a journey from the call to worship to the benediction, mirroring the redemptive movement from creation to consummation. In this sacred encounter, the Spirit draws worshipers into the presence of the reigning Christ, transforming them to live as citizens of His glorious Kingdom.
Explanation of Elements in Public Worship (Covenant, Union, Communion Emphasis)
The public worship service at Pasadena Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a covenantal encounter in the heavenly Kingdom of Jesus Christ, where believers, united to Christ by the Spirit, commune with the Triune God and one another in the communion of the saints. Each element embodies the covenantal dialogue—God’s gracious initiative and His people’s faithful response—reflecting the spiritual union with Christ, through whom they are bound to the Father by the Spirit, and the corporate fellowship of the covenant community. Worship is thus a foretaste of the eschatological covenant consummation, where the saints glorify God together in His presence.
Morning Worship
God Calls Us – We Respond with Praise
- Call to Worship: Christ, the covenant Mediator, summons His people into the heavenly sanctuary, initiating the covenantal bond through His Word. This call unites the saints in spiritual communion with the Father, by the Spirit, as they enter the eternal worship of the Kingdom. The congregation responds, their hearts bound to Christ in covenantal obedience.
- Salutation: From His throne, Christ greets His covenant people with grace and peace, affirming their spiritual union with Him and the Father. This greeting seals their identity as the communion of saints, knit together by the Spirit in the covenant of grace.
- Hymn of Approach: The saints sing, their voices rising in covenantal praise to Christ, the true Temple. This act unites them spiritually to Him and to one another, their song echoing the heavenly choir’s adoration and strengthening the bond of the covenant community.
- Prayer of Invocation: The congregation humbly invokes the Spirit’s presence, seeking Christ’s covenantal intercession to fill them with divine glory. This prayer, offered in union with Christ, binds the saints together as they approach the Father in shared dependence.
God Cleanses Us – We Repent with Assurance
- Reading of the Law: Christ reveals His covenantal will, the standard of holiness for His Kingdom. This Word, spoken through the Spirit, convicts the saints of their sin, calling them to renew their covenantal fidelity in communion with one another.
- Prayer of Confession: United to Christ, the saints confess their sins, acknowledging their covenant-breaking unfaithfulness. This corporate act, empowered by the Spirit, deepens their spiritual union with the Father and reinforces their solidarity as a repentant community.
- Assurance of Pardon: Christ pronounces forgiveness from the heavenly throne, assuring His people that His covenantal sacrifice cleanses them. This Word of grace, applied by the Spirit, restores the saints to fellowship with the Triune God and one another, affirming their place in the covenant.
- Public Profession of Faith (Occasional): New members confess faith in Christ, pledging covenantal allegiance to the King. This act, witnessed by the communion of saints, strengthens the corporate bond, as the Spirit unites them to Christ and the Father.
- Sacrament of Baptism (Occasional): Christ seals His covenant promises through baptism, marking inclusion in the covenant community. This visible sign, administered in the Spirit, binds the saints—adults and children—to Christ and one another, reflecting their spiritual union in the Kingdom.
- Hymn of Reconciliation: The saints sing of Christ’s covenantal mercy, their voices joined in gratitude for reconciliation with the Father. This corporate praise, offered through the Spirit, celebrates the communion of saints as a reconciled people.
- Prayer of Intercession: In union with Christ, their High Priest, the saints intercede for the church and world, their prayers ascending as a corporate offering. This act of covenantal love, empowered by the Spirit, strengthens their communion as they bear one another’s burdens.
God Consecrates Us – We Reply in Faith
- Reading of the Word: Christ consecrates His covenant people through His Word, spoken from the heavenly sanctuary. This reading, illuminated by the Spirit, unites the saints in their shared identity as God’s covenant community, bound to the Father through Christ.
- Preaching of the Word: Christ proclaims His covenant promises, calling the saints to faith and obedience. The sermon, a divine address through the Spirit, fosters their spiritual union with the Triune God and deepens their corporate fellowship as hearers of the Word.
- Prayer of Application: The saints pray for the Spirit to implant Christ’s Word, seeking to live as a covenant people. This corporate response, offered in union with Christ, binds them to the Father and one another in shared commitment.
- Confession of Faith: The saints confess their faith, using creeds to affirm their covenantal allegiance to Christ. This corporate ‘amen,’ rooted in the Spirit’s work, unites them with the Father and the communion of saints across time, proclaiming the covenant’s truth.
- Hymn of Consecration: Singing, the saints dedicate themselves to Christ, their voices a covenantal offering that strengthens their spiritual union with the Father. This act of corporate praise binds the communion of saints in shared devotion.
- Gifts and Offerings: The saints present their offerings, a covenantal act of self-dedication to Christ. This corporate giving, empowered by the Spirit, reflects their communion as a sacrificial community, united to the Father through the Son.
God Communes with Us – We Receive and Rejoice
- Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper: Christ communes with His covenant people through the Supper, a visible seal of their spiritual union with Him and the Father. The bread and wine, administered by the Spirit, unite the saints in the covenant meal, foreshadowing the eschatological banquet of the Kingdom.
- Prayer of Thanksgiving: The saints offer thanks for Christ’s covenantal sacrifice, their hearts lifted by the Spirit in gratitude. This corporate prayer binds them to the Father and one another, seeking fruitfulness for the covenant community.
- Hymn of Communion (with Special Offering): The saints sing, affirming their covenantal union with Christ and the Father. Special offerings, given for covenantal purposes, reflect the communion of saints’ shared mission, empowered by the Spirit to extend God’s mercy.
- Doxology: The saints’ final praise ascends to the Triune God, a covenantal offering that unites them in the heavenly worship of the Kingdom. This corporate act fulfills their covenantal calling to glorify God together.
God Commissions Us
- Benediction: Christ pronounces His covenantal blessing, commissioning His people to serve as ambassadors of His Kingdom. This final Word, sealed by the Spirit, unites the saints with the Father and equips them for covenantal living in communion with one another.
Covenantal Nature and Spiritual Union
Worship at Pasadena OPC is a covenantal act of communion with the Triune God, where believers, united to Christ by the Spirit, are bound to the Father and one another in the communion of saints. Each element reflects the covenantal dialogue—“I will be their God, and they will be My people”—as Christ initiates through Word and sacrament, and the saints respond in faith, repentance, and praise. This spiritual union with Christ, the covenant Mediator, draws the saints into the Father’s presence, while their corporate fellowship mirrors the eschatological unity of the Kingdom. Worship thus anticipates the covenant’s consummation, where the communion of saints will eternally glorify God together.