Reformed Worship

Call to ConfessionWhile we claim to celebrate the ascension of our Lord,the way we live proclaims our lack of faithin his power to deal with the world.Let us confess the incongruity between our faith and practice.Let us pray.Prayer of ConfessionWe come, O Lord, on this day of glory to confess our lack of trust.While we sing of your lordship over all creation,we have too often acted as though you are powerlessin the face of today’s events.Help us to live with confidence in your presence todayand in hope for life with you forever. Amen. —Reformed Worship © 2025 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

A familiar feature of Advent and Christmas worship both at home and in church is the Advent wreath. Each Sunday of Advent another candle is lit, culminating in the lighting of the Christ Candle on Christmas Day. Less familiar to many is the Lenten triad—an adaptation of the Advent wreath that can also be incorporated into individual or family devotions or used in congregational worship.

Using texts from Handel's Messiah in an Advent communion service   The Opening The Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight; behold, he is coming, rejoice greatly, shout in triumph. Our king is coming. He is the righteous Savior, He shall speak peace unto the nations. (Malachi 3:1; Zech. 9:9-10)

Three Views on How the Bible Ought to Determine Our Worship Should we burn incense in our public worship? Should we kneel? Should we raise our hands during prayer? Should we dance? Should we speak in tongues?

Christmas marks the culmination of the Advent season. The time of waiting is past, and God's people eeiehrate the arrival of their Messiah, who has visited and redeemed his people. *Everyone who is able, please stand