Reformed Worship - Resources for Planning and Leading Worship

Christians baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit because they follow Jesus, who in Matthew 28 told his disciples to do so. Christians sometimes open or close services of worship according to Paul’s words at the end of 2 Corinthians 13: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).

A Scriptural Pattern of Divine Blessing

In the Christian tradition in which I grew up, worship services began and ended with a prayer. The faith-nurturing I received there also included my pastor’s encouragement to read through the Bible every year. I did that several times before experiencing a different worship style that began with a divine blessing and ended with a benediction.

A few years ago I visited my friend Shawn, who is what you would call an audiophile. Shawn devotes an immense amount of time, energy, and money to thinking about and listening to music. He’s one of these people who would rather buy music than groceries. His apartment was simple, but decorated wall to wall with record albums.

I asked Shawn, “Why do you still collect records?” He looked at me, as audiophiles do, as if he were disappointed in me. He simply shook his head and said, “Because they sound better!”