Why do we Read the Word on Sunday?

I have been in a church service close to every Sunday since I was born. I have served in big churches and small churches, visited churches from the West Coast to the East Coast, and fellowshipped with pastors from nearly every known denomination. That means I’ve seen a lot – from top-notch worship bands to piano-only accompanied singing; from hour long sermons to twenty-minute sermonettes; from a high value placed on video production to no media at all … and everything in between. So why do we do what we do at Redeemer? I’d like to take a few weeks to answer that question. Since the start of Redeemer, I’ve had people comment on new things they have experienced in our Sunday corporate worship, to quirky things they aren’t sure they like. Do we just do what makes for a good show? What feels comfortable? What we can fit in 75 minutes? Or are there deeper, Biblical reasons to include certain elements in a corporate worship service?

I’ll start with an easy one – Why do we stand and read Scripture in our service as a dedicated element prior to the sermon? Simple and clearest answer – “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13) The apostle Paul didn’t give a formal “liturgy” (A pattern for the corporate worship of the church), but he described much of what should take place. Here he tells Pastor Timothy to read the Scripture publicly. For that reason, we think it important to have the Word read (In an opening Call to Worship and prior to the morning’s Exposition). We have chosen to respond with a formal word of gratitude when the Word is read (“This is the word of the Lord, Thanks be to God”) to train our hearts that God’s Word is precious and to be highly esteemed as God’s people. May we never minimize the Scriptures, nor treat them with indifference, for they are the very words of life.

I look forward to unpacking more of the elements that make up our Lord’s Day worship in the weeks to come!