In my previous two blogs, I offered some suggestions for fruitful personal and family worship. Following this pattern, I will now offer some suggestions for fruitful corporate worship, or worship on the Lord’s Day.
The Westminster Confession of Faith emphasizes the special character of the Lord’s Day. It is a day of rest for God’s people. It is a day of Christian worship. Private and family worship are exercised daily. However, the Lord’s Day worship is set apart. It is practiced once a week on the sacred day that the Lord has appointed and called His own.
“He hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.” WCF 21:7
As I mentioned in the previous two blogs, there are elements of worship that are reserved for the Lord’s Day. These are preaching, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. I will offer suggestions for each of these, since they are unique to the Lord’s Day. But before we look at how to fruitfully partake in these, consider the need for preparation.
The Lord’s Day is a day of rest and worship. It is wise to prepare as much as you can beforehand. This preparation will free up your day for its proper use. The larger catechism says, “…to that end [rest and worship], we are to prepare our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that day.” WLC 117
Take time the night before the Lord’s Day to prepare. This will make your day more restful and more full of worship. It will therefore be more fruitful. Cleaning your house, laying out clothes for the kids, preparing easy meals, finishing chores, paying bills, etc. Completing all tasks that would take away from rest and worship beforehand will produce a more fruitful Lord’s Day. Now, let’s look at some specifics for worship.
Preaching
The Reformers and the Puritans rightly understood the Scripture’s definition of preaching. They taught that the word of God faithfully preached is truly the word of God. In other words, when the scriptures are rightly proclaimed, you are not hearing the voice of the preacher. Instead, you are hearing the voice of God (Eph 2:17, Rom 10:14). More on this idea in a future blog. For now, let’s explore how this should affect us.
Having the correct view of what preaching is will change how we listen to it. We are not coming to listen to a pep talk from a spiritual guru. Nor are we coming to listen to the wisdom of men. No, the wisdom of man is foolishness to God (1 Cor 3:19). Instead, we gather to hear the proclamation of the word of God. As the sheep, we gather to hear the words of the Good Shepherd.
So, my suggestion is to come expectant. We should come to church prepared to hear God speak to us. We should keep our ears attentive to what the Lord is saying to us. What is He teaching you? How is He reproving you? How is He correcting you? How is He training you in righteousness? The Scriptures say He is doing this (2 Tim 3:16). Are we listening?
“Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is preached, and received of the faithful.” -Second Helvetic Confession
Baptism
Depending on your church and theological tradition, baptisms occur with different frequency. A large credobaptist church will typically have a baptism service a couple of times a year. On the other hand, a paedobaptist church will have baptisms more periodically as children are born within the congregation. For this reason, my suggestion will be applicable to both. The suggestion is not for the one being baptized. There is much to say about that at a later time. Rather, the focus at this time is on the ones observing the baptism.
Baptism is a “sign and seal of the covenant of grace” (WCF 28:1). It is an outward sign of the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit (Ti 3:5). Like circumcision, it marks a people out as distinct from the rest of the world. It is the mark of the people of God (Col 2:11). So, when we observe a baptism, we acknowledge the benefit of the recipient and celebrate with them. In addition to this, we have the opportunity to make it fruitful to us. We can “improve” upon our own baptism by remembering that we were also baptized into that same baptism (WLC 167).
The suggestion is simple. In witnessing a baptism, we should reflect upon all of the things associated with it. This person was once dead in sins. Now they have received the sign of spiritual life. The sign that the blood of Jesus Christ has washed them. The sign that the Holy Spirit has made them alive. Isn’t this true for all of us? Have we not received the same sign and seal? We should remember all of this at every baptism. We should remember our baptism.
“The benefit which we derive from the sacraments ought by no means to be restricted to the time when they are administered to us…The benefit of baptism lies open to the whole course of life, because the promise which is contained in it is perpetually in force.” -John Calvin
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is the second sacrament. It was given primarily for the remembrance of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ (Lk 22:19). It also serves for the spiritual nourishment of the individual partaking of it. However, there is a corporate element to it. It is upon this less discussed side that I will make my suggestion to you.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” The verbs eat, drink, and proclaim are all in the plural. Paul explains this even more explicitly earlier. He writes, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body. We all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:17). This communicates to us that the Lord’s Supper has a corporate side to it. We are eating, drinking, and proclaiming the Lord’s death together.
So, the suggestion is to consider the corporate element of the Lord’s Supper when you partake. Consider that Jesus did not only die for you as an individual, but He died for a people. We who were not a people are now a people by the blood of Christ (1 Pet 2:10).
In Christ, God has taken you out of the world and made you one of His own (Jn 17:6). You are among the people of God broadly speaking. More precisely, you are a part of your local congregation. God has given you fellow believers to worship beside each Lord’s Day. May we all be grateful for that gift and consider it while we take the Lord’s Supper. May we proclaim His death for us—together.
“In the Lord’s Supper, believers have communion with Christ and with one another; they sit at the same table, and eat of the same bread.” -Thomas Watson
Conclusion
I pray that the suggestions offered in this series will assist you in your worship—in private, in your family, and in your church. If this has been helpful to you, would you consider sharing it with someone who might also benefit from it?
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Grace and peace to you.