The Worship Service Format

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The typical format for a worship service in the Church of God is usually three songs, an opening prayer, a sermonette, another song, announcements and special music, a sermon, and ending with a song and closing prayer. This hasn’t seemed to vary much from one group to another. It was a format that was started in the Worldwide Church of God and all the splinter groups have retained it as if it were holy scripture.

The services on this website vary from this format. There are certain elements that are essential to making this worship experience meaningful and satisfying to those who are conducting a service independently. They fulfill a purpose and allow one to honor God’s command to come before him. The basic purposes behind the formal service are:

To present oneself before God in order to praise him.
To present oneself before God in order to express gratitude.
To bring gifts and offerings to God (this is not the offering of money).
To restore or establish harmony between oneself and God.
To present oneself before God in order to be taught his laws and his ways.

Preparation

Establish when and where you will hold your service and come prepared to worship God and learn from him. One should approach God in a state of cleanliness, not only physically, but spiritually. Take time to prepare yourself before hand.

If you plan to print the service, do that ahead of time and make copies, if necessary, for all in attendance. If you need to download the music, do that ahead also. Ideally, all the copying and downloading should be done on Friday in order to be ready for the service on the Sabbath. (Or, at least the day before you will be holding your service).

If possible, unplug your phones, turn off cell phones, televisions, or any other item that would distract or interrupt your service. If a visitor arrives in the middle of a service, you might need to deal with that, but make an attempt to eliminate, to the best of your ability, anything that would interfere with your service.

The Service Format

The elements of the service generally will follow this format. From time to time, it may vary, but most will include the following items.

The Call to Worship — This is to set the tone and to bring the people gathered to a quiet attitude, ready for worship. It could be words that express God’s greatness, his mercy, or any of his characteristics. It could be a quote from scripture or a responsive reading. If a responsive reading, divide the group in half and have one half read the type in regular face and the second half to respond with the type in bold face. Whatever the words are, they are intended to convey the message that it is time to present yourself before the Lord and you are ready to worship him and learn from him.

The Invitation — In many of the churches of the land, this called the Invocation. It’s purpose is to invite God to come among you — to bring his presence to your service, at the same time that you approach him for an audience. This is not to be entered into lightly. It’s an awesome thing to come before the Lord. When you ask him for an audience, make sure you mean it and that you are willing to receive him. It is intended to be read in unison by the group.

The First Hymn — This hymn is usually in praise of God the Father, expressing his greatness and power. Just preceding it, the assembly (or individual) has asked for an audience with God, so the first hymn should be an expression of praise and gratitude for his attributes, his works, and his love and care for his people.

The Opening Prayer — The opening prayer will continue the praise, gratitude and recognition of the Father. Read it in unison, as a group.

Moments of Silence — At the end of the written prayer, allow a few moments of silence that moves directly into the time of personal prayer. These moments of silence allow the participants to quiet their minds and prepare to talk to God.

The Personal Prayer — This is done in silence and allows each participant an opportunity to offer up a personal prayer to the Father. This is a time for supplication, as well as expressions of praise and gratitude. If participating as a group, agree ahead of time that as each person completes their prayer, they raise the heads and remain sitting quietly while others finish. When the last person has finished, continue with the service. Just a reminder, all prayers should be closed by calling on the authority of Jesus Christ — i.e., “I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ” or “In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

The Second Hymn — This should be a joyful and uplifting hymn as we know that God hears us and will answer all the prayers of a righteous and contrite heart.

Presentations — This is not a collection of money. It is a time of sharing, when any member of the group can share something with God. It can take a multitude of forms. A talented singer or musician could sing unto the Lord or play a musical number on a musical instrument. Perhaps someone has come across something to read or has had a special insight they want to share briefly (not a time of teaching or instruction). The main thing to remember is that these are presentations to God, not to the assembled group. The purpose is to share something with God, just as a child loves to share with a parent. Even the lone individual can come to a time of worship with something to share with the Father. If no one is prepared, skip to the next item.

The Collect — These are usually words, read in unison, that prepare us for the lesson. We ask God to guide our study and to open our minds and eyes to see and understand what he wants us to learn at this time.

The Lesson — The lesson is the teaching part of the service. It could be long or short, depending on the material. It can be on any subject that will bring us closer to God and an understanding of his true Word from the Bible. Most of the lessons will include extensive use of the Bible, so make sure it is close at hand and look up all the scriptures referenced. It will enhance your learning if you read the scriptures out of the Bible rather than just being satisfied with the printed text on screen or in the printed booklet. From time-to-time, the lesson may be a serious Bible Study of a topic or a section of a book from the scriptures. It may have been written by Sound a Trumpet or may come from another source. It might be an article that imparts a needed lesson or could even take the form of exercises that force you to write out answers from your Bible to questions on a specific subject.

There is no specified length of time that a worship service ought to take, although most agree that the human attention span will begin to wander if it goes much beyond two hours. Because the lessons vary so much in length, if it is a particularly long lesson, we recommend ending the lesson with a prayer of thanksgiving and ending the service here. But on shorter lessons, continue to the final two elements of the service.

The Closing Hymn — This hymn could be of any variety: fast, slow, praising, or thankfulness. It will usually try to fit in with the lesson just completed.

Closing Words — This is called the Benediction in most other churches. It is usually words of thanksgiving and gratitude to the Father with the request for his presence among our lives during the upcoming week. It could take the form of a simple prayer or a charge to do something with what you have learned that week.