CHAPTER IV

The Form of the Adventist Worship Service

CHAPTERS 4 and 5 are entitled "The Form of the Adventist Worship Service" and "The Content of the Adventist Worship Service." Theoretically, these two subjects can be discussed separately; but practically, form and content cannot be entirely separated. For this reason, considerable overlap will be seen between the two topics.

Before we can discuss profitably the problems relating to the form and content of the worship service, let us give some attention to the nature of the service we wish to conduct. What are the objectives of our worship? The three previous chapters should have alerted us to certain Biblical, historical, theological, and psychological concepts that will help us to determine the nature of the worship we desire in our churches.

First, our worship must be in harmony with Biblical patterns. Our study led us to the conclusion that the worship of the Bible reached its climax in the worship of the early Christian church. The spontaneity, the spiritual energy, of the apostolic church is our example. True, that church has left us no liturgy. This in itself is significant. We are not asked to copy a liturgy but to emulate a spiritual pattern. This pattern was one of simplicity, of directness, of Spirit-filled preaching, of lay participation, of free prayer, of spontaneity. It was not mysterious, formal, ritualistic, priestly, or highly structured. It was the worship of simple, dedicated people 

who believed completely in Christ and who loved to express their adoration to Him.

I believe our ministers should present this Biblical concept of worship to our churches. How often have we preached on the worship of the Bible? How much do our people know about what happened when the Christians of Paul's day assembled for worship? Our people are waiting for us to teach them these things.

Second, our worship services must be evangelistic. They should be permeated with a content and atmosphere which will persuade men for Christ. I believe one of the most important evangelistic opportunities we have is our Sabbath morning worship service.

I do not mean that we must always speak on a specifically doctrinal topic in order to make our worship services evangelistic. I do mean that every service should be so conducted that non-Adventists or non-Christians in the congregation may feel the persuasive influence of the gospel of Christ. I mean that our members should never have to phone us to discover if it is safe to bring their nonAdventist friends and relatives to church the following Sabbath. It should always be not only safe but desirable to bring every nonAdventist possible.

Our standard of reverence, our order of service, our sermons, our music, must be of such a nature that visitors will be impressed, not offended. We must find ways of carrying on the essential church business so that promotion will not take the place of worship. We must handle many church problems in the homes, in the prayer meeting, by correspondence, in order that the worship service can always reach the hearts of the "stranger within our gates."

Many of our people are longing to bring their friends and relatives to church. Physicians would like to bring their patients. But too often they dare not do so. If we would conduct services and preach sermons which would reach these visitors, we might in many cases have a constant attendance of non-Adventists, many of whom would accept our faith. These people who come in through the front door on Sabbath, who learn to know us and love us, who worship with us and fellowship with us, will stay with us, once they are brought to a decision.

I know this works, because I have tried it. As a pastor of a large city church I found that nothing added more to the spirit of the Sabbath service than the presence of visitors who came week after week, and some of whom finally joined the church. This does not take the place of formal evangelism, but it adds to the effectiveness of conventional public evangelism. It should never be necessary to avoid bringing interested people to church until they have made a decision, lest they become discouraged. Church attendance should help interested people make a decision.

Preparing for an effort is more than scattering literature throughout a town. We must develop a worship service that will hold people who might be brought to the church by the effort. This will often involve some education in worship.

Third, Adventist worship services must be reverent. The quotations from Testimonies, Volume 5, indicate that at the time Ellen White wrote much was lacking in this regard. We must admit that this fault still exists. A lack of a sense of the presence of God is often obvious. People too often conduct themselves as they would at a political rally.

Several years ago when I was pastor of the Loma Linda College Church, I was showing some Baptist relatives about the campus. During the tour we stepped into Burden Hall, which I explained to them was the auditorium where my church held its services. Immediately on entering that not-too-stately auditorium they dropped their voices to a whisper. I was impressed. I had never before seen that much respect for Burden Hall as a place of worship. But Ellen White said, "If when the people come into the house of worship, they have genuine reverence for the Lord and bear in mind that they are in His presence, there will be a sweet eloquence in silence."—Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 492.

The story is told of an ancient city that was built over a river, but the rushing of the water over the riverbed could be heard only at night when the city was still. God speaks in a still, small voice; and if we hear His voice during the hour of worship, we are going to have to be silent.

In many of our churches the voice of God is drowned out by 

crying babies. The preacher may outshout the children, but God will not. He just won't be heard. This is a problem to which we must address ourselves. Ellen White says, "Sometimes a little child may so attract the attention of the hearers that the precious seed does not fall into good ground and bring forth fruit."—Ibid., p. 493. This happens every Sabbath in scores of Adventist churches. How should we meet this problem? Basically, we must so educate our people regarding worship that they will take the initiative to find a solution. Then we must make provisions so that the solution will be as easy as possible. This may involve nurseries, mothers' rooms, and other facilities.

While we must be kind, Christian, and tactful in dealing with these harassed young mothers, we must not allow their babies to ruin the services of the church. Our church services can never be successfully evangelistic as long as this condition exists. Crying babies may actually be keeping hundreds of people from worshiping with us and eventually joining the church. It is not the occasional accidental outburst, quickly quelled, that ruins the church service. It is rather the prolonged fussing and crying to which the parent has become so accustomed that he hardly seems to hear. This problem involves not only the worship of the parents of the child but the rights of other worshipers who are disturbed by the noise. Common courtesy will respect those who are trying to worship. Yet we all are aware of how offended some parents become at even the most tactful suggestion that their children are disturbing the service. Sometimes the pastor, with Christian kindness, must talk to the parents about the problem. This is not easy, but it is preferable to ruining the sacredness of the church service. In the words of Ellen White, "Unless correct ideas of true worship and true reverence are impressed upon the people, there will be a growing tendency to place the sacred and eternal on a level with common things, and those professing the truth will be an offense to God and a disgrace to religion."—Ibid., p. 500.

We must remember, of course, that reverence involves more than quiet babies. It involves quietness and order in the way people come and go. It involves habits of conduct—talking, laughing, 

visiting during the service. It involves the attitude of the young people. It involves the type of music used. And, above all, it involves the personality and leadership of the minister. A reverent minister will tend to make a reverent people; and the converse is also true.

When the minister walks onto the platform on Sabbath morning, he must recognize that he is leading his congregation in the worship of God. He must himself feel the awe and responsibility of the occasion. He must be vibrant with Christian joy. His prayers, his reading of the Scripture, his sermon, his dress, his attitude, must convey the fact that he recognizes the presence of God. And this can be achieved only as the preacher has enjoyed God's presence in the study where the service was planned and the sermon was prepared. God does not meet the preacher in the pulpit. He meets him in his study and accompanies him to the pulpit.

We might name other characteristics that we desire for Adventist worship, but they are all well summarized in these three: It must be Biblical, evangelistic, and reverent. We must also remember that these three overlap. Each one interacts with the others. The Biblical standard avoids the undue influence of human tradition. The evangelistic emphasis avoids the tendency toward excessive self-concern. Reverence avoids the ever-present danger of forgetting the presence of God, which is the basis of all worship.

If we are to achieve these standards, we must give careful scrutiny to each item in the church service and to its relationship to each other item. It is impossible to conduct a service without liturgy. The simple act of announcing a hymn and pronouncing a benediction is liturgy. Our concern is that we avoid excessive and improper liturgy. By improper liturgy we mean that which is not an accurate expression of our theology.

How should a service of worship proceed? No one answer can be given. A service may open with a call to worship, either musical or Scriptural, or a hymn. This may be preceded by an organ or
Piano prelude or by an appropriate number by the choir. Following the formal opening, there will usually be, in one order or another, an invocation, two or more hymns, a Scripture reading, a pastoral 

prayer, an offering, some type of music, a sermon, and a benediction. The leader of worship should weld these rather dissimilar items into a meaningful pattern. This pattern, as experience has amply proved, may present almost infinite variations. The meaning of the pattern must be felt by the leader of worship and conveyed by him to the congregation.

Some leading authorities have suggested that one of the best patterns for meaningful worship is in the sixth chapter of Isaiah. The young prophet's experience in the Temple divides itself into four parts. First, he "saw . . . the Lord." And so, in worship in the house of God, the worshiper must be made aware of the presence of God. This may be done by properly chosen hymns, by intelligent, worshipful prayers, by effective reading of the Scriptures. It may be done by the existence of a tradition of reverence which will cause the worshiper to exclaim like Jacob, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." It may be done by the influence and leadership of a pastor who knows God and who knows how to invite his people into God's presence. However it is done, it must be accomplished. No worship will result until the pastor and the people "see the Lord."

"True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness and a realization of His presence. With this sense of the Unseen, every heart should be deeply impressed. The hour and place of prayer are sacred, because God is there. And as reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the feeling that inspires it will be deepened."—Prophets and Kings, pp. 48, 49.

The more spiritually minded our congregations become, the more effectively we can lead them to realize the presence of God. And the more graphically we can impress people with a realization of His presence, the more they will develop in spiritual stature. Suppose the order of service is opened with a Scriptural call to worship. This may be mere form, and it will be unless the person who reads it is sensitive to the presence of God. Often I have stood before my congregation at the beginning of a service and read David's prayer in Psalm 63:

"O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul 

thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name." Verses 1-4.

This is a tremendous affirmation of faith in God and worship of Him. Can I say it in such a way that my people will catch the spirit of it? Can I create an atmosphere in which the members of my congregation are saying in their hearts, "Thou art my God," "My soul thirsteth for thee," "My lips shall praise thee," "I will lift up my hands in thy name"? A scripture like this—and the Bible contains hundreds of them—can change a casual audience into a worshiping congregation if it is read correctly by a minister who knows the God whom these words are praising.

A great hymn of praise can have the same effect. My favorite hymn is No. 1 in our hymnal. You have sung this hymn many tunes:

and courage, and a new appreciation of the grace of God? This should not be an exceptional experience. This is the purpose of worship. The angel with the live coal should always be there, but he cannot cleanse us until we have become aware of God's greatness and our need.

Through prayer, hymns, reading of the Scriptures, and sermons, the promise of cleansing through God's grace must be made so real that the people can receive anew the experience of sins forgiven. This joy of sins forgiven through God's grace is the very center of salvation by faith. At this point the saving grace of God makes itself felt in the individual soul. When is there a more appropriate time for this transaction to occur than in the hour of worship?

I do not say the worship service is the only place where the Christian can enjoy this experience of forgiveness and peace. God can work for us anywhere at any time. I do believe that the hour of worship should be a major avenue of the activity of the grace of God in behalf of His people. The final paragraph in Ellen White's chapter on "Behavior in the House of God," from which we have quoted, begins with these words: "Paul describes the work of God's ambassadors as that by which every man shall be presented perfect in Christ Jesus." Surely the service of divine worship is part of this process. There lips should be touched, iniquity taken away, and sin purged. This is the objective of Christian worship.

The fourth part of Isaiah's experience was dedication. The Lord said, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Isaiah replied, "Here am I; send me." (Verse 8.) Our offerings should be a symbol of this dedication, but they must involve a much broader experience than merely the giving of money. The worshiper should go from the place of worship willing to go where his Lord wants him to go and to do what his Lord wants him to do.

Again, this commitment should result from God's work through song, prayer, Scripture, and sermon. But if these constituents of worship are purposeless, if they are mere ritual, carried on with out deep thought and meaning, how can God work through them to secure dedication on the part of the worshiper? Some ministers 

think they must call on their congregations to raise their hands or to stand at the close of every service to secure decision. This is appropriate at times, but the implied appeal of a hymn, a Scripture reading, a prayer, or a sermon often is more effective than the explicit call, especially when the call has become a part of a ritual.

Von Ogden Vogt, in his Art and Religion, chapter XV, says, "Something like the great experience of Isaiah is what the worship of the church ought to help people to have."—P. 150. This is the goal of Christian worship—the nurture and salvation of souls. It is done by praying, reading scriptures, singing hymns, offering our gifts, and preaching.

If worshipers are to have such experiences, leaders of worship will have to use a skillful and consecrated touch. One area that concerns the pastor is the order of the worship service. In what sequence should the various parts of the service come? Although no final answer to this question can be given, a few observations may be in order. 

Recently I participated in a service of worship in one of our larger churches. Preceding the service the organist played a meditation. Fortunately this church has had a long tradition of quiet and order, so the congregation was settled, attentive, and undistracted before the service began. The choir entered and sang an appropriate selection as the ministers entered the pulpit. One of the ministers read a Scriptural call to worship, after which the congregation sang "Before Jehovah's Awful Throne." This hymn was 

followed by a brief invocation. Every worshiper was confronted with the privilege of awareness of the presence of God.

As the subject of the sermon was "Is Perfection Possible?" the responsive reading was "Christian Perfection," from page 599 of the hymnal. The scriptures included in this reading were Ephesians 4:1-8, 11-16. This included the challenge to all believers to "grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." It was intended to awaken a feeling of need and of God's abundant grace to supply that need. The pastoral prayer followed the reading of the Word of God. Up to this point the congregation had participated actively in singing a hymn and reading a responsive reading. Following the prayer, the choir sang an anthem which heightened the atmosphere of worship. The pastor then made a few appropriate remarks to the congregation, and the offering was received.

Please note that the offering was not too early in the service. Sometimes this symbol of dedication comes so soon that we are tempted to feel that the philosophy is "pay as you enter." The worship service is not a vending machine into which we drop our money, then wait for a blessing. Giving is a symbol of the dedication which follows a vision of God and communion with Him.

After the offering the congregation sang a second hymn, preceding the sermon. I know this is not often done, but it can be very meaningful. First, it gives a chance for congregational participation before settling down to listen to the preacher. Second, a congregational hymn is often a better background for the sermon than a performance of music or a Scripture reading. For example, on this Sabbath when the preacher talked on "Perfection" the hymn immediately preceding the sermon was No. 350 in the hymnal, "We Have Not Known Thee":

perfection and our ultimate salvation are entirely dependent upon Christ.

This order of worship can be adapted to a small church. There may be a piano instead of an organ, there may be no choir anthem; but the same hymns can be sung, the same scriptures read, the same prayers offered, the same sermon preached. God can be present with just as much reality in a small church as in a large one. Worshipers may feel the touch of the coal from off the altar in the simplest country church. The same glow may accompany the worship of God with a congregation of ten as with a thousand. It is largely up to the leader of worship—his planning, his personality, his insight, his skill. God will be there if the preacher will keep out of His way!

In my class in Worship at the seminary, I often write on the board this order of worship without indicating it source:

Doxology     Invocation     Hymn     ScriptureReading     Hymn

Meditation     Prayer     Anthem     Sermon     Benediction

Offertory