Dear Cornerstone Family,
It is customary during a new season of the church calendar for us to make some slight adjustments to the order of worship. In keeping with that custom, we’ve made a few changes that will stay in place for the next six weeks of the Lenten season. In hearing that, some of you get excited; “I like variety,” you say. For others of you—maybe many of you—you think, “Oh no. Don’t change worship!”
Given the range of responses to any change, even if it’s only a six-week change, it’s right that we ask the question, “Why make a change to the order or worship ever? What do we gain by doing that?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Just two points for today.
First, it’s important that worship doesn’t become rote. At Cornerstone, we believe it’s critical for worship to be a holy habit wherein the Christian is formed by the routine of a biblically faithful order of worship. As critical as that is, we never want worship to be perfunctory. It’s easy to fall into a thoughtless pattern of worship and just go through the motions. When we make slight changes to the order of worship, we’re pushing against that tendency. We’re given a fresh opportunity to consider the elements of worship and the weekly pattern of worship in a new way. These little changes keep us on our toes and cause us to pay closer attention to what we’re saying and doing in worship.
Second, slight changes to the order of worship give us an opportunity to emphasize certain aspects of the worship service or highlight a particular theological/biblical point. Let me illustrate that by noting the changes we’ve made to the order of worship during the Lenten season this year.
•For the next six weeks, the Profession of Faith, which usually comes after the sermon, will come before the sermon in the spot typically occupied by the Old or New Testament reading. By moving the profession of faith to this spot, we’re confronted with the holiness and majesty of our God earlier in the service, which more deeply prepares us for confession of sin. In other words, as we see the glory of God in what we profess to be true, our sin is exposed and the need for repentance is made plain.
•Also, we changed the Profession of Faith from the Apostle’s Creed, which we use 90% of the time, to the longer Nicene Creed. A longer, more detailed creedal statement, especially one that emphasizes the person and work of Jesus Christ, prepares us to think deeply about what Christ accomplished for us in His perfect obedience, his death on the cross, and in the resurrection. (I’ll take time during Lent to unpack parts of the Nicene Creed for us, so stay tuned.)
•Finally, we added the Ten Commandments at the Lord’s Supper. In traditional Reformation liturgies, the Ten Commandments were a regular part of the order of worship. They were often included at the Lord’s Table to emphasize Christ’s fulfillment of the law and the law’s ongoing role of instruction in the life of the believer. Following that tradition, we’ve added in a reading of the law at the Lord’s Supper during this season that we might remember that Christ has freed us from the condemnation of the law and now, by the power of the Spirit, he equips us to love and keep the law as an expression of our gratitude and commitment to God (John 14:15, Matt. 28:20, Gal. 6:2).
As we prepare to pace through a slightly different order of worship together, take a moment now to prayerfully ask the Lord to heighten your awareness of his glory and majesty, to lead you in the grace of repentance, and to stir within you a deeper love for your Savior and his life-giving commands.
Your servant,
