Adventist Worship

Seventh-day Adventist worship follows in the tradition of free church worship, featuring much hymn singing, expository sermons, and informal atmosphere. Some churches use the Common Lectionary, and the Communion Service is becoming more prominent. A representative order of worship is organized around four areas: God's presence, God's gifts, God's Word, and God's grace. In outline, a renewed pattern of Adventist worship is as follows:

Preparation for Worship Sabbath Focus The entire congregation gathers in a time of intergenerational activity. A special feature may be presented by the children; slides of an overseas mission or community service/action project may be shown; or some inspirational story, poem, or minidrama of interest to all ages may be presented. The "Focus" is specifically planned to bring together and involve everyone present as the church body. Prior planning is essential to effective intergenerational programming. Individual creativity on the part of the coordinator is also a key to success. Songs of Praise The intergenerational emphasis is continued. Often a group of children will come to the platform to sing a cradle roll, primary, or junior song. The adults will be invited to join in the singing and act out any motions illustrating the song. Most songs are piano accompanied, but often a guitar is used. On rare occasions a flute and a viola are added; other instruments could be added with availability. Praise choruses and Scripture songs are sung on occasion, using an overhead projector. Generally the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal is used for the "adult" songs. Gospel songs with a praise emphasis predominate. The leaders regularly plan a thematic sequence and almost always make sure the singing time is upbeat. "Songs of Praise" serve to further meld individual worshipers into a worshiping congregation. This active, informal expression of praise gives way to greater formality later in the service and prepares the worshipers to better meet God in Word and prayer. Celebration and News Events in the lives of congregants that call for gratitude, concerns that call for action and/or prayer, announcements about church life activities, and explanation or instructions relating to the day's worship are presented here in the context of the community of faith. Lambs' Offering All the young children walk among the worshipers collecting an offering for Christian education. The value of this activity to our worship time seems to rest primarily in the great pleasure it gives to a large majority of worshipers. In addition, the children feel included in the service, and physical activity here also helps the children to sit more quietly later, since at present there is no nursery service. At times a children's lesson (or story) relating to the worship theme is presented before or after the Lambs' Offering. We Celebrate God's Presence Up to this point in our worship the atmosphere and attitude has been decidedly informal. It has been intentionally planned to meet the fellowship/family needs of congregants in a worship setting and is essentially preparation of the community for worship. Following this point the character of our service is designed to be considerably more formal, enabling the congregation to experience the depth and breadth and at least a token of the richness that comes from using some of the forms of historical Christian worship. (In a process of education and renewal we add features from time to time or on special occasions.) Our order of worship is organized under four areas of celebration: God's presence, God's gifts, God's Word, and God's grace. While the local pastor is the worship leader, "local elders" lead portions of the service. Moreover, worship is specifically planned to include congregational participation as much as possible. Lakeside is currently one of the few Seventh-day Adventist churches that uses the Common Lectionary as the scriptural basis for planning weekly worship. Worship is, of course, on Saturday; when I refer to a lection, it is the one prescribed for the Sunday immediately following. The order of worship may have a title such as Advent I or First Week in Advent, or there may be a note in the bulletin announcements regarding the day or season of the Christian year. The worship environment includes a fresh floral bouquet as a symbol of creation and the beauty of the Creator, a table with a hand-carved cross and often other symbols or artifacts (these often are not verbally explained) to illustrate the worship theme and/or sermon, and seasonal banners (often left hanging until the next season). In the worship used as a model for this article, Triumphal Entry and Easter banners were displayed and the usual line drawing of the church building on the service bulletin was replaced with one illustrating the Ascension. Ganged chairs form a modified semicircle around the platform, but are rearranged on occasion to facilitate greater participation. An electronic organ is the primary musical instrument for worship, but it is regularly and frequently joined by the piano. A pipe organ is included in the long-range plans of the church. Occasionally a guest musician offers a solo on some other instrument such as flute, cello, saxophone, or trumpet. Organ Prelude This time of meditation and absence of vocal sound follows the informal, more physically active time. Silent prayer is encouraged. The local elders come forward to the platform pews, joining the pastor. On the relatively infrequent occasions when candles are used, acolytes light them during the prelude. If symbolism is better served because of a specific reference in the call to worship or the hymn of praise, the candles are lit at that point. During Advent there is a lighting ceremony at the Advent wreath each week. Call to Worship Though in various ways worship has already been happening, the call to worship formally opens worship, signaling clearly the direction of thought and action. Most often it is responsive, thus vocally involving the people in what they are about to do. Most of the time ministers will adapt the lectionary psalm for the day so that it becomes specifically a call to worship, including elements of the human cry, assurance, and praise. Very occasionally they use a prepared call from some worship resource material. Less often they use a more traditional liturgical form. While it is not listed in the order, some leaders follow the call to worship with an invocation that invites God's presence in words related to the call to worship and the worship theme of the day. Hymn of Praise This hymn is specifically chosen to direct thought toward God and express adoration of him, magnifying who he is and what he does more than voicing our experience. If such a hymn can also relate to or introduce the day's theme, so much the better. It may do so by contrast, enhancement, or as in this model service, fill out another part of the biblical story that is related to the theme. We Celebrate God's Gifts Tithes and Offerings. The tithes and offerings provide the monetary means for conducting the work of God on earth, which is an aspect of worship. Importantly, they also symbolize the gift of oneself to God. Additionally, the act of giving funds is praise to God for his love and blessings. The musical offertory during this time enhances the auditory and aesthetic beauty of worship. At Lakeside a prayer begins the offertory actions and continues with the offertory in music and placing a gift in the plate. At one church in Virginia a doxology that changes every two to three months is sung prior to the prayer that concludes this section of worship. Our Prayers This prayer voices the praise, supplication, and confession of the congregation. It is offered by a lay leader, who on occasion asks the congregation for specific needs for prayer. The congregation kneels for prayer and participates by singing a prayer invocation (changed every few months or for special seasons, e.g., the refrain of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" during Advent) and a prayer response. We Celebrate God's Word Old Testament. When used, the Old Testament lesson may be the one listed in the lectionary, particularly if it relates to the worship theme. On occasion it is chosen apart from the lectionary to fit the worship theme. Other times, again particularly if it fits the theme, I use the Psalm, as in this model service. Hymn The hymn in this position is often meditational in nature, may reflect on the Scripture before or after it, and usually is related to the sermon in some way. If there is a vocal or instrumental solo or an ensemble, it occurs at this spot in the order. Lakeside does not have a choir; if it did, an anthem would be sung here. New Testament This may be the second reading (Epistle) of the Lectionary, or it may be the Gospel lection. In this model service it is a responsive reading from the hymnal that tells the story of the day's worship emphasis (Ascension). We do not necessarily have both Old Testament and New Testament and/or Gospel lections every week. Sometimes there is just one Scripture lesson, which usually is one of the lections of the day, but which is sometimes chosen to complement or enhance the worship theme in a way the designated lections cannot. One of the lessons will often be the sermon passage. The vast majority of the time the Scripture lessons for the service will be arranged to involve congregational participation. Most commonly it will be an ordinary responsive reading, but regularly it will be antiphonal, or use men and women, or various sections of the congregation, or it will be formatted and presented as a readers' theater, etc. At times special illustrative effects will be added, as in the Old Testament lesson in the model service. Hymn This hymn has, in general, the same characteristics as the one between the lessons, enhancing the worship theme and/or preparing for the sermon. Most of the time only one hymn rather than two (as in this model) will be used in these positions. Sermon The expository sermon is based on a biblical passage, most often one of the lections for the day. I preach a topical sermon very rarely. The worship theme comes into clear focus in the sermon and ties all the elements of the service together. Those elements in turn enhance and enlarge the worship theme and the message of the sermon. We Celebrate God's Grace Hymn of Response. This hymn serves to summarize the sermon, to make an appeal relating to the message, to complete the worship theme, and to provide a powerful verbal vehicle enabling the congregation to respond to the entire worship. The ideal hymn for this spot will do all four. At times I write my own hymn (using a familiar tune) if I cannot find what I need in the hymnal. Benediction The service is usually concluded by a lay leader, frequently using a scriptural benediction, but occasionally taking the form of a closing prayer. Dismissal The spoken dismissal includes an invitation to fellowship and refreshments. The dismissal line in the bulletin generally includes the phrase, "as we are dismissed to fellowship and service beyond." Holy Communion [optional] The Service of the Table is not included in the model of full worship because historically the Seventh-day Adventist Church has celebrated Holy Communion only quarterly (four times per year). The Service of the Table nevertheless deserves important comment in the context of this article on renewing worship in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Our present pattern at Lakeside is to have Candlelight Communions on the Friday evening just before Christmas and on Good Friday evening, plus two Communions during the year at a regular Sabbath morning worship, usually in June and September. My personal goal at the present time is to encourage the church to celebrate Communion at least bimonthly or preferably monthly. I believe that the Service of the Table is the culmination, the high point of worship. However, many Adventists tend to shy away from Communion. Therefore, for both reasons, I devote very significant time and effort to planning Communions that are unusually beautiful, rich in meaning, full of the joy and mystery of salvation (as opposed to the feelings of unworthiness that keep worshipers away), and have some different feature each time—for example, having the congregation come to the Table to take a six-ounce cup instead of being served the ordinary tiny Communion cup; again, using a six-ounce cup filled with sparkling red grape juice rather than the usual purple Welch's; baking a loaf of bread in the form of a cross and having the members of the congregation break off their own piece instead of being served the small wafer; interspersing readings; and using a brilliant hymn of praise for salvation at the end in place of a traditional near-dirge. The Service of Feetwashing is included with the Service of the Table for Communion in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I try also to give it fresh meaning by changing the room environment, suggesting prayers for partners, adding perfume or bath oil to the water, and so forth.