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Covenant Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
2742 Buffalo Gap Rd, Abilene, TX 79605
325-698-1704
Robert A. Lotzer, Pastor email: ralotzer@covopc.org
An understandable question many people have when visiting a church is, “what type of worship do you have?” At Covenant Presbyterian we believe we can best answer that question with three adjectives – our worship is biblical, liturgical, and personal.
Biblical
First, we understand worship to be something that God has commanded of Believers (John 4:23). So now the question becomes, “how do we know how we are to worship Him in public worship?” Should we base our worship on what we prefer and what pleases us or should we base our worship on what pleases God? Of course the answer is that we should base our worship on what pleases God and the only way to find out how we can give God worship that pleases Him is by going to the bible. It is for this reason that our entire worship service is centered on God’s Word and the commands He gives us.
Liturgical
Now that we understand that we are to worship God according to His standards found in His Word, we must ask, “what are those standards?”, or “what is the proper way to approach Him?” In reference to how humans are to approach God in worship, Dr. Michael Horton puts it this way - “The only answer, therefore, is the theology of the cross. We must come to terms with the fact that God cannot be approached by sinful human beings by their own cleverness, in their own righteousness, or through their own experience. God must come to us and save and reveal. And that is precisely what he has done--not through our hunches or opinions or spiritual encounters, but through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Based on this previous paragraph, we understand biblical worship to be gospel-centered. The gospel is the message that God came to save man when it was impossible for man to save Himself. In a similar manner, our worship is patterned after God’s actions towards His people. We refer to this pattern of worship as the liturgy. The liturgy includes the Call to Worship; Initial Confession; Hymn/Psalm of Adoration; Confession of Sin and Assurance of Forgiveness; Recitation of God’s Law; Morning Prayer; Hymns and Offerings; Scripture Reading/Sermon; Communion; and Benediction. To see a sample of our service, or liturgy, click here.
Personal
Finally, our worship is personal. As Dr. Guy Prentiss Waters states - “Reformed churches long for the hearts of God’s people to be engaged. Authentic public worship is a work of the heart. Acceptable worship is offered with reverence and awe because of who our great God is (Heb 12:28-29). God calls us to worship Him with gladness, thanksgiving, and praise because “the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:2,4,5). As these passages show, it is a profound sense of the holiness, goodness, and faithfulness of God that engages the heart. This is why biblical public worship is neither casual nor morose, but both reverent and joyful.” (Welcome to a Reformed Church, p. xviii)
To learn more about our worship, we encourage you to read through six short articles by Dr. Michael Horton. The articles are Reforming Worship, Preaching Christ, Reforming Church Music, Reforming the Church Service, Re-thinking Baptism, and Re-thinking the Lord’s Supper.
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
