What is it that you are most grateful for thus far this week?
What is one thing that weighs heavy on your heart?
All of life flows from worship. What does this mean to you?
Read Psalm 95. Now with a partner, rewrite it in your own words using the back side of this page.
What does worship mean/look like to you? If the 4 piece movement in worship is the gathering, the Word, the Eucharist and the sending, how then do we do these things in youth group?
Do you feel as if you have an understanding as to why we do what we do in worship?
Sacraments—tell me what comes to mind when you think of this?
If worship is like a game, in what ways can you prepare your self before the game? What things can you take home?
Worship.The bell tolls and the people have gathered.What is all the hype about?Looking around we see people in nice clothes, some sleeping, others sit eyes closed with their hands folded, ready and prepared to encounter the living God, for worship is not a human invention.No, it is a God-given gift.Yet, why is worship so important?Why are to we worship God?Isn’t it sort of self-righteous to demand your people to worship you?Why worship?Worship calls the people of God to, on some occasions sadly, to unite under the God of the universe, the Creator and Redeemer.The maintenance of divine worship then, our third great end, is one way that we the people of God can exhibit the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.
Worship takes on many shapes and forms.Many different traditions worship in many different ways.However, one thing is for certain about worship, it is deeply rooted in the story that we have inherited and are adding to, the story of God.From the beginning to the end, we read of the saving grace and relationship God showed to God’s people, to us and in worship we the church are to remember his saving deeds, to rehearse the covenant and to live in total obedience to his will.We then, in worship retell this story and the flow of worship comes from it.This set up or this retelling of the story looks like this for worship:the assembling of people, proclamation of the Word, celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ and sending the people forth so that they experience the rehearsal of the Gospel through the order of worship.
John Calvin, our father of the Presbyterian church, once said, “Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to Christ’s institution, there, it is not to be doubted, a church of God exists,”John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 4.1.9., p. 1023.Through the reading of Scripture, through participation and celebration of the sacraments, baptism and Lord’s Supper, we are presented with the opportunity to encounter Christ.It is these particular aspects of worship that is the very things that give life to the church.It is these very things that the early church fathers did after Christ’s ascension.Acts 2.42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”Through these crucial elements of worship, we can gain a better understanding of what we believe by worshiping in its truest and most pure form.
In worship we are presented with the story of God.Thus worship is God’s gift to us, that we have the opportunity to come together and worship God.It is never to be about us, the pastor or anything else.No, it is to be about God and through songs, Scripture and prayers and through sequences of congregational responses that help us experience the Gospel.“What is the purpose of the preaching of the Word, of the sacraments, of religious gatherings, and of the whole external order of the church except to unite us with God?John Calvin, Calvin: Commentaries, 393
Our center for worship, what shapes and gives order to our worship is our ancient story as God’s people, the Bible.Throughout the ages, the Scriptures have been center to what a worship service is about.It is in the great saving events of the Old Testament, mainly in the Exodus, that we see the history of worship for the children of Israel and how it shaped their lives.Exodus 24.1-8 is a meeting between God and Israel and it is important because it contains the most basic structural elemnts for a meeting between God and his people.Through the books that make up the Pentateuch, we see key roles being assigned or “anointed” as priest and into other leadership roles.You have Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu.These highlights of these leading the people shows the total participation of all people in worship, that which we are called to do still this day.These accounts shows God convening a public meeting with the church, something that the New Testament does not do, however the writer of 1 Peter shows comparisons when he says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”1 Peter 2.9
New Testament worship stems straight from the life of the Israeli people and the way they worshipped.Their celebration of feasts, the gathering at the tabernacle and synagogues, are accounted for in the life of Christ.Jesus participated in these that gave life to the worshiping life of the Israelite people.Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we have gained entrance into the holy of holies through him and that he is greater than the temple.Christ then, showed that he is what supersedes Old Testament worship, that he is the final sacrifice and he being the true Lamb of God.Throughout the New Testament and the early church, reading of the scripture was vital to the ways of worship.For it was only by reading and proclamation did the people hear these words, for they were not written down and available as everyone has them today.
Thus is the next important piece to worship, the proclamation of the Word.“The preached Word or sermon is to be based upon the written Word. It is a proclamation of Scripture in the conviction that through the Holy Spirit Jesus Christ is present to the gathered people, offering grace and calling for obedience.”Directory for Worship, W-2.2007.We then are partners with the preacher and listening to and for the Word of the Lord.Often times the way things were done in the early church and in the early days of our tradition, sermons were delivered and there was time open for commentary, a way for all to be engaged and to hold one another accountable.Proclaiming the Word then is what gives us our food to nibble on.It is there for us to listen for God and looking for God’s ways through the Word.
Other ways are made available for the church to encounter God’s grace through worship.Joe Small says, “God’s grace can not only be heard, but it can also be seen, felt, tasted, and smelled through the sacraments.”Christ life then is essentially what we have for our skeleton of worship.Through his birth, baptism, ministry, death and resurrection, we gain life and understanding of the God we are to worship.In baptism, we identify with Christ death and resurrection, where the new Christian passes from death to life.Thus around the common table, Eucharist, we gather around as a people to proclaim the death and resurrection of Christ, and that he will come again.It is where we gain meaning for our faith.It is where all our needs are met and we unite around Christ. It is the pivotal moment in our lives as a Christian, to come and taste that the Lord is good.Through the sacraments of Bath and Table, set forth Christ to us, and in him the treasures of heavenly grace.”
All of life flows out of worship.We, through worship, meet the Holy One and through grace, worship him.It is our response to God’s call in our lives and the way God meets our needs.Through the gathering of people, we are responding to God’s call, offering praise in words, scripture, prayer and song.Then the Word becomes the next movement in the dance and the Scriptures are read and their message proclaimed.Our hearing becomes doing in the Eucharist.We become doers during worship but the giving of our tithes and offerings and the table is set with bread and wine, (Book of Common Worship, pg. 33).Then after we have been invited, after a prayer is offered to God for praise of his creation and providence, Christ’s work of redemption is remembered with thanksgiving and the Holy Spirit is invoked upon and in the church, the people are the sent.The Sending is where we receive God’s blessing and go serve our community.That is worship in a nut-shell.Through the following of these 4 movements, we then can maintain the 3rd Great End, the maintenance of Divine Worship.
Imagine what it must have felt like for Matthias.There he probably sat outside in some sort of waiting room along with Justus, waiting for the final verdict on who will be selected into the 12.I’m sure the two men made small talk, talking the weather or still trying to grasp what happened recently.You know that whole Jesus thing.Which one will it be and yeah, they know the other 11 but anytime you come into a new group, it can be a little frightening.No matter how many people you know.
Well friends, we are faced with that exact decisions.Although we are not replacing anyone in the sense the way the disciples were in Acts 1.12-26, we are gaining new members to our youth group.This is an exciting time of the year.As the school year begins, many of you will find yourself into new places, new schools, new friends, and new opportunities.Many of these will find you outside the walls of church and they will be challenging for you all.Yet, there awaits a challenge here too.
One of the greatest things about our youth group is our ability to have fun with each other.We always find a way to laugh together, to hang out, to try and become community and as this school year approaches, it will be no different.However, for those of you who have been a part of the youth group may have a difficult task at hand.We will be gaining at least 3 new students this year that will be entering into the 6th grade:Mitchell Coomes, Maggie Davis and Catherine Triplett.We need to welcome them and accept them into our family/community/youth group with open arms and with love.In what ways can we do this?
Yet, although these 3 youth will have their first opportunity to come to youth group, there are still some who are old enough to participate and don’t.So I challenge you to pray for them and to, whenever you get the chance, encourage them to participate and know that we miss them and love them.We will become more intentional about our community and those who we are missing and who we want to spend time with.
Above all things friends, this is not some way to manipulate or guilt trip anyone into coming to youth group, but a way for us to evaluate ourselves and to recognize that we are incomplete when we miss anyone.That when we all come together, when we come together for anything, that something incredible can and often does happen.Together, and only when we are united in community with Christ at the center, can we do incredible things for the Kingdom and bring it forth here and now.
We invite you then.Familiar faces, new faces and even strange faces, we as you to come and join up with us.Come and learn along with us what it means to be a community centered in Christ.Come and learn with us what it means to love one another the way Christ loved us.Come and whenever you do know that, “All are welcomed, all are welcomed, all are welcomed in this place.”We love you!
3rd—youth group 5-6:30 pm, preparations for youth Sunday, no meals
5th—bible study @ the church 6:30-8pm
10th—youth group 5-6:30pm, preparations for youth Sunday, no meals
12th—bible study @ the church 6:30-8pm
16th—Volunteering for the Multi-Cultural Festival 9-5 pm (All Day Shifts)
17th—youth group 5-6:30pm, preparations for youth Sunday, no meal
19th—bible study @ the church 6:30-8pm
24th—youth Sunday 7:45 am & 10:30 am
Sunday Night—Sr. High TBA
31st—Sr. High Drive In meet @ church at 5pm, return @ 1 or 2 am
I AM middle high
3rd—youth group 5-6:30 pm, preparations for youth Sunday, no meals
5th—bible study @ the church 6:30-8pm
10th—youth group 5-6:30pm, preparations for youth Sunday, no meals
12th—bible study @ the church 6:30-8pm
16th—Volunteering for the Multi-Cultural Festival 9-5 pm (All Day Shifts)
17th—youth group 5-6:30pm, preparations for youth Sunday, no meal
19th—bible study @ the church 6:30-8pm
24th—youth Sunday 7:45 am & 10:30 am
Sunday Night—5-7 pm
31st—No Middle High youth
This month is busy for us.Although it may look like that our calendar seems pretty empty and short, but this month is our time to shine.Our biggest month of the year because of the 24th, Youth Sunday.This is the Sunday where we share our talents and gifts with the congregation and lead worship service.With this said, we will use every Sunday leading up to it to designate roles and prepare for this Sunday.There will be NO meals these nights.We need everyone and anyone to help lead the services both at the 8:15 am service and 10:30 am!
On the 16th we have the 10th annual Multi-Cultural Festival at our church.We will need again volunteers to man the booth we have to raise money for the youth group.There will be a sign up sheet going around every Sunday night so look out for this.Times will be in slots:9-11, 11-1, 1-3, 3-5!
Sunday night the 24th, we will have a welcome service for our 3 new youth.I invite you to be there and welcome them into our community and to begin a new story with our new friends!5-7 pm, meal will be provided!
Finally, senior high we will be going on our annual Drive-in movie night.We will meet at the church at 5 pm where we will leave for the movies.After the movies we will come home and go to Steak-n-Shake and be done around 1 or 2 am!Bring a friend and get a discount!
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, the Lord's Supper and prayer. Acts 2.42
Our Mission Statement
To offer a welcoming Christian atmosphere to encourage youth in their faith, to develop their leadership skills, and increase youth participation in the life and work of First Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA).
