The LORD CALLS us into His holy presence (Lev. 1:1-2, 9:5):

+ ENTRANCE: Call to Worship +
God made man to worship; worship is at the heart of life, the epicentre of our lives.

God always takes the initiative in worship. God summons His covenant people to worship Him corporately, in Spirit and Truth, each and every week on the Lord’s Day (Sunday).

The congregation's votum declares their reliance upon God and acknowledges that His call must precede their coming.

Then, in faith, the congregation proceeds to enter God’s gates with singing (Ps. 95:2, 100:4) signified in the processional.

+ SALUTATION: The LORD’s Greeting +
The Triune God greets us through his minister. The congregation responds.

+ ADORATION +
Upon entrance into the presence of the LORD, the congregation is confronted with the holy majesty of God and responds appropriately in reverent fear and adoration with prayer, a responsive psalm, and a song of adoration (Isa. 6:1-4).

The LORD calls us to confession (Lev. 1:3-5; 9:15):

+ READING OF THE LAW +
Upon entering the presence of the LORD and responding with awe, the congregation is confronted with God's holy purity, as signified by the reading of the Law, which reflects God’s holiness.

It is precisely at this point the congregation is confronted with the stark reality: God is holy, and they are not. Against God’s perfection, man is revealed as a sinful covenant breaker, unholy and unclean (Isa. 6:3-5).

Herein lies the problem. We were made to be holy and worship God in his presence (Gen. 2; Lev. 19:2). But, due to sin, both original and actual, we are now unclean, covenant breakers, who are unfit to enter God’s holy presence. Sin stands in the way of man’s right relationship with God. Thus, confronted with our sin and lawlessness, the congregation is brought low before the statutes of God (Ps. 79:8).

+ CONFESSION OF SIN: Purification Offering +
Sin cannot just be forgiven, there must be atonement. The punishment for sin is death, and “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22). Thus, entering into God’s presence as a sinner means certain death.

But God, being rich in mercy, did not leave man to die in the cold, away from the warmth of His presence. He made provision for them. He provided a remedy for man’s sin and estrangement: sacrifice (Gen 3:15, 21).

Thus, sacrifice is the way of covenant renewal (Gen. 8:20-9:17; Gen. 15:8-18a; Exod. 24:4-11; 34:15; Lev. 2:13; 24:1-8; Num. 18:19; 1 Kgs. 3:15; Ps. 50:5; Lk. 22:20; Heb. 9:15, 18; 9:20; 12:24; 13:20).

Amazingly, graciously, God Himself provided a way of atonement by means of an acceptable, vicarious, representative sacrifice in man’s stead (Gen. 22).

In the Older Testamental system, God’s people were only able to approach Him first by the way of an atoning sacrifice, through a sin offering (Lev. 1:1-5, 9:15) in which their sins would be transferred to the vicarious, representative sacrifice (animal sacrifice) and the animal killed in their stead. Yet, these sacrifices were unable to truly take away the sins of the people (Heb. 10:4); they were but shadows, foretastes of the true atoning sacrifice, the true Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29-36; Rev. 5).

Now, in the Newer Testamental age, we approach God through Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God our perfect representative, our vicarious substitute. Thus, the sacrifice of Christ renews the covenant between God and man.

Therefore, through confession of sin, both personal and corporate, the congreagtion symbolically lays our sins on Christ, the true Lamb of God, who appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Heb. 9:26 cf. Rom. 6:10, Heb. 7:27, 10:1-18). Only through the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ can we receive true forgiveness of sins. Thus, by faith, we are united with Him in his death.

+ ASSURANCE OF PARDON +
In Christ, we die to sin (Col. 3:3). So too are we assured of our pardon because we are likewise united to Him in His resurrection, which is the vindication of His self-sacrifice.

Thus, for all those who truly confess their sins with a broken and contrite heart, and lay them upon Christ, the perfect propitiatory sacrifice, the minister assures them of their pardon.

Having been pardoned of the guilt of sin through Christ, the congregation responds with a song of praise.

+ CONFESSION OF FAITH +
Having sung praise to our merciful God, we then respond by confessing our faith in the covenant promises of God, by corporately confessing our common creeds and confessions.

These confessions form the very basis of our new life in Christ (Rom 6:3-4; 2 Cor. 5 14-15).

The LORD consecrates us by His Word:

More to come…

The LORD calls us to commune at His table:

More to come…

The LORD Commissions us with His blessing:

More to come…