Prayer: Your Word, O LORD, is a lamp unto my feet. Your Word guides me and leads me to Your path of righteousness. I will follow You all the days of my life. Amen.
Read: Psalm 119: 105 – 112
Called to Worship…
Prayers with the Worship Team, Choir, Ministers
The Gathering
Processional
Call to Worship
Worship begins the minute we sit down in the pew. We say a prayer, thanking God that we can be in Worship today and asking God to illumine the Scriptures to guide our lives. As we sit in the pew, we also pray for the Minister and Elders and Choir that they may be instruments of God this day.
For Ministers and Elders, worship begins before heading into the Sanctuary. Before worship begins, Ministers and Elders and the Choir must meet for prayer. This time of prayer is to ask God for guidance as they lead God’s people in Worship. If your Elders are not meeting with the Minister and Choir for prayer, you might want to ask them why they are not meeting for prayer. Preparatory prayer is so important!
In some Churches today, the Choir and Elders and Minister process into the sanctuary. This is a visual reminder that God’s people are gathering together for Worship.
Some congregations also will process the Bible. This is called the Little Entry. This is an ancient tradition where the Church only had one Bible. The Bible was kept locked up during the week and brought into Church for the Minister to read. The Bible was locked away for two reasons. First reason the Bible was locked up was so that it would not be stolen. Printing presses were not in existence, so all the writing of the Bible was done by hand with pictures describing the Gospel for those who didn’t read. The second reason the Bible was locked up was so that the mice could not chew on the leather covers and binding.
During the Processional, the Beadle (Church Custodian) carries the Bible and puts the Bible on a stand as a sign that the Bible is the book for all people.
Today we all have Bibles and our Church Pulpit Bible isn’t locked up… but the symbolism remains. The Bible is brought into the Church so that the congregation can visually see that the Word of God is present. Next Sunday look around in the pews. If there are no Bibles in the pews, ask yourself why a Christian Church would not have Bibles in the pews. In today’s scripture reading, the Word of God is called a “lamp unto our feet”. It is the Bible that illumines our understanding of God and guides us on the right path.
The Call to Worship begins our worship as a congregation. The responsive phrases are often from scripture, usually the Psalms. Why the Psalms you ask? The Psalms are the prayers of the Israelites – God’s chosen people. The Call to Worship calls us, as a people of God, to Worship. The Call to Worship centers our thoughts and busyness of our lives to focus upon God.
Prayer: May my cry come before You, O LORD. Give me understanding according to Your Word. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to Your promise. May my lips overflow with praise, for You teach me Your decrees. May my tongue sing of Your Word. May Your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen You. Let me live that I may praise You and my Your Word sustain me. This I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen. (adapted from Psalm 119 169-175)
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