The PRC Blog: An Introduction
/Welcome to the Providence Reformed Church Blog. Over the coming months, this space will be used to fill out some distinctive beliefs of our church and give a flavor of our worship and theology. Of course, the church is not something that can be experienced digitally or from a distance. To truly understand the nature of any church, you must be present among the people. But for those looking for a church home or looking to dive into the beliefs of Providence Reformed Church, we hope this space can be a benefit.
We’ll be posting bi-monthly posts here, with the first several months dedicated to looking at the liturgy for our weekly Lord’s Day service. We will also occasionally post short meditations on Scripture or other important topics that come up in the life of the Providence Reformed Church.
An Introduction to Our Worship
At Providence Reformed Church, we are committed to structuring our worship service according to two guiding principles. First and most importantly, we look to the Bible as the primary authority that teaches us how we can (and cannot) offer our worship. And secondly, we look to the tradition of the universal church give shape to the form and structure of our worship.
Biblically Informed Worship
We believe that our worship is to directly guided by the inspired word. While there is no liturgical manual contained in the New Testament, we believe that the Bible gives clear instructions on how the Church is to approach God in worship.
We start by reflecting on worship in the Old Testament, especially the system of sacrifices and offerings laid out in the early chapters of Leviticus. The specific order of offerings established thousands of years ago is still reflected in our worship today. We start by confessing our sins (the sin offering), then we ascend into God’s presence (the ascension or whole burnt offering), there we are taught by God’s word and give our tithes and offerings (the tribute or grain offering), and finally we eat with God at his table (the peace offering).
This is the basic pattern but as New Covenant believers it is all offered through Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. We take the structure of Leviticus and make it a uniquely Christ-centered service. To this end, we use the teachings the New Testament to fill out the content of our worship. And of course, we observe the two sacraments of the New Testament - baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Traditional Worship
While tradition is secondary to biblical demands, we also respect the teaching of the universal church down through the ages. Our liturgy draws on the early church as well as the great Reformation liturgies to place us in the stream of historic Christianity.
We are no slaves to tradition for tradition’s sake, but neither do we lightly discard what our fathers in the faith have taught and practiced. One of our goals is to balance our worship in a way that is faithful to the Christian tradition while also being meaningful to modern people. On any given Sunday at Providence Reformed Church, we will sing ancient Psalms and modern hymns, we will hear the Word expounded in a way that touches on modern concerns, and we will sit down for fellowship around the table of Jesus.
We believe that a properly ordered worship service is relevant to all times and all people - regardless of our cultural context.
Join Us For Worship
Over the next few months, we will flesh out each aspect of our liturgy - giving a look into why we worship in the way that we do.
But we could write thousands of words in this space and still not give an accurate understanding of our liturgical practices. Writing blog posts or articles about enacted worship is like writing descriptions of poems or an intricate dance. There is no substitute for experiencing it for yourself.
If you are interested in learning more about how we worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit on Sunday mornings, we would love to have you as our guest. We gather for worship each Lord’s Day at 10 am at 2430 Orchard Avenue in Grand Junction, CO. Come join us and see the goodness of Jesus Christ for yourself.