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Worship

LET US GATHER TOGETHER TO WORSHIP

Each Sunday, believers around the world gather together to worship Christ. Christians have gathered together on Sundays, the Lord's Day, since Christ rose from the dead. We have committed to doing the simple things Christians have done since that first Sunday:

Sing the Word

Throughout Scripture, God's people have sung to praise God and to teach one another truths about who He is. Because we see this example in Scripture, we sing theologically rich songs. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16). The songs proclaim the majesty and worthiness of God. They praise Him for who He is and what He has done. We sing them to teach these truths to one another, to encourage one another, and to remind one another to whom we belong. We sing old songs Christians have sung for centuries as well as new songs that proclaim these same truths. We project the songs on the screen and the titles are located in our worship guide to allow you to sing them as you continue through the week.

Pray the Word

An important aspect of our Worship Gathering is prayer. When we pray in our worship gatherings, we are praying as a body. We hear this when the one praying says “We” rather than “I.” Doing this helps to remind us that we are not alone but part of a body of believers. We are reminded of the needs of others within the body. We are reminded that we are connected to others in the body. Corporate prayer works, in part, against disunity. Corporate prayer is another instance of teaching the congregation. Those leading corporate prayer offer instructions on how and what to pray about. Through their prayers, they remind us of who God is, our need for Christ, and His steadfast love.

Read the Word

We engage in Bible reading from our Call to Worship throughout our time of singing and during the sermon.  We believe this is right to do because the Bible provides examples of this very thing, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1Tim. 4:13). Hearing the Word revives our souls, enlightens our eyes, warns us about sin, and reveals God’s glory (Ps. 19). Our worship guides contain the scriptures read and preached from so our members will able to reflect on these texts in their personal time and study throughout the week. 

Preach the Word

Our sermons are focused on Scripture. We practice expositional preaching; this means the main point of the text we are preaching is the main point of the sermon. We also preach verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. Expositional preaching allows for those whose task it is to preach the Word in our gatherings to seek to stay true to the text while providing encouragement and instruction that is true to the text. Additionally, preaching verse-by-verse through books of the Bible allows those preaching to instruct us on how to study and read the Bible. 

Practicing the Word

Finally, we want to put the word into practice. After the Worship Gathering has ended, our faith family is encouraged to put what they have heard into practice. They should engage in fellowship, evangelism, and discipleship in their personal lives. Two additional components to our Worship Gathering would be Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is both an act of the believer and the church. The believer is professing his identification with Christ through symbolically representing Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. It is also and act of the Church who agrees with the believer and acknowledges his/her profession of faith. Second, is the Lord's Supper, or Communion. The Lord’s Supper is a simple bread and cup meal instituted by Jesus before his death for his disciples. The bread represents his broken body and the cup represents Jesus’ blood that was shed for our sins (Matt. 26:26–29). This Lord’s Table, or communion, should be taken in a serious manner, with a combination sober examination and thankfulness our sins are forgiven (1Cor. 11:23–32).

What should I wear?

One concern people often have about attending church is what they should wear. Members of Mt. Zion come from a variety of backgrounds and occupations, and this is welcomed and valued. Most people wear what is generally considered to be business casual: jeans to suits, dresses to slacks. Our primary goal is to dress in a manner that does not distract from our primary purpose: worshipping the Lord. 

What Bible should I bring?

The Bible is an integral part of our worship. The songs we sing, the prayers we pray, the words we read, and the sermons we preach have as their central source the Bible. We encourage guests to bring the Bible they have. We use the English Standard Version (ESV) as the Bible we preach and teach from, but do not worry if you do not have this version or a Bible at all, we provide Bibles for those who need one.

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