A Closer Look at Worship—Week 3: Hearing God's Promises with Anticipation

By John D. Witvliet, David Vroege

This is part of the worship series
"A Closer Look at Worship"

Series Introduction
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Week 3

Hearing God's Promises with Anticipation

Worship must never be construed as a one-way conversation, a monologue where we sing and pray and praise and testify but never stop to listen. A healthy covenant relationship, especially when it is a relationship with the Creator of the heavens and the earth, will feature lots of listening.

Preaching is at the heart of worship in many traditions, including the Reformed tradition. However, it is easy for us sophisticated modern people to forget that a sermon is no ordinary speech. We need to listen to a sermon in very different ways than we do a political speech. We need to listen to this kind of speech attuned to the voice of the author and finisher of our faith.

Central Idea:

Our covenantal relationship with God depends entirely on God’s word to us. A central act in our relating to God is the act of active, expectant listening. And when the message is so good, so wise, so true, why would we want it any other way?

Scripture Texts

Joshua 24

This passage can be read dramatically using one reader for the narrator’s part, one for Joshua, and inviting the whole congregation to read the words of the people. Consider printing out the whole passage on a bulletin insert, with the people’s words in boldface type. This draws the congregation into the narrative and may help them sense the drama and gravity of the covenant promises made by the people of Israel.

Joshua 24 records one of the early liturgies of the people of Israel. In contrast to the more frequently practiced “liturgy of sacrifice” (described in Leviticus 1, for example), this is a “liturgy of covenant renewal” (for another example, see Joshua 8:30–35). The purpose of this gathering was to reaffirm the covenant—like a ceremony for the renewal of marriage vows.

At the center of this covenant renewal service is Joshua’s extended speech, a sermon really. In it, Joshua recounts the history of God’s faithfulness to the people. Like many famous sermons (see Peter’s sermon in Acts 2), this sermon is a history lesson. In it God’s past faithfulness becomes the basis for Joshua’s call for renewal.

As the sermon progresses, you begin to wonder who is actually speaking, Joshua or God. Joshua starts by referring to God in the third person. But soon God is the first person singular: “Then I took your father Abraham.” This text portrays Joshua as a divine emissary or ambassador, a prophet sent to speak on God’s behalf.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

This same image or concept from Joshua 24 is at work in 1 Thessalonians. The Thessalonian believers had heard Paul’s human voice, but they heard God’s message. Paul is grateful that they “accepted it not as [merely] a human word, but as what it really is, God’s word.”

1 John 4:1–6

But is every preacher really God’s messenger? Certainly not. John challenges us to discern the spirits, to distinguish true from false teaching. The standard for measuring is this: the preacher must confess and teach that Jesus Christ is from God. The preacher must preach the gospel of the New Covenant, and no other.

Key Related Themes

We come to church to submit ourselves to an authority greater than ourselves. We come to church precisely because we don’t have it all figured out.
This form of covenantal speech called a sermon is far more than teaching. We gain more than biblical literacy. In this kind of relational speaking, we are comforted, challenged, provoked, warned, and blessed. When we talk with a friend or spouse, we don’t want them to tell us merely how we could be a better friend or spouse; we want to hear the words of intimacy and promise that are at the core of that relationship.
We hear God’s word in multiple forms in a worship service, through the words of greeting and scripture readings, through scripture-based preaching and blessings. Anytime God’s word is read, we hear those words not simply as a conversation among people. We hear them as God’s word to us.
When it is not tethered to scripture, our worship can quickly portray an understanding of God and God’s actions that is incomplete. Or worse, we show up for a worship service and sing and pray to a god who barely resembles the God of Jesus Christ. Perhaps this god we are speaking to is more a figment of our imagination than the God who is described in scripture. In this case, we slip into a form of idolatry. And that should terrify us.

The Meaning of Worship and the Logic of the Liturgy

At the heart of the classic shape of Christian worship is the reading and preaching of scripture. It is important that significant passages of scripture be read. We want to convey the impression that the reading of scripture is a significant act of covenantal listening in its own right, not simply a prelude to the sermon.

In many traditions, including the Reformed tradition, scripture reading is preceded by a prayer that asks for God to send the Holy Spirit to work powerfully through the reading and preaching that day. This prayer is an overt acknowledgment that the power in preaching does not come from the creativity or rhetoric of the preacher but from God.

Worship Elements

Call to Worship

This series uses four variations on Psalm 8:1–4 as a call to worship. Each week uses a different variation. Using several of these approaches during the series is an excellent way to introduce some variety and yet remain closely linked with the overall theme of covenant renewal.

Variation 3: Two parts of the congregation read Psalm 89:1–4 responsively.

Part 1	I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever! Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
Part 2	Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
Part 1	The Lord said, “I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him:
Part 2	‘I will establish your descendants as kings forever; they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’” —Psalm 89:1–4^NLT

A Prayer of Confession

This prayer can be used all four weeks.

Lord, you have called us to worship you.
We gladly gather!
As we praise you, though,
our own inadequacy reminds us
of how we have broken our relationship with you.
Because we have sinned against you,
even our worship fails to be what it could.
We often treat it as a show.
We simply go through the motions,
failing to recognize that you want to engage us on a very deep level.
Renew us, we pray, according to your steadfast love.
Remind us of your covenant faithfulness
and have mercy on us in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Confession and Assurance of Pardon

This confession and Assurance of Pardon could be used for all four weeks.

Child:	Lord, you are a God who keeps promises. In our prayers and songs we say that we want to be Christians, but then we forget our promises. Our actions do not match up with our words. We say mean things to other people, we hurt their feelings, we think of ourselves first, and, worst of all, we ignore you. Lord, forgive us and hear our prayer.
Children’s Choir:	“Lord, Have Mercy upon Us” ^{Kyrie eleison}
Child:	As a deer pants for water, so our souls long for you, Lord God. We know that we need you. Our lives are like dry streams without you. Please fill our lives with your love, like rain on dry land. Lord, hear our prayer.
Children’s Choir:	“Lord, Have Mercy upon Us” ^{Kyrie eleison}
Child:	Alleluia! Christ has died. Alleluia! Christ has risen. Alleluia! Christ will come again. Alleluia! Amen!
Hymn of Joy:	“¡Oh, qué bueno es Jesús/Oh, How Good Is Christ the Lord” ^{Puerto Rican folk hymn}
	—Adapted from A Child Shall Lead: Children in Worship, Choristers Guild, 1999, p. 85. Other similar resources with language appropriate to young children are available in this sourcebook.

Two Prayers For Illumination

These prayers could be used for all four weeks.

Prayer 1

God of mercy, you promised never to break your covenant with us.
Amid all the changing words of our generation,
speak your eternal Word that does not change.
Then may we respond to your gracious promises
with faithful and obedient lives;
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
—Prayer of Illumination, #6, Book of Common Worship, p. 91.

Prayer 2

“Lord, to Whom Shall We Go” ^{John 6:68}

Blessing

This blessing could be used for all four weeks.

May the God of peace,
who through the blood of the eternal covenant
brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep,
equip you with everything good for doing his will,
and may he work in us what is pleasing to him,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
—Hebrews 13:20–21^NIV

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

“Gladly to God’s Holy Temple” ^Routley
One can almost hear the people of Israel singing this hymn! This text, well-suited to the opening of worship, remembers God’s deeds and indicates our eagerness to hear more.

“Speak Forth Your Word, O Father” ^Jeffries
This sparkling, contemporary text can be used to confess dependence upon God and his word as well as our own meager efforts at proclamation.

“Holy Spirit, Mighty God” ^Seerveld
A prayer for illumination acknowledging our deep dependence upon the God the Spirit.

“Thy Word Is a Lamp” ^{Grant, Smith}
Centering on Psalm 119:105, this song functions well as a prayer for illumination.

“Lord, Speak to Me That I May Speak” ^Havergal
A response to the word, this is a prayer of submission to God’s direction. It illustrates our role in the covenant relationship—one in which we have responsibility and yet are not left without help.

“Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil” ^Hanson
A prayer before or after hearing the word, or near the end of the service.

“The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation” ^ICEL
A refrain for the responsorial reading or singing of Psalm 27.

Small Group Discussion Starters: Week 3

Worship must never be construed as a one-way conversation, a monologue, where we sing and pray and praise and testify, but never stop to listen. A healthy covenant relationship, especially when it is a relationship with the Creator of the heavens and the earth, will feature lots of listening." How often are you conscious of God speaking to us in the worship service? When does God speak? List the ways. How can we be especially attuned to God's voice in these worship elements?
"We come to church to submit ourselves to an authority greater than ourselves." Our Western culture has been described as "anti-authoritarian." How does this hinder our listening in worship?
"This form of covenantal speech called a sermon is far more than teaching." What is the difference between teaching and preaching?
"But is every preacher really God's messenger? Certainly not." How would we discern if a preacher is truly God's mouthpiece? See 1 John 4:1–6.
"It is important that significant passages of scripture be read." Why? Unfortunately, reading long passages from scripture has become tedious for many. What are some ways to help worshipers come alive to long texts?
In Week 1, we described worship as "participational." How might we reshape our understanding and enactment of some worship elements—such as the sermon—that seem especially passive?

Revised Common Lectionary

Year A: Season after Pentecost—Proper 26 (31)
Year A: Season after Pentecost—Proper 27 (32)

Year B: Season after Pentecost—Proper 16 (21)

A Closer Look at Worship—Week 3 Hearing God's Promises with Anticipation