Our Worship
What is Worship like at Living Word?
Worship is the giving of ourselves to God in grateful and thankful service. We are sinners, but he loves us so much that he sent his own Son to die to restore us to his fellowship. As Christians who have experienced that grace of God in our lives we cannot help but devote ourselves to his service. In this sense, everything we do as Christians is a form of worship as we seek to devote our time, our talents, and our treasure to the service of God and his Kingdom.
At Living Word we gather each Sunday (and on some of the other feast days of the Church Year) to give God the honour he is due. We listen as the Scriptures are read (usually a passage from the Old Testament, a Psalm, a passage from a New Testament epistle, and a passage from one of the four Gospels), we hear a sermon explaining one or more of the texts we have read, and then we come to Jesus' Holy Table to eat bread and drink wine in the Lord's Supper. In between these major portions of the service, we pray, we confess our sins, we are given assurance of forgiveness, and we sing.
Our worship is a mixture of old and new. Our liturgy (or order of service) is based on the five-hundred-year-old Book of Common Prayer, gently updated with some modern language. We sing a mixture of hymns and songs. Some are old and some are new.
Are children welcome?
Yes! Children are welcome. After our opening time of prayer and singing, children are invited to the front of the church to join in the reading of a Bible story, to pray, and to sing a song before being dismissed to Sunday School. Children may remain in the service with their parents or join in the Sunday School activities. Sunday School usually involves a Bible lesson, singing, and a craft. The children return later in the service to join their families in the Holy Communion. Baptised children of all ages are welcome to receive Communion.