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When our Lord Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, he commanded his disciples to preach the gospel to all nations and to baptise those who believe. They obeyed his command and we read of the apostle Peter preaching in these words, ‘Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’

We read here the promise of God to give forgiveness and his Holy Spirit to all who turn to Christ. This promise also embraces the children of God’s people. The risen Jesus is willing to give the blessing of eternal life to our children whom we bring to him in faith. Children must themselves express their faith in God when they are able to do so. They must turn away from sin and put their trust in Jesus Christ.

You who already trust in Christ are asked to make the baptismal promises on behalf of these children. You must also undertake to teach and encourage them in the same faith.

Are you yourself a follower of Jesus Christ, trusting the gracious promises of God?
I am.

Are you willing to sponsor these children, answering for them now and accepting responsibility for their Christian upbringing in the life of the Church?
I am willing.

I ask you now to answer in the name of these children:
Do you turn away from your sins, the Devil and all evil?
I turn away from them all.
Do you turn to Christ?
I turn to Christ.

I ask you now to affirm as yours the faith of the Church.
Do you believe in God the Father almighty?
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in God the Son?
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

I ask you in the name of these children:
Do you profess this faith?
I do.
Will you follow Jesus faithfully, and obey his commands throughout your life?
With his help, I intend to do so.

Let us thank God for the faith he has given us and pray for him to work in the lives of these children, so that they might trust in his Son and become living members of his church.

Heavenly Father,
we thank you that in your great love
you have called us to know you
and to trust you.
Increase this knowledge and strengthen our faith.
Give your Holy Spirit to these children,
that they may be born again,
cleansed from all sin,
and inherit your eternal kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

N, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

We receive this child into the congregation of Christ’s flock and sign him with the sign of the cross, to show that he will not be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, and to fight bravely under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue Christ’s faithful soldier and servant until his life’s end. Amen.

Praise God for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of his Holy Spirit. May he fulfil his promise and complete his saving work in you, bringing you into the joys of his eternal kingdom. Amen.

Gracious God,
in your Son Jesus Christ
you have brought us from death to life,
and we dedicate ourselves to you.
Produce in us the fruit of your Spirit.
Equip us to serve your people
and to advance your gospel in the world.
Enable us to live holy and righteous lives
and to please you in all that we do;
in the name of Jesus our Saviour. Amen

Heavenly Father,
we pray that the parents and godparents of these children
may teach them by word and example to know you.
Grant us in our homes the joy that comes from a living relationship with you,
through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your Name, 

your kingdom come,

your will be done
on earth as in heaven 

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours
now and for ever. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.

a. The priority of words over music

Music in church must serve the proclamation and application of Scriptural truth.  It is not simply for entertainment or to create a mood.  Just before Paul talks about addressing one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in Ephesians 5:19, he says, ‘Do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is’ (v. 17).  Earlier in the same letter, he writes of the renewal of the mind that should be taking place in the lives of Christians (4:23).  Everything that happens when we gather together should contribute to that process (cf. Rom. 12:2).  What we sing must be consistent with God’s word and reflect its teaching.  But the music matters too.

If hymn tunes are not well chosen, or if the musical accompaniment is inappropriate, the process of edification may be hindered.  Members of the congregation may be so confused or annoyed by the music that they cannot participate meaningfully in the singing.  Those responsible for choosing the music must have regard for the sense and intention of the words.  They must also take account of the musical tastes, experience and skill of the congregation in view.  Questions such as these must be asked: ‘Is this tune pitched too high at certain points?’, ‘Are the intervals in the melody line too difficult?’ or ‘Does the rhythm vary in a way that unskilled people will not easily follow?’.

b. Balancing the old and the new

The aim in any congregation should be to develop a musical tradition that is appropriate to the group concerned.  Of course, many churches have very different congregations meeting at different times in the same building.  Each will have particular musical preferences and needs.

However, there are two dangers to be avoided here.  Firstly, we can develop only a narrow musical  tradition, not encouraging people in a particular congregation to broaden their musical horizons.  Secondly, we can also become faddists, accepting any current popular musical movement as the ultimate answer.

If we become the victims of any particular musical trend we will soon be out of date.  If we simply respond to the latest fads we will provide people with nothing of permanent value and contribute to the spread of secularism, with its insistence that only ‘now’ matters.  In particular, contemporary Christians need to be put in touch with the contributions and insights of former generations of believers.  There is a rich treasury of hymns from across the centuries that can minister to our needs today and provide what is lacking in modern songs or choruses.  Of course, the reverse is also true: some modern music expresses biblical truth that is hardly emphasized in older material.

c. Using songs wisely

Good Christian songs can function in three ways:  God may address us as we sing about the gospel and its implications; we may address one another as we sing about the comforts and challenges of the gospel; and we may respond to God with repentance, faith, or praise.  Some songs are more obviously directed to God and others to one another, but both types can function to remind us of gospel truths, while enabling us to respond to God.

Those who plan church services must consider carefully the function of songs at particular stages in the meeting.  Ask yourself these questions:

· Does a song teach us about the purpose of our gathering and form an introduction to the meeting?

· Is a song meant to teach us something about God and have a creedal function in the service?

· Should it be a response to the Bible readings or sermon or should it come beforehand as a challenge to listen carefully?

· Is it an invitation to prayer, an expression of repentance, or a song of thanksgiving?

Don’t resort to the ‘hymn sandwich’, using a song merely as a filling between two other items in the service!  Songs should make a significant contribution to the content and flow of a service.

d. Copyright

Permission to reproduce copyright hymns must always be obtained from the copyright owner, from the person or body administering the copyright, or through a copyright licence scheme such as Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI).

We are grateful for the permission granted by Emu Music to reproduce their song lyrics on this website.  For online purchases of songs and sheet music, please see Emu Music.  Churches must have a current CCLI licence to reproduce these lyrics in service sheets, overheards and via a data projector.

a. Worship is not simply singing

The word ‘worship’ is mostly used today as a synonym for singing.  We see this whenever people call singing the ‘Worship Time’, or just ‘worship’, and call the song leader the ‘Worship Leader’. Sometimes, ‘worship’ is distinguished from praise and narrowed to mean a particular kind of intimate singing to God.

The problem with this is that most of the biblical meaning of the word ‘worship’ gets lost – worship as service, worship as submission, worship as reverence. See Gathered for worship

b. Singing is not simply a ministry of the Word

Reacting against a simplistic equation of worship and singing, some insist that the function of a song in church is mainly to teach, and we should thus choose the songs that teach best, based on how well their contents reflect sound doctrine. According to Colossians 3:16, singing can certainly play an important role in edifying the church and helping us grow to maturity.  See Building towards maturity in Christ.

But this is not a complete representation of the Bible’s theology of song. Some psalms have a teaching function. For example, Psalms 105 and 106 put the history of Israel into verse.  But didactic psalms are in the minority.  Psalms 63, 138 and 150 are not very didactic at all. Paul’s injunction in Colossians 3:16 about teaching and admonishing one another ‘with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’ outlines one aspect of singing in church, rather than prescribing the only way in which it can be used.

There is a mixture of songs in the Old Testament – some sung to each other (with a didactic or exhortatory function), and some sung to God (to praise or exhort God directly. Some songs oscillate between both modes.  To say that singing is fundamentally a ministry of God’s word to us only captures one facet of this.

Singing is fundamentally a response to God from his saved people. At times, we ‘respond’ by singing to others (to exhort them to praise the Lord, or to teach them about the Lord) because both of these things bring praise to God indirectly.  At other times, we will sing to the Lord directly.  This latter type of singing is – in a sense – a sung prayer, and may sometimes be bold and declarative, and at other times personal and intimate, if the model of the psalms is anything to go by.

c. We do not sing to make God present

There are some contemporary songs which suggest that ‘God is in this house’ through praise. This is unhelpful, because it fails to recognise the biblical-theological shift which has occurred between the Old and New Testaments. God’s presence is not located in an earthly temple anymore and therefore cannot be confined to a church building or a particular gathering of his people.  We do not make God present through our praise, nor is God’s presence to be confused with the emotional euphoria created by singing.

Faith is the means by which we draw near to God in heaven, trusting in his promises and relying on the mediation of Jesus our great high priest (Heb. 4:14-16; 10:19-21; 12:22-24). Prayer and praise are ways of expressing that faith and acknowledging his grace towards us in the Lord Jesus.

a. Singing is a human response to God.

Singing is not a means to impress or appease God or otherwise earn his favour.  The people who sing are already God’s people, and they are singing in response to what God has done for them.  They don’t sing in order to become God’s people – they sing because they are already his!

b. Singing is not a prescribed act of service.

In the Old Testament, God prescribed the particular way that his people were to worship him in terms of the cultic service at the temple.  That service involved priests and sacrifices.  But singing was never part of the prescribed acts required at the temple.  Singing was a spontaneous, responsive act, not something that is commanded as part of the cultic rituals.

c. Singing occurs in many contexts

Singing certainly occurs at the temple, but it also in other locales, often in response to something that the Lord has done.  See, for example, the song of Moses in Exodus 15 and Deborah’s song in Judges 5.

d. Singing can be to God and to others

Sometimes singing is addressed to God, and sometimes it is addressed to others, to teach and to exhort.  In fact, you could say that there are three modes of singing – exaltation, instruction and exhortation.  However, it is very important to note that most songs are a mix of all three.

For example Psalm 138:1-2 could be described as exaltation. But in the verses that follow reasons are given for exalting God in this way, which is moving into instruction.

Psalm 106 is an example of instruction. The bulk of the psalm is a rehearsal of the events of the exodus years – the rebellions, the golden calf, the refusal to enter the promised land. But the psalm still begins and ends with an exhortation to praise the Lord, because his love endures forever, in spite of the unfaithfulness of his people.

Psalm 95 is an exhortation to praise God with singing and to worship him with humble submission and adoration. But this exhortation concludes with instruction regarding what happened when a previous generation did not hear his voice and hardened their hearts against God

The word ‘praise’ is rightly applied to all three modes: we can praise God directly, we praise God when we ‘proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord’ (Ps. 106:2), and we praise God by the act of exhorting others to honour him (Ps 96:2-4).

e. Singing can be in the singular or the plural

Some songs use the first person plural (Ps. 44:8; 95:1) and others the first person singular (Ps. 139:14).  However, there are two important things to note:

1. Many psalms oscillate between the singular ‘I’ and the plural ‘we’ or ‘us’ (e.g. Psalm 103).

2. ‘I’ songs can be sung by a group of people.  Israel’s very first song begins like this (Ex. 15:1-2).

It is a mistake to think that ‘I songs were ‘individual’ songs, only to be sung in private, and ‘we’ songs were for singing corporately.

f. The variety of songs.

We should note the sheer breadth of what was sung in the Bible – confession, lament, praise, thanksgiving, history lesson, exhortation, prayer for deliverance, prayer of hope, petition.

g. Content and response

Typically a biblical song includes both content and response, telling us something about the Lord, and calling on us to make a response of some sort.  There is no song which is ‘pure content’ – that is, just a recital of information about God.  There is always a call to make a response to what has been said about the Lord.

h. The ‘new song’

Israel’s foundational song in Exodus 15 is the celebration of God’s great act of salvation in rescuing his people from Egypt. But this Song of Moses is ‘transposed’ in Revelation 15:3-4 to mark a new stage in salvation history. It has become ‘the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb’.

The new song is very different from Exodus 15. There is no horse and rider thrown into the sea, for example – though the core theme of God’s great deliverance and the fear of the nations are common to both songs.

Isaiah 42:10 announces that the Lord is about to do a new thing – a new act of salvation, even better that that great act of salvation from Egypt – and because of this, God’s people will no longer sing the old song. This perspective is reflected in Revelation 15. The new thing has been done. God has accomplished the greatest and most mighty act of salvation, in and through Jesus, which means that the old song is not our song any more – we must sing the new song about salvation through the Lamb.

We have to ask whether any Old Testament song needs to be transposed into a ‘new’ key – that is, the ‘new covenant key’.  Some psalms don’t need any adjustment, but others need to be modified to express New Testament realities (e.g. Ps. 27:4-5).

Baptism Service

God is the creator of all things, and he gives to parents the work and joy of bringing children to birth and nurturing them. Yet, Jesus tells us, those who are born of human parents need to be born anew. ‘What is born of flesh,’ he says, ‘is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.’ And again he says, ‘Unless one is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God.’

Because of our sinfulness, God calls us to a new birth and life in union with himself. Baptism is the sign and seal of this new birth. Jesus commanded his disciples to preach the gospel to all nations and to baptize those who believe.

They obeyed this command, and we read of Saint Peter preaching in these words, ‘Repent, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are afar off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ In obedience to that same command we ourselves were baptised and now bring this child to baptism.

Lord, our merciful God,
you have promised in Christ to be our God
and the God and Father of our children.
Fulfil your promise to us,
and for Jesus Christ’s sake
receive these children as members of your family.
Grant that they may receive the fullness of your grace
and the washing away of all their sins,
for without these blessings no one can enter your kingdom.
May your Spirit live and work in them,
that they may be yours forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Those who present themselves for baptism must declare their allegiance to Christ and their rejection of all that is evil. So I ask:
Do you turn away from your sins, the Devil and all evil?
I turn away from them all.
Do you turn to Christ?
I turn to Christ.
You have come here to be baptised. You must now profess the faith into which you are to be baptised, as we all confess together:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
I ask you now
Do you profess this faith?
I do.
Will you follow Jesus faithfully, and obey his commands throughout your life?
With his help, I intend to do so.

N, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

N, I sign you with the sign of the cross to show that you are marked as Christ’s own for ever.
Live as a disciple of Christ:
fight the good fight,
finish the race,
keep the faith.
Confess Christ crucified,
proclaim his resurrection,
look for his coming in glory.

God has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.
God has called you into his Church.
We therefore receive and welcome you
as a member with us of the body of Christ,
as a child of the one heavenly Father,
and as an inheritor of the kingdom of God.

Heavenly Father, we pray for the parents and godparents of these children.
Give them the spirit of wisdom and love, that they may teach them by word and example to know you.
Grant us in our homes the joy that comes from knowing you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Click here to build your own version of a baptismal service

The Lord’s Supper

When we share the cup of the Lord and break bread together, we express our common participation in the benefits of Jesus’ death for us. So we should examine ourselves before we eat the bread and drink the cup, confessing our sins to God, acknowledging the need to care for one another, and renewing our trust in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.

 

Merciful Lord, we come here to your table
trusting in your measureless grace and not in our own goodness.
Even though we are not worthy to eat the crumbs under your table,
you are always rich in mercy.
Gracious Lord, enable us by faith
to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ,
and to drink his blood,
so that we may be cleansed and forever dwell in him,
and he is us. Amen.

We thank you our heavenly Father that in your love and mercy
you gave your only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to save us.
By this offering of himself once and for all time,
Jesus made the perfect, complete sacrifice for the sins of the whole world,
satisfying your just demands in full.
Jesus commanded us to remember his death until his coming again.
Hear us, merciful Father, and grant that we who eat and drink this bread and wine
may remember his death and share in his body and blood.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took the bread in his hands.
He gave you thanks and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples, saying,
‘Take and eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’
In the same way after the meal, Jesus took the cup in his hands.
He gave you thanks. Then he gave it to them, saying,
‘Drink from this, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant,
which is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ Amen.

Distribution of Bread and Wine

Father, as we have received these gifts of bread and wine,
you have fed us with the spiritual food of the body and blood
of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Thank you for assuring us of your goodness and love,
and that we are members of his body.
Renew us by your Holy Spirit,
unite us in the body of your Son,
and bring us with all your people
into the joy of your eternal kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Click here to build your own version of this

Please read Practical Guidelines for the principles involved in the process of planning good services and consult Resources, specifically Services of the Word, for a range of prayers, praises and confessions of faith you can add to your service outline. Note also that there are Contemporary Service Templates in ServiceBuilder that allow you to collect and arrange resources on a variety of structures.

Here we simply offer some sample outlines that you could copy or use as a guide for constructing your own order. Local practices such as children’s talks, notices and times of informal fellowship would need to be added where appropriate.

1	Contemporary Order 1
2	Contemporary Order 2
3	Contemporary Order 3