Our Liturgy

Litrugy is an old word that simply means, "work of the people." Every church has a liturgy – a pattern of worship – that shapes how the church praises Jesus togther. Some churches are very liturgical and have lots of responsive readings and prayers throughout their service. Other churches have a litrugy that is simply singing songs and listening to a sermon. At River of Grace, we strive to have a Sunday litrugy that provides structure while leaving room for the Holy Spirit to work. Each of our gatherings is shaped by the Gospel. Here is what is typical to experience in our Sunday gatherings.

Call to Worship

All of life is lived in response to God. Each of our gatherings begins with a Call to Worship because worship starts with God inviting us to himself and inviting us to respond to his love for us. This is sometimes a passage of Scripture read over the people or a responsive reading from Scripture. A Call to Worship helps set the tone for the rest of the gathering.

Worship through Singing

Worship through singing is all throughout the pages of Scripture. When we hear the Good News of God's love for us in Jesus, the response is praise. At River of Grace, we sing a variety of worship songs that are shaped by the Bible and also give the full range of experience in life with God in a broken world. We sing songs of joy, longing, lament, praise, and so on to help worship our God, shape our hearts, and encourage one another.

Prayer

Prayer is a central part of the Christian life and we desire to be a prayerfully dependant church. In our gatherings we pray using a mix of spontaneous prayer and prayers we say aloud together. Additionally, we often have a time of prayer to pray for needs in our church family and for our mission partners locally and around the world.  

Sermon

Every Sunday we spend time working through Scripture together. We desire to be doers and not just hearers of the Word, so the teaching at River of Grace aims to be practical and applicable to everyday life. Our normal way of preaching is to work through a particular book of the Bible together with occaional topical series that are rooted to a particlar text. Our hope is to be a people shaped by the Bible.

Communion

Also, known as the "Lord's Supper" or the "Eucharist" (which means, "thanksgiving"), Communion is the pinnacle of our worship. At River of Grace, we take Communion every week, believing that Jesus wants to meet with his people in the taking of the elements. Communion is reflective and celebratory as we confess our sin, are reminded of the forgiveness we have in Jesus, and as we declare the hope that we have in him. 

*Note: River of Grace does not believe in transubstantiaion. 

Benediction

After we gather together, we scatter into the world to live out the Good News of Jesus. Our gatherings close with a benediction, which is a blessing as we scatter into the world to our neighborhoods, places of work, school and places of recreation. The God who invites us to worship him sends us out on mission for him with the assurance that he will be with us.