This baptismal prerequisite for partaking of the Lord’s Supper is thoroughly biblical and for that reason has been the consistent practice of the church since its earliest days.

The Lord’s Supper

For all of the significance the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper holds in Christian liturgy and theology, it is sparsely mentioned in scripture, and only within a few of those passages are we given insight into criteria for partaking in it. The clearest passage is 1 Corinthians 11:27-29. Here Paul instructs the church that we are to “examine ourselves” before we come to the sacrament, and this examination includes discerning the body of Christ, lest we eat and drink judgment upon ourselves.

To discern the body encompasses several things. The sacraments communicate the body and blood of Jesus for our salvation. That means in coming to the table we need to recognize the bodily sacrifice that Jesus made, our need for that sacrifice, the sufficiency of his body and blood for our salvation, and then trust in what Jesus did on our behalf. The table is a memorial to Christ’s finished work, wherein we recall what he has done for us and trust him for that. Discerning the body entails seeing and acknowledging in the sacrament what and why Jesus has acted for our salvation.

This last aspect of trust has a dual implication. On the one hand it means the act of faith: resting upon the body and blood of Jesus for salvation. Coming to the table, eating and drinking, is trusting in the work of Jesus on the cross for your salvation, which he gives to you as surely as you eat the bread and drink the cup. On the other hand, trusting Jesus means following him in repentance. He has bought us with his body and blood, and discerning that includes our acknowledgement of our grateful duty to him. Trusting Jesus means following him.

This is why discerning his body in the sacrament is part of our self-examination. We are judging whether we truly grasp our need for a savior and rest in the death of Jesus for that salvation. Failure to repent, the Corinthian problem, means that we don’t take the death of Jesus seriously: we welcome the benefits (salvation, the meal) without being moved to see that we and our sinful ways were the cause of Christ’s death.

It’s for this reason why failure to discern and self-examine leads to liability for Christ’s body and blood (v.27) and judgment by God (v.29). If we don’t judge (evaluate) ourselves rightly in coming to the table, then God will rightly judge us.

Coming to the table is engaging Christ on his terms, and Christ’s terms are covenantal. God deals with his people through covenants, relationships that he establishes with us and guarantees by his word. These relationships are established with terms and conditions. The new covenant made in Christ is that God has provided him as our savior by his death and resurrection, and we receive that salvation if we turn him by faith. To become party to the covenant is to accept its terms and condition, to be crucified with Christ and to be joined to him in his resurrection. Covenants are confirmed through signs and seals that represent its terms and conditions, and the new covenant is no different. Jesus provides two sacraments as those signs and seals: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is described as the covenant in Christ’s blood (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25) in every instance its establishment is recounted.

Receiving the Lord’s Supper then is affirming agreement with the covenant it represents: it is affirming participation in the death of Jesus by faith. Being party to the covenant, belonging to Jesus, is a necessary condition of receiving the Supper.

And being party to the new covenant comes with expectations for moral behavior. This is the logic of church discipline: to belong to the church means individual believers should conduct themselves as becomes followers of Jesus, and the church should hold its members to that standard, up to and including barring them from the table of the Lord.

Paul makes this connection in 1 Corinthians 5:3-13 when he utilizes sacramental imagery and says that unrepentant, egregious sinners should be expelled from the feast of the church. This is not a matter of self-examination, but the church taking steps to make sure that prerequisites for coming to the table are met. The gospel is signed and sealed in the sacraments of the new covenant, and the church ensures that those terms and conditions are being met when receiving the sacraments.

When Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus tells him that he has been granted the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and that whatever Peter binds or looses on earth is bound or loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:18-19). Jesus further explains that this binding or loosing is exercised through the church admitting or expelling sinners from the church (Matthew 18:17-18). There is an authority given to the apostles, and through them the leaders of the church today, to do this work of binding and loosing (John 21:22-23, Ephesians 4:11-13), of opening and closing the kingdom of God by overseeing access to the gospel and its covenantal signs. This is what Paul intends when he describes the apostles as “stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1). The church through its officers is tasked with ensuring that the sacraments are rightly handled and are approached on the terms Christ has set.

In principle this signifies that there are criteria for coming to the Lord’s Table, and that the church’s officers are tasked with enforcing that criteria. While the scriptural test cases focus on Christians sinning unrepentantly (church discipline), this is the application of the principle that there are covenant terms and conditions that must be met in receiving the sacrament, and the church’s officers are Christ’s servants tasked with maintaining that criteria.

To summarize: you must have faith in Christ and be a faithful follower of Jesus to come to the table; you must be party to the new covenant to come to the table; and the church has a responsibility to ensure that the foregoing two points are met and has the authority to enforce them.

Baptism

So, what’s the connection to baptism? Throughout the New Testament, baptism is thematically and sacramentally intertwined with salvation. To be saved is to be baptized and to be baptized is to be saved — Acts 2:37-38, 41, Acts 8:12-13, 36-39, Acts 10:47-48, Acts 16:14-15, 31-33, Acts 18:8, Acts 19:1-5. The act of baptism is treated as synonymous and representative of salvation; if you have faith in Jesus, you are baptized, and if baptized, you have faith in Jesus. Baptism signifies being joined to Christ and the renewal that comes with faith in him (Acts 22:16, Romans 6:1-4, Galatians 3:27, Colossians 2:12, Titus 3:4-7, 1 Peter 3:21).

Being joined to Jesus makes one party to the new covenant of his grace. That joining and initiation is signified by baptism. The beginning of salvation is being washed in the blood and Spirit of Jesus and thereby being united to him. The washing with water in baptism represents that spiritual reality of being born again (John 3:5-6, Acts 1:4-5). Baptism is the sign and seal of entering the new covenant; the Lord’s Supper is the sign and seal to re-confirm us in that new covenant. Christ washes us, and then he feeds us.

Paul uses this order to explain our salvation in 1 Corinthians 12, right after his instructions on the Lord’s Supper. We are baptized by the Spirit into Christ, and then we drink of that same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). We experience union with Jesus in baptism. In the Lord’s Supper, our communion with him is strengthened. The cup of blessing and the bread we break are participation (i.e. communion or fellowship) in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16-17), to which we were united in baptism.

Baptism is inherently public. Baptism is about being joined to a covenant community, the body of believers of Christ on earth, the church. To be part of the church is to be baptized and to be baptized is to join the church. Baptism is the declaration that we are parties to the new covenant of grace in Christ, along with all of its terms and conditions. To follow Jesus then requires baptism, and one is treated as a follower of Christ if they are party to the covenant of grace — represented in the sacrament of baptism. Christians are baptized people because Christians are united to Jesus in his death and resurrection. To be a true believer is to be a baptized believer.

Baptism and Coming to the Table

What that means is that you cannot meet the criteria for coming to the Lord’s Table without first being baptized. To come to the table, you must discern the body and blood of Jesus, and the first thing that signifies that you have obedient faith in Jesus is your baptism. To eat and drink in a worthy manner you need to acknowledge your need for the worthiness of Christ, which is communicated through him washing away your sins in baptism. To be unbaptized, to be unwashed, is to be unworthy because you are not united to Jesus by faith.

Faith that is obedient is expressed in repentance and baptism; to claim to be a Christian, to come to the table unbaptized, is to eat and drink in an unworthy manner because you are disobedient. The Lord’s Table is a covenant meal, and you can only faithfully partake if you are party to the covenant of grace with all its terms and conditions, which includes being baptized into Christ as his faithful follower.

The church and its officers are obligated to maintain this criterion in coming to the table, which means they have a duty to ensure that this very basic principle of partaking is met: faith and union with Christ. Now, pastors cannot infallibly know the hearts of everyone in church, but they can know their behavior and profession — if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth (Romans 10:8-10) then you will be saved. The “confess with your mouth” part is the public profession of faith, which if sincere, should encompass baptism. Officers of the church have a duty to correct those who are out of step in coming to the table, and that means mandating that those who come to it are professed, penitent, and baptized believers.

What About Children and the Reformed Confessions?

As a Presbyterian, I believe that children of believers should themselves be baptized, even before they can profess faith. This is not the space to settle the debate with my Baptist brethren, but it does raise a pertinent question: If kids can be baptized before they profess faith, aren’t we being inconsistent to require a profession of faith for them to partake of the Lord’s Table? It’s often commented that the transition from Old to New Testament brought with it a transition in sacraments: circumcision to baptism and the Passover to the Lord’s Supper. Circumcision was received by infants, and that is part of the basis for the argument to baptize children. Yet the Passover meal was also eaten by young children, while Presbyterians normatively require a profession of faith to receive the Supper.

A basic point of Reformed hermeneutics is that to find the full sense of a difficult passage of scripture one must look to clearer biblical passages. A corollary of this is that clear statements of scripture must be taken plainly rather than subordinated to potential applications that contradict its plain meaning. So yes, there is a connection and continuity between Passover and the Lord’s Supper, just as there is a connection and continuity between circumcision and the Lord’s Supper. But there is also discontinuity (just as there is with circumcision to baptism, e.g. male and female are baptized), and scripture clearly states that you need to examine yourself and discern the body and blood of Christ in order to eat the sacrament in a worthy manner. This clear point cannot be subordinated to a larger typological connection and then practically abolished.

To examine and discern are actions that necessitate understanding and faith. Children do not inherently have the ability to examine themselves and discern the body and blood of Christ. These must be taught and learned. John Calvin points out that the Supper was established as a memorial of Christ to assist us in recalling his work for our salvation (Institutes 4.16.30). “How, pray, can we require infants to commemorate any event of which they have no understanding; how can we require them ‘to show forth the Lord’s death,’ of the nature and benefit of which they have no idea? Nothing of the kind is prescribed by baptism. Wherefore, there is the greatest difference between the two signs.”

Children need to be taught something in order to recall it. The liturgical act of administering the Lord’s Supper is a corporate commemoration, and children being present to witness the church partaking of the sacrament is a form of being taught. Yet, they will not be able to discern the body and blood of Christ by faith until such a time as they can commemorate Christ’s death as part of their self-examination. Now, it is possible that even infants have saving faith (e.g. John the Baptist, Luke 1:41-44), but that is not the same as being able to do the work of self-examination and discernment necessary in coming to the table.

Officers of the church have the duty to ensure that the criteria for receiving the sacraments are met, and that includes ensuring that participants in the body and blood of Christ can discern it, regardless of age. Now, proponents of paedocommunion may respond that baptized children of believers should be presumed by the church to be able to self-examine and discern. Yet, this encounters the problem that clear passages of scripture (e.g. be able to discern) are being subsumed into presumptions. Officers need to be able to determine that children can examine their own hearts and discern the body and blood of Christ, which necessitates the kids can articulate a sincere profession of faith. Baptism is public, but is only one criterion for coming to the table; confessing with the mouth (Romans 10:8-10) is another. Once baptized children are able to provide a sincere confession of faith to the church that demonstrates that they can examine themselves in light of the gospel, then they should come to the table for strengthened communion with Jesus.

If baptism being a prerequisite for receiving the Lord’s Supper is so basic, why is it not explicitly taught in the confessions of the Reformation? The reason is that every single Reformational confession makes two identical claims: i) baptism is the entrance into the church and ii) the Lord’s Supper is for the church, only. The necessary conclusion from these premises is that you must be baptized to receive the Lord’s Supper, because only the church is to receive the Supper, and the only way to be part of the church is to be baptized. Credobaptist or paedobaptist, it doesn’t matter: baptism is the sign of admission into the church, and the Supper is for those who have been admitted.

Now, the Book of Common Prayer includes the Nicene Creed as part of the liturgy of the table, where the people recite that they believe and acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. Publicly confessing as an article of faith that you believe and acknowledge baptism as a perquisite for coming to the table necessarily implies that you are, in fact, baptized. Additionally, the 1527 Anabaptist Schleitheim Confession, one of the very first confessions of the Reformation, explicitly states that sharing in the breaking of bread is reserved for those united to Christ in the congregation of God “and [joined to the congregation] by baptism”. The need for specificity here, but not in the other confessions, is because these Swiss Anabaptists believed that only credobaptism was legitimate, and since their peers had all been baptized as infants, they needed to clarify that they only considered you part of the congregation and able to receive the Supper once you had been (re)baptized. Yet there is no difference in principle from the other confessions: the Supper is for the church, which is delineated by baptism.

This confessional logic is ancient, and is spelled out in the Didache the oldest, non-canonical Christian text: “But let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist, unless they have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, ‘Give not that which is holy to the dogs.’” The distinction between the dogs and the holy is the distinction between eating and drinking in an unworthy manner and being united to Jesus in baptism, which brings one into the church. This is why baptism, since the earliest days of the church, has been required to receive the Lord’s Supper.

This article was originally published at Mere Orthodoxy and is shared here with permission.

“If you…call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it…then you shall take delight in the Lord and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.”

Why should a church consider having two Sunday worship services, one in the morning and the other in the evening? The answer lies in this exhortation from Isaiah 58:13-14 to delight in the holy day of the Lord.

The Sabbath day is intended to be a delight for God’s people. Often Sunday worship is treated as a burden or a begrudging duty, but God has given the church the Sabbath day, morning and evening, in order to find joy in him.

How? Well, it’s not the day itself that’s delightful. Isaiah explains that if the Sabbath is treated as intended by God, then we will find delight in the Lord. What he means is that the Sabbath day is a gift from God so that we may better know and enjoy him. The true goal of Sabbath rest is to worship and have fellowship with God himself. And if we delight in and honor God’s gift properly, then we will receive and experience his joy and delight.

The Sabbath is a gift from God so that we may rest from our regular work and rest in God. And the whole day, not just the morning hours, is that divine gift for our good and joy.

The Sabbath Day in Creation

The Sabbath is present almost from the very beginning of creation. God on the seventh day of creation rests, and blesses the Sabbath day and made it holy (Genesis 2:1-3). All through the first six days of creation we see God evaluate each day in terms of evening and morning (Genesis 1). The whole day, evening and morning, was devoted to the work of creation. And then God devotes the whole seventh day in its entirety to rest. The whole day, evening and morning, is made holy to the Lord.

God rests, but not because he’s tired. God rests because he finished his work of creation and is enjoying it. God resting on the seventh day is for humanity’s benefit; he is modeling resting from work, and this is so we as his creation can rest in and enjoy something greater. By making the day holy, God is devoting the day to specially rest from the work of the other six days and devoting the whole day to specially enjoy and delight in God himself.

The Sabbath day and Sabbath rest existed then even before sin entered into creation. Rest is not a bad thing; it is a gift given to finite creatures (us!) who have limits. In the Sabbath, humanity is invited to spend the whole day, morning and evening, resting from work and delighting in God by meeting him in worship. To glorify God and enjoy him forever is the goal and highest good of humanity, and the Sabbath day is part of the very fabric of creation designed to give us space to specifically glorify and enjoy God.

Sabbath Rhythm in the Old Testament

Of course, sin swiftly enters the picture and distorts things. God’s mission in creation, even after sin enters, remains unchanged: to display his glory and invite his creatures to delight in him. Now, however, the added dimension to God’s missions is that he must redeem and save his good creation from sin. That’s part of the purpose of the law given to Moses, especially the 10 Commandments. God’s law showcases how far things have fallen, what things should look like, and demonstrates his intention to restore creation for the good of his people.

The fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) is part of that.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

God specifically cites his design of the Sabbath in creation but adds details that acknowledge the sinful condition of his people. Sin causes us to have blind spots, to think we can do things on our own terms, that our situation is exceptional, and that we know better about how to find rest and joy.

The fourth commandment instructs God’s people how to practice the Sabbath principles of creation in our sinful world: rest from your work and rest in God. The Sabbath day is the Lord’s, and we are to keep it holy. That means that we are to sanctify (devote) it to God. People were always designed to glorify God and enjoy him in worship, and the fourth commandment was given to redirect us to rest from work and instead rest in God.

This is what Isaiah is getting at when he presses God’s people to honor the day: Devote it to God, delight in resting from your work and resting in communion with God, and you will find the joy of the Lord.

The rhythm of worship and rest on the Sabbath day in the Old Testament mimicked the rhythm in creation: morning and evening. In Exodus 29:38-43 (see also 1 Chronicles 23:29-31) the daily worship of burnt offerings include sacrifices in the morning and the evening. God says that in this worship he will “meet with [his people] and speak to you there”. This was true not only for the daily offerings, but especially true for Sabbath worship and offerings (Numbers 28:1-10). The rhythm of the Sabbath day was worship for God’s people together, morning and evening.

This is captured well in the psalms. Psalm 92 is the “Psalm of the Sabbath day” and about Sabbath worship. It begins

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night.

The people of God delight in worshipping him together on the Sabbath, at morning and night. Psalm 134 calls all of God’s people to stand in his house in the evening, and in Psalm 141:1-2 David requests that his prayers would be accepted as the evening sacrifice. Sabbath worship was not just about the sacrifices of the Old Testament, but about meeting with God by his word, in prayer, and in song, morning and evening.

Sabbath Rhythm in the New Testament

In the New Testament Jesus affirms and upholds the Sabbath. He explains that it was made by God for the good of humanity, and so using it as bludgeon to keep people from receiving rest and restoration was inverting its purpose (e.g. Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-5). Jesus does not have in mind relaxation, but that the Sabbath was intended to find rest and restoration in God.

The Old Testament sacrifices could not provide that true rest in God. Instead, Jesus gives that in his death and resurrection. The Sabbath had a purpose, and it was accomplished by Jesus: By his death and resurrection Jesus secures communion with God for us.

Now, setting aside one day in seven for rest and worship did not go away after the resurrection of Jesus. Rather, the gathering of the church for worship now orbited Christ’s finished work rather than anticipating the Messiah. And since Jesus rose on Sunday, the first day of the week, the church began treating Sunday as the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10), or the Christian Sabbath. The day of Christ’s resurrection is often described throughout church history as the eighth day of creation — the day that re-creation was accomplished and true rest was given.

The church’s practice then in the New Testament was to rest and worship on Sunday, the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2). This gathering for worship was devoted to God’s word, prayer, and fellowship just like in the Old Testament (e.g. Acts 2:42-47, 1 Corinthians 11:18-33, 1 Timothy 4:13-14, Hebrews 10:26). The church kept on singing the Old Testament psalms in worship (Ephesians 5:18-20, Colossians 3:16) as their songs, including the psalms about morning and evening Sabbath worship. The worship of the church was now the evening sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15). This is how the day was devoted as holy to God: by resting from work and resting in God through gospel worship.

And the whole-day rhythm remained the same: in Acts 20:7-11, Paul preached to the church in Troas on Sunday, both in the evening and the morning. The morning-to-evening pattern of God’s word being expounded is even how the book of Acts ends (Acts 28:23-24). The Sabbath is a delight for the church, because on that day ordained by God, the people of God are gathered to rest from their work and rest in the gospel of Christ through the worship of God.

Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection, is the Lord’s Day and the Christian Sabbath. It is a gift from God to be devoted to the church’s gathered worship of God. The day’s whole cadence, not just the morning, should be about this kind of rest. Evening worship is a crucial and biblical model for finding delight in the Sabbath and its Lord.

Church History

For that reason, the church has historically gathered on Sunday for worship in both the morning and evening.

This practice was common throughout early church history and fueled the Reformation. The 4^th century Apostolic Constitutions are a collection of instructions on liturgy and worship which admonishes that “every Christian ought to frequent the Church [on the Sabbath] both morning and evening.”[1] The 4^th century church historian Eusebius observed that on Sunday “through the whole world in the churches of God at the morning rising of the sun and the evening hours, hymns, praises, and truly divine delights are offered to God.”[2]

Likewise, the expectation and assumption in all the Reformed Protestant churches in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, whether John Calvin’s Geneva, John Knox’s Scotland, or under Thomas Cranmer’s Anglican church using the Book of Common Prayer, was that the church would gather for worship on Sundays in both the morning and evening. In fact, the famous Synod of Dort instructed pastors to hold Sunday evening services even if the only people to attend were the minister and his family![3]

Throughout history, when the Christian church was healthiest, it was characterized by devoting all of Sunday to the worship of God. This was even common in the United States until the last few decades. When God is delighted in, then the people of God delight in gathering together to hear God’s word and worship him. And the best way to cultivate joy in God is the people of God gathering to meet with him and hear from him together in worship. 

Benefits of Sunday Evening Worship

The Sabbath day is a gift from God to his people. So how does Sunday evening worship specifically benefit the church? There are several ways.

The first is rest. The reaction to this in our go-go-go, overly scheduled and busy culture is often “Really”? Yes, really. Our lives are already so busy and filled with activities, but we’re no different than the ancient Israelites in that regard. The Sabbath is a gift from God to block off time for the sake of resting from and taking a break from the busyness. Evening worship is a continuation of that, bracketing the whole day in rest from consuming busyness.

Sometimes Sunday evenings get devoted to football and relaxation. Relaxation is good, and that kind of rest is encouraged in scripture. But Sabbath rest is also rest in something, and that something is the God of the gospel. Relaxation is no substitute for gospel rest. That is the purpose of worship, after all. Sin is still with us, and Sabbath worship teaches us to find our rest in God and the hope of the gospel. Evening worship is one of the best gifts from God to encourage that.

Sinclair Ferguson puts the benefit of evening of worship like this, 

The cumulative impact of the word of God, expounded in the context of the worship of God by the people of God. We come on Sunday morning out of a world that has sought to squeeze us into its mold… But then we are fed in God’s presence by God’s Word, read, sung, spoken and prayed. Thus, when we come together later in the day, some degree of this transforming of our lives through the renewing of our minds has already taken place… Our thinking has been recalibrated in a Godward direction; our affections have been cleansed and drawn out in love for our Lord; our desires to serve him are purer, our affections for God’s people are treated, and our wills are more submissive to his word. The more we are thus fed the more we want to be fed and to feed.[4]

The second benefit is the rhythm an evening service provides. It establishes the Sabbath as a day that is bookended, morning and evening, with the worship of God among his people. Patterns and habits direct our lives all the time.[5] Intentionally crafting our schedule to sanctify the entire day to God establishes a routine that reflects his intent in creation: work for six days, rest on the seventh. It protects Sunday from the rush and business of the rest of the week since the start and end of the day are designed for slowing down and resting in worship. It also means that work and chores that would otherwise be done on Sunday afternoon or evening now have to be done at other times. This is a good thing: by clearing the Sunday schedule for worship, God helps us better organize and prioritize our time Monday-Saturday and use that time for work and chores.

The third benefit is preparation for the coming week. Like Sunday evening being restful, this might also seem counterintuitive. Lots of people spend Sunday evening getting meals, kids, projects, and outfits ready for the coming workweek, and “losing” that time for worship can feel like setting ourselves up for a crunch. But when we understand what worship is, what receiving God’s word is and does, we can see that it prepares us better than anything else for life in the world. The benediction at the end of Reformed worship services is a pronouncement that the hope of the gospel just preached and received will be truly applied by God to the congregation as they go out into the world. The truth is that we need to be rooted in and nourished by God’s word and worship in order to walk as faithful disciples in the world.

Sunday evening worship is that. It is the rooting and grounding in God’s word for the sake of life the other six days. Ending the Sabbath and starting Monday coming off of worship strengthens God’s people for the week ahead; arranging our time around the rhythm of Sunday worship better prepares and organizes us for the upcoming days.

The final benefit is community. For those who have experienced it, they know that there is something special and sweet about the fellowship of the saints in and after Sunday evening worship. The opportunity to again gather with God’s people with a focus on our Lord, and to enjoy one another’s company as the Sabbath ends, is a special and wonderful gift of God.

[1] Book II. Sec. VII.—On Assembling in the Church. That Every Christian Ought to Frequent the Church Diligently Both Morning and Evening LIX. “But assemble yourselves together every day, morning and evening, singing psalms and praying in the Lord’s house: in the morning saying the sixty-second Psalm, and in the evening the hundred and fortieth, but principally on the Sabbath-day. And on the day of our Lord’s resurrection, which is the Lord’s day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent Him to us, and condescended to let Him suffer, and raised Him from the dead.”

[2] Geoffrey Wainwright and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, The Oxford History of Christian Worship (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 60.

[3] Godfrey, W. Robert. “The Reason for Dort.” Tabletalk, January 2019.

[4] Sinclair Ferguson, Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification, (Banner of Truth, 2016) page 50-51.

[5] See Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Baker, 2009), by James K. A. Smith.

Call to Worship

Worshiping God is the glorious and joyful privilege of his children. Since God is infinitely glorious and holy, we may only approach him as he calls us. The call to worship is that gracious summons or invitation from God. It is typically drawn from the words of scripture and is God’s welcome to his people as we gather to worship him. He calls us and we respond. The call to worship each week not only reminds us that we belong to God, but that he does indeed regularly welcome us back to know and worship him.

Prayer of Invocation

Apart from God, we can do nothing. God has promised to bless and guide us as we come to him. He does this through his Holy Spirit, whom he has poured upon his church and assured us will guide us in knowing him. The prayer of invocation at the start of worship is a prayer of dependence, acknowledging that we need God the Spirit to guide us. It is a prayer of faith, appealing to God to keep his holy promise to guide, assist, and be present with us. In this, we adoringly recognize God for who he truly us.

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

Singing together is a beautiful expression of individuality and unity. Individual voices, old and young, weak and strong, are joined in an aural tapestry of praise. Singing together expresses the many children of God belonging to his one family. Singing also embeds God’s truth in our hearts, connecting to us in deep ways. We sing the words of scripture and words that reflect God’s truth, words and melodies that run the gamut of the human and Christian experience. This is God’s comfort to us and our sacrifice of praise to him.

The Reading of God’s Law

God has a will for our lives. His will for us is revealed in his law in scripture, which is his standard of justice and goodness. This is not haphazard, but reflects God’s righteous and holy character. His law is for his glory and our joy. As sinners, we break his law and need to be reminded again and again of God’s will. As saints joyfully pursuing obedience to God, we need to be encouraged to hear God’s will for us so that we may faithfully follow it in gratitude for our salvation that is in Christ.

The Confession of Sin

Jesus willed that the entirety of the Christian life should be one of repentance. Repentance of sin first requires acknowledgement, repudiation, and sorrow of sin. That is what confession is. We confess our sins each week to God as our regular, corporate acknowledgment of our wrongdoings. Corporately we confess in generalities, since we are gathered together as one body. Individually we silently confess with specificity our sins against God. We do this in light of God’s excellent holiness, in grateful recognition of his mercies.

Absolution of Sin

Jesus taught us to pray and ask God for forgiveness of our sins. That is the hope of the Christian life: that God forgives us our sins. Repentance is not only sorrow for sin, but throwing oneself on the mercy of God in Christ. The absolution of sin, or assurance of pardon, is the affirmation that seeking God’s mercy is not in vain and God has cleansed us of our sins through the blood of Jesus. The absolution of sin is the routine reminder and enactment of God’s forgiveness of all the sins of those who turn to him in faith. We joyfully respond and solemnly reflect on his forgiving mercy through singing either the Doxology or the Gloria Patri and then meditate on his grace through song.

Scripture Reading

There are two passages of scripture read each Sunday. One immediately precedes the sermon and is its text. The other passage comes from the alternative testament from the sermon text and is often selected from the Revised Common Lectionary, an ecumenical scripture reading guide for worship services. God’s word is designed to be heard; it orients us to him and feeds our souls. By having multiple scripture readings each service, the church hears a wide range of God’s revelation to us.

Prayer of Intercession and Thanksgiving

Sometimes called a pastoral prayer, the prayer of intercession and thanksgiving is prayed on behalf of the congregation by LPC's elders. Prayer is offering up our desires to God for things agreeable to his will, talking to him through the power of his Spirit in the name of Christ. Praying in Jesus’ name means that we can speak to our Father because Jesus has made a way. The pastoral prayer is the lifting up of the needs of the church and our neighbors. It is a practice of devoting ourselves to God, knowing that our Father loves to care for his children. We conclude together with the Lord’s Prayer, as Christ’s own model and direction for what we should desire and how we should raise our requests to God.

Baptism

Baptism is a sacrament, a sign and seal of God’s covenant. It represents and effects by faith our being washed by the cleansing blood of Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. By using our baptism through faith, we are united to Christ, cleansed of our sin, joined to God’s family, and pledged to follow him. It is a rite of initiation, given to children of families already dedicated to God and to converts to the faith. It is corporate, meaning that in each administration the whole church reflects upon their own baptism and reaffirms their devotion to him who first loved us.

Solemn Vows

Vows are part of the worship of the church, but only occur from time-to-time. There are two situations when solemn vows are made in worship. The first is when someone joins the church, whether by profession of faith or by baptism. In this case, they pledge their faith to God, their fellowship to the church, and the church pledges support to them. The second is when new Pastors, Elders, or Deacons are installed into their office. Here, the new officers vow to be faithful to their duties as God has described in scripture, and the church vows to support the officers in their calling.

Children’s Lesson

“Let the little children come to me, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is his church, and the church of Jesus is for all the children of God. We devote a time in worship to directly address the youngest children of the church with God’s word. God’s word is for all his children, young and old, and so this time is also intended to encourage older members of the church to support the youngest in their spiritual upbringing. It models in the gathering of God’s family what discipleship should be like in our own homes.

Sermon

Sermons are the exposition of God’s word. That means they contain explanations of scripture’s meaning, proclamations of the gospel, and exhortations to belief and obedience. God’s word is living and active, and the Holy Spirit impresses the truth of his word upon the hearts of his people through preaching. This is why preaching begins by praying for the Holy Spirit to use God’s word and work in our hearts and concludes with a prayer that God would be faithful to his word. Preaching is a means of by which God illumines the hearts and minds of his church, convicts and converts sinners, disrupts the overly comfortable, and comforts the afflicted. Through it, Jesus draws sinners to himself. In listening to God’s word expounded, we devote our hearts, minds, and souls to knowing God as he reveals himself to us in Christ.

Creeds

The Christian life is one of faith. A creed is a summary of guiding belief. The Christian’s creed is one of faith: trusting in God for what he has done, is doing, and will do. The creeds of the church are ancient and faithful statements of who our God is – it is God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who is our guiding belief. We recite the creeds together, typically in the administration of the sacraments, as a way of reaffirming and reminding each other of the content of our faith.

Lord’s Supper

The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, sometimes called Communion or the Eucharist, is a sign and seal of God’s covenant. In giving and receiving the bread and the cup, Jesus’ death is demonstrated to the church and world. By eating and drinking in faith, recipients of the sacrament truly and spiritually partake of the body and blood of Christ. In him we find nourishment and grace for our souls, and fellowship with God and each other. In it, God reassures us of his pledges that we are his, that we have found salvation through the death of Christ, and that Jesus assuredly will come again.

Benediction

The benediction is a pronouncement of divine blessing. In the Old Testament, priests would conclude worship by raising their hands over the congregation and assure them of God’s presence and favor in their lives. This practice continued into the New Testament church, with the words of blessing typically drawn from God’s word. As the church dismisses from its corporate gathering before God and returns to their life in the world, the benediction is the promise of God that he will never leave nor forsake his people. He has forgiven our sins and is at peace with us. So we may go into the world in peace.

 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this. (Deuteronomy 24:19-22)

Throughout the entirety of Scripture, God expresses his concern for the outcast and foreigner. Passages like this one are strewn throughout the totality of the Law (Ex 20:10, 22:21, 23:9; Lev 19:10, 23:22), and not only does he demonstrate his concern for the physical needs of the foreigner, he incorporates them into his own family when they turn to him in faith (Joshua 2; Ruth). In fact, God makes his own people to be sojourners to demonstrate his power of redemption and to discredit any merit his own people think they may have apart from him. Notice the reasoning that the Lord gives to his people in Deuteronomy 24:22; “care for the sojourner because you were once sojourners yourselves, and yet I took you in and cared for you” (my paraphrase plus interpretation).

Israel was always meant to be a light unto the nations (Rahab is a great example of this in Joshua 2:8-14); the reputation of the Lord’s blessing towards his faithful people was to be so great that all the nations would hear of his great deeds and turn away from their idols and towards the Lord God Almighty. The great news of Scripture is that despite the failings of his people, God still accomplishes this plan. Jesus, True Israel, in his perfect obedience fulfills this purpose. He is the light in the darkness, and all who look to him for salvation shall receive it. In addressing the Gentile (non-Jewish) believers in Ephesus, Paul describes it this way:

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11-13) 

Likewise, Peter at Pentecost miraculously preaches the gospel in such a way that multitudes from many nations hear it in their native tongue, and in response, these men ask what they should do in response to hearing this news, and Peter instructs them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:38-39). The ministry of God is the ministry of bringing near those who were once far off.

To return to the sojourner, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, the provision of physical needs of the oppressed by the people of God demonstrates the spiritual truth behind it: that in taking refuge in God the burden of sin is lifted. When Ruth the Moabite gleans in Boaz’s field, Boaz grants her protection, kindness, and grants her grain in abundance; however, his response to Ruth’s question of why reveals something deeper than kind provision for physical needs. “Why have you done this, Boaz?”  “The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (Ruth 2:12).  Earthly suffering (famine, oppression, sickness, natural disasters) reflects the spiritual reality of a world separated from God by sin and depravity. When the people of God provide relief from this suffering, it points to Christ, who is reconciling all things to himself and will make all things new in its entirety when he returns.

Just as God reminds Israel that they were once sojourners in Deuteronomy 22:24, Paul reminds Christians not to get too comfortable in this world. In many ways, we remain sojourners ourselves until Christ returns to claim us:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Phil 3:20-21)

Those whom Christ has redeemed dwell in a foreign land and await Heaven, but God has richly provided for our needs through Christ; the curse of sin is undone and his righteousness our own. This fact has direct bearing on how we ought to live. As the author of Hebrews writes, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:1-2). In speaking of entertaining angels, the writer has Abraham and Lot in mind here, who were unaware that the men they showed hospitality to were in fact messengers of the Lord. For us, how much more are we to serve and receive the strangers in our land when receiving them is as receiving Christ (Matthew 10:40-42). [1] The author of Hebrews continues on to provide the basis for serving the stranger:

“We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:10-16). 

In short, Christ died for us. He suffered for us. He did this on our behalf because he loves us; therefore, in light of what God has done for us in Christ, let us do for others that which brings glory to God. Let us sacrifice our time, resources, and convenience because we, too, are spiritual sojourners, awaiting that great city to come. Let our work, with prayer and the work of the Spirit, who brings about faith, seek to bring many lips to praise the name of Jesus. The needs of internationals and refugees in our area are great.

Langhorne Presbyterian Church has a long history of serving internationally, and now in light of world events, a growing international community has come to us. Right in our back yard are Afghani, Syrian, Ukrainian, Latin American, Brazilian, and African communities. All of whom have settled in the foreign land of Langhorne, Feasterville, Bensalem, Bristol, and Northeast Philadelphia. Serving them can feel inconvenient and uncomfortable; it requires time, resources, and emotional investment, but it one of the highest callings we have as Christians. One way that our church has been serving these communities is through our food pantry, which primarily serves a Liberian community, where we have seen beautiful fruit borne in the relationships developed, physical needs provided for, and even in the reputation of our church spread throughout the greater community of Langhorne.

Recently, our church has been exploring other possibilities through which we can further our service and outreach to the international community. This has led us into the world of ESL, or teaching “English as a Second Language.” This Fall, we will be partnering with Cairn University to provide their ESL students with additional opportunities to practice their English through “Conversation Cafés.” On the third Monday of each month, we will host a place where international men, women, and children can come and practice their English skills with the hopes of developing our own program in the future. Providing this service is intended to alleviate one of the most challenging aspects of coming to a new country and culture to those in search of refuge: a foreign language. By teaching English, it is our hope that new opportunities for employment, relationships within their neighborhoods, and even activities as simple as grocery shopping may become less burdensome. While ESL and our food pantry provide for practical needs, our intention is to communicate relief from spiritual burdens in Christ.

Everyone at LPC has an important role to play in faithfully communicating to those from far-off places the knowledge that they have been brought into the fold of God through Christ. The needed roles for our upcoming Conversation Cafés are numerous. Whatever your gifts there is a place for you to serve! We need greeters to smile and welcome our guests, servers to prepare coffee and snacks, childcare volunteers to play with kids, administrative help and individuals willing to converse with ESL students. There is something for everyone to contribute in this new adventure for our church. For this, I am excited.  What a beautiful day when the spiritual sojourners of LPC are joined by the corporeal sojourners living in our community, worshipping the One True God alongside the longest and shortest tenured saints of our church, united by the Spirit to the glory of Christ.

[1] John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 340.

Christian churches must be discerning in seeking to worship God in spirit and truth, especially in light of the influence of tradition and culture. For churches in the Reformed Protestant tradition like Langhorne Presbyterian Church, the answer to that how must always begin by asking first another question: What does the Bible have to say about this? What does God think about how we use our time and leverage it for worship and spirituality?

God’s Concern for Our Time

God demonstrates his concern about time from the get-go of creation. He created the sun, moon, and stars on day four of creation to rule the day and night and to be for “signs and for season, and for days and for years.” God established a natural rhythm of day and night, of the passing and return of seasons, into creation itself. The sun and moon, the rotation and orbit of the earth, are given by God for us to mark out the passing of time (signs and seasons) to commemorate and observe milestones. Things like New Year’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays at different points in the year are all gifts that God has given us flowing from day four of creation. The natural rhythm of creation is a gift to practice creativity and cultivation of the earth in our organization and practice of time. The way we practice time orients our lives and shapes the story we believe we are inhabiting. This is called the liturgy of life.[1]

This is why God also connected specific celebrations and religious festivals in the Old Testament law to the passing of time. The instructions for the different feasts and ceremonies can be found throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, with Leviticus 23 especially providing a summary of the seven principal feasts established by God for his people. All of these were held annually, but there were also special year-long celebrations: the Sabbath Year every seven years and Year of Jubilee every 50 years (Leviticus 25). The way that we practice time affects how we understand ourselves, our lives, and our world. The feasts in the Mosaic law were timed by God according to the rhythm of sun, moon, and stars. The natural seasons were given meaning through theses festivals that God established in his word.

God in creation established another key way of understanding time that is just as fundamental to the natural world as the sun and moon; God rested on the seventh day and made it holy. God rested and established the Sabbath day. This is the foundation for the Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh is a Sabbath to the Lord…for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-9, 11; cf. Deuteronomy 5:12-13). If you live close to the equator, the seven-day, weekly rhythm to life is much more obvious to you than the annual orbit of the Earth around the Sun with its seasons. The Sabbath is as fundamental and basic to nature as seasons.  

The practice of keeping the Sabbath is the foundational liturgical celebration for Israel under the Mosaic law. Leviticus 23 begins with an explanation of the Sabbath day and its worship, and only then turns to the other festivals and feasts, which are always patterned on the basic practice of keeping the Sabbath day. The Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee are both modeled on the Sabbath day. The festivals of Leviticus 23 and 25 are even sometimes referred to as “Sabbaths”.

The way that Israel’s time was organized was first weekly, then annual. The weekly organization reflected the Sabbath establishment in creation, something that is true for all people in all times and in all places. The annual festival organization is that way in which God directed the culture of Israel in their specific time and place, following the sun and moon for signs and for seasons.

Additionally, the feasts detailed in Leviticus 23 have a redemptive aspect to them. For instance, the Passover was a practice that looked backwards to God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt, to their present need to continually have their sins passed-over, and the future need for true and final deliverance. The way God organized Israel’s time on an annual basis was intended to remind them of their salvation, of their belonging to God, of their continued need for him. The liturgy of life that God provided them was for that end: you have received and need redemption from sin. Yet, the feasts and sacrifices all aimed at something more concrete in the future. Hebrews 10:1-14 describes these celebrations and ceremonies as shadows; things that have meaning and tell us something, but have no substance in themselves. The shadows are cast by the thing with real substance, and that is Jesus. The annual festivals were designed to point Israel to Jesus, both in their individual ceremonial components and in the way by which they functioned in their totality to shape Israel’s self-conception. Now, the good news of the gospel is that Jesus has come and fulfilled the purpose for which these ceremonies existed. They are no longer necessary because of what Christ has accomplished for our redemption.

An example from the New Testament is Christ’s fulfillment of the Passover. It is at the Passover meal that Jesus establishes the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, which signifies his death and all the benefits believers receive from it. The Supper is identified as the new Passover meal for the church (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus our Passover lamb has been sacrificed for us – what the Old Testament event and festival represented in shadow form has been fulfilled in the substance of Jesus dying in our place – therefore we should keep the feast. Not the Old Testament feast of the Passover itself (shadow), but the New Testament feast of the Lord’s Supper which represents that fulfillment (substance; 1 Corinthians 5:8, 11:23-25). 

Jesus also fulfilled the Sabbath Day, though in a different way. God rested on the seventh day (Saturday) to commission his people (Adam and Eve, and by extension all of humanity) to then go forward on the next day (the eighth day, or Sunday) to have dominion over the world. There was work to be done, but this commission was disrupted by Adam and Eve’s sin and the subsequent curse pronounced by God upon the ground and Adam’s labor (Genesis 3:17-19). The Sabbath (Saturday) became then not just the day of rest from work, or the day to be devoted to the worship of God, but also the day where human rest from labor anticipated God completing the commission bungled by Adam. It became a day of anticipation of future healing and restoration.

This is why Jesus healed on the Sabbath and identified himself as Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-13; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 6:1-11). He is the Lord of Rest and Restoration. He is completing the work begun by God and given to (and then squandered by) Adam. This is why, after healing a sick, crippled man on the Sabbath in John 5:1-17, Jesus says that his “Father is working until now, and I am working.” Jesus is fulfilling the mandate of the Sabbath. And Jesus completes his work through his death, resurrection, ascension, and pouring out the Holy Spirit.

Jesus through his redemptive work is completing the work of restoration and reconciliation that the Sabbath anticipated. His Father had been working, Jesus worked, and now “It is finished.” Jesus arose from the dead in victory, having completed the work that God the Father gave him. And Jesus rose from the dead on the eighth day, Sunday. From there on out, the church has solemnized Sunday as the Christian Sabbath (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2) called in the New Testament "the Lord’s Day" (Revelation 1:10). The people of God gather together faithfully every Sunday to worship God in gratitude for the rest provided in Christ and in anticipation of the fullness of that rest being consummated in his return (1 Corinthians 11:25, Hebrews 4).[2] Christ is already victorious, we can now rest in him, and we faithfully await Christ’s inevitable consummation of what he began. The Christian Sabbath is a time of celebration and rest in what Christ has done and a time of anticipatory rest in what Christ will do. It is a sign of God’s promise fulfilled, past, present, and future, in Jesus (Exodus 31:12-17, Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 4:8-10).

In short, the feasts and festivals of the Old Testament have been fulfilled in Christ, and thus are abrogated. The church should not return to shadows, but cling to the substance, which is Jesus himself as he is provided in the new covenant (1 Corinthians 5:6-7; Galatians 2:4, 4:8-11, 5:1; Colossians 2:17). The Sabbath established by God in creation has been fulfilled by Christ, and therefore the church should diligently rest in the worship of Christ on the eighth day, Sunday, and must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for that purpose (Hebrews 10:25).

The liturgical rhythm God has established in his word is the weekly gathering of his people, devoting the Lord’s Day as the Christian Sabbath to his worship. This must be the starting point for any discussion of the liturgical church calendar: What has God established? The Lord’s Day. How is God to be worshiped? As he has established in his word. What is worship about? Honoring God for the salvation he has provided us in Christ. Therefore, no worship practices that denigrate, cancel, or obscure the Lord’s Day are good. No practices that introduce into worship what God has not commanded in scripture should be tolerated. No amount of antiquity of custom or well-meaning intentions can circumvent this.

The Liturgical Church Calendar: Biblical Considerations

How do we understand the historic, liturgical church calendar in light of all this?

The first consideration is the question of the Old Testament. In the Mosaic law God established a number of festivals and worship services for his people. Now, all of these celebrations were instituted directly by God and were part of the ceremonial and civil aspects of the old covenant. That has two implications. The first is that there is a significant difference in basis between the liturgical calendar of the Old Testament church and the New. In the old, God himself directed and established the holy days and how they were to be observed. There is no such direction for the church in the New Testament, which means that any celebration or observation of a liturgical calendar has its basis in human tradition. Sometimes that tradition is very old, sometimes new. Sometimes it is limited to one region or denominational tradition, sometimes it has been recognized by most Christians everywhere. Sometimes the tradition is totally disconnected from any biblical imagery, and sometimes it attempts to capture biblical themes. Regardless, any part of the church calendar beyond Lord’s Day worship for the New Testament church is grounded in human custom, not divine warrant.

The second implication is that since these old covenant liturgical celebrations were abrogated in the New Testament without a divinely instituted replacement, the church does not have the authority in the new covenant to enforce or promote Christian observance of holy days like it did in the old.

This is Paul’s argument in Galatians 2:4, 4:9-11, 5:1 and Colossians 2:16-23. In Galatians Paul is warning against a return to old covenant practices as a means of policing boundaries into the church. He says doing so is to return to a yoke of slavery! The church cannot impose these observations on Christians.

In Colossians 2, Paul specifically talks about how these old covenant festivals, as well as improvisations upon them or similar activities by the church, are shadows. They lacked substance because they were all about Jesus, who has now come. To return to the shadows is to miss out on the real thing, which is Christ. The Old Testament shadows were good and necessary to point to Jesus before his coming, but are unnecessary now. Imposing them on the church, whether from the Old Testament or by innovation, should not be tolerated. Things like keeping a liturgical calendar or ascetic practices have an appearance of wisdom, but really are of no profit. How do Christians grow spiritually? Not through keeping calendars or fasts, but through the grace of God in Christ. These things are self-made (i.e. human invented religion) and are truly of no value (Colossians 2:22-23). There is not inherent harm in individuals following calendars and fasts, but that is up to the conscience of each person and should not be imposed upon them by the church (Colossians 2:16)[3].

The Liturgical Christian Calendar: The Reformation[4]

Often the antiquity of the liturgical calendar is invoked as a reason to maintain it. Now, it is not always actually the case (see this summary of traditional liturgical holidays in the Western church) that the traditions of the church calendar are ancient or universally held. There has been great diversity in practice and observation in the history of the church. Yet even if longevity of tradition is granted, the church derives its authority to worship to God from the word of God, not tradition. Tradition informs the church’s practice, but does not determine it. This is the starting point of the Reformed Protestant tradition when it comes to the church calendar.

During the Reformation the concern about the church calendar was five-fold. The first two concerns were shared by all Protestants, including Anglicans and Lutherans.

Saint-Focused Worship. The number of celebrations and observations on the church calendar during the medieval period had numerically skyrocketed and were overwhelmingly focused on people, not God. All the Protestant churches reduced the number of liturgical holidays and used the question “Does this day commemorate God and his gospel, or does it memorialize people?” as the criteria to determine which days to cut.[5]

Obscuring the Sabbath. The second concern was that Sunday as the Lord’s Day was being overshadowed by the rest of the calendar. God established the Sabbath; he did not establish Christmas. God ordained the Lord’s Day for his worship; he did not ordain Good Friday. The number and prominence of holy days was leading to the obscuring of what everyone agreed God had actually established in his word. They needed to reduce the number of holidays so that the calendar did not become so cluttered that the Lord’s Day was lost. The church needed to follow the pattern of Leviticus 23 and begin with the Sabbath (what God had established) in stressing spiritual importance, rather than the customs invented by the church.

The latter three concerns were not shared by the Lutherans or most Anglicans. But they were common to all of the Reformed (i.e. Presbyterian) churches.

Superstition. Superstition is attributing spiritual effects or values to actions or rituals which do not depend upon what God has promised or revealed in his word, and therefore are making an idol, even unintentionally, of the practice.[6] Days on the calendar, particularly Christmas and Easter, were being treated as especially holy or spiritually important. But nothing about December 25^th or the Sunday upon which Easter fell made them any more or less important than other days of the week or year in the eyes of God. Galatians 4:10 and Colossians 2:16, 23 are true of Christmas and Easter after all. Jesus is not born on December 25^th each year, nor does he rise from the dead again and again on Easter. God in his word has not set these days aside (sanctified, made them holy). Yet, because of the emphasis the church was placing on them, and the way in which they were taking on significance in the worship of the church, people were investing the days with spiritual meaning and significance. This is dangerous. It has the appearance of wisdom, but is of no real help, and emphasis on the shadows can distract from the substance, which is Christ.

We see this in modernity, as the most obvious example of this is people only showing up to church on Christmas and Easter. They do not attend the service to worship God in spirit and truth or to honor and obey Christ but because they thought the day was spiritually significant. Jesus never commanded observing Christmas; he has commanded attending church on the Lord’s Day. They attend to honor the day and custom, and use claims of honoring God to cloak themselves in piety. However, this is no modern phenomenon. John Calvin has a famous sermon about this, when he was compelled by the Genevan government to hold a Christmas service:

Now, I see here today more people that I am accustomed to having at the sermon. Why is that? It is Christmas day. And who told you this? You poor beasts. That is a fitting euphemism for all of you who have come here today to honor Noel. Did you think you would be honoring God? Consider what sort of obedience to God your coming displays. In your mind, you are celebrating a holiday for God, or turning today into one but so much for that. In truth, as you have often been admonished, it is good to set aside one day out of the year in which we are reminded of all the good that has occurred because of Christ’s birth in the world, and in which we hear the story of his birth retold, which will be done Sunday. But if you think that Jesus Christ was born today, you are as crazed as wild beasts. For when you elevate one day alone for the purpose of worshiping God, you have just turned it into an idol. True, you insist that you have done so for the honor of God, but it is more for the honor of the devil.[7]

When a special day of the year is esteemed more highly than the regular worship of God commanded by God himself in his word, it is not God being worshiped when that day is observed. It is the day itself, which is idolatrous superstition.

The superstition was clearer in relationship to Easter and Lent. Easter was seen as such an especially important day that people needed to prepare for it. But every Sunday is a resurrection Sunday because every Lord’s Day is the divinely established celebration of Christ’s resurrection. In the eyes of God there is nothing more valuable or significant about Easter than any other Sunday. So, the preparation for the day is already an elevation of a human tradition (Easter) above what God established in his word (weekly Lord’s Day worship). But the idea of Lenten preparation for Easter in particular is that we must get ourselves in the right place in order to properly come to God in worship.

Now, there is some truth to this. Anytime we come to God in worship we need to prepare by focusing our hearts and minds on God in advance. Anytime we partake of the Lord’s Supper, the actual divinely established ritual commemorating Christ’s death, we are to prepare by examining our hearts to see our sin, faith in Christ, and love for our neighbors. But where Lenten preparation goes wrong and veers into superstition is that it treats Easter as more special, and therefore requiring a distinct and special preparation. This has the appearance of wisdom, but is really of no help in fighting sin. But in accepting the premise of special preparation, the preparation itself takes on spiritual significance and is invested with spiritual meaning. That spiritual investment comes from men, not God, meaning it is superstitious. Biblical preparation for worship is about repentance, actually turning from sin and throwing ourselves on the mercy of God in Christ, and this is to occur daily, not in a special season. Lenten preparation for Easter is about denigrating and ritualistically restraining ourselves in order to be made worthy in a season of special focus. Lenten worship and practice became about what we do, not what Jesus has done.

Worship should orbit Jesus and his finished work. That is what we rest in, and even what biblical preparation is really about striving for: faithful resting in Christ because of what he has done for us (Hebrews 4:11). The Lenten fast and preparation shifts the orbit of worship away from Christ’s definitive action towards our contributions. This undermines faith and confidence in Jesus and steals away God’s glory.

Christian Liberty. Galatians 4:10 and Colossians 2:16-25 teach, along with other passages like 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14, that if God does not command something in his word then people do not have to do it. If God has not banned something, his people are free to make use of it. This is Christian freedom. Christian liberty means that God alone is lord of the conscience, and individual people have been freed from following doctrines and commandments of men that either contradict God’s word or elevate themselves to the same level of moral obligation. For the church to require implicit faith and obedience to its created commands for spiritual practice destroys Christian freedom and devalues God’s word (Matthew 15:9, Romans 14:4, 10, 23; 1 Corinthians 7:23; Galatians 2:3-5; James 4:12).

The church and its pastors are only able to exercise the authority granted them by God, which is delimited by scripture. The church calendar, historically, added obligations upon the people of God that could not be justified from scripture. Roman Catholics still refer to “Holy Days of Obligation.” The Lenten fast or sacrifice is the best example of this.[8] The Lenten fast was a requirement placed upon the church to observe as a practice of faith, and therefore a spiritual burden being placed upon the people by the church without warrant from God’s word. It added to the law of God and infringed upon the freedom of conscience. The Reformation famously began in Switzerland (1522), when from the pulpit Ulrich Zwingli in Zurich urged his church to exercise Christian liberty by eating sausages during Lent in opposition to the burdensome customs of Rome.

Now, the Reformers also knew that the church implying that something should be done as a spiritual obligation and duty would also be coercive. Which is why the Reformed churches not only stopped requiring observation of days on the calendar like Lent, but stopped promoting them. To use pastoral authority to promote a non-biblical, extra-scriptural spiritual practice as something good and pleasing to God, especially with the history of superstitiously following the church calendar, would be illegitimately pressuring people to violate their conscience or to return to the practices of the superstitious church.

God’s Word Rules. The church must do in worship whatever God has commanded, and may not do in worship what God has either not commanded or has forbidden. This is sometimes called the rule of worship or the regulative principle of worship. The church is only to worship God as he has instructed in scripture. The things which God has commanded (e.g. reading and preaching the Bible, prayer, administering the sacraments) are the components or elements of worship. The rituals or ceremonies tied to the administration of the elements either fall into the category of essential to their nature (e.g. the words of institution for the administration of the sacraments are necessary ceremonies) or are merely circumstantial, like the specific songs, prayers, or sermon texts selected. Elements of worship must only come from scripture, the ceremonies that are essential to the elements must be derived from scripture, and the circumstances of worship should conform the spirit of scripture and biblical wisdom.

In other words, there is nothing wrong with having a theme for a worship service, like focusing on the incarnation or resurrection. But adding an element of worship based on the church calendar (e.g. applying ashes on the first day of Lent, anointing with oil on Maundy Thursday) or revising the ceremonies (waving palms during the call to worship) without warrant from God’s word violates this principle. It is adding something to God’s worship that he has not commanded. It also binds the worshipers: the church is now using its authority to command people to worship God in a way that he has not instructed in his word. Additionally, compelling people to attend worship services outside the Lord’s Day is to obligate people to honor days that God has not commanded. There is nothing wrong with worshiping God at other times than the Lord’s Day or having a biblically guided theme in worship (e.g. focusing on the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday), but requiring those days to look a certain way makes extra-biblical ceremonies or circumstances essential to worship.

Our Place in the Story. Since the Reformation, another key additional criticism has emerged. This is the de-historicized nature of the church calendar. History is linear: it begins, progresses, and has an end. History is also redemptive: God created, man sinned, God provided redemption in the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and session of Christ, and God will restore and consummate all things in the return of Jesus. This is reflected in the Lord’s Supper: we memorialize the death of Jesus and look to his return.

The historic liturgical calendar is not linear, but cyclical. This is seen most especially in the Lenten season anticipating Easter. There is a game of pretend: Lent is the season of lament and despondency, waiting for the resurrection, with a vigil in anticipation of Easter. It places people earlier in the cycle of the story, not further along its linear path. People are stuck, cyclically preparing for Easter, waiting out Lent and looking towards Christ’s resurrection. This is still the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church[9] and is very common sentiment among Protestants who follow the liturgical calendar. For instance, this 2021 article from the evangelical flagship magazine Christianity Today,

One of my pet peeves is receiving an email during the latter part of Lent with the sign-off ‘Happy Easter!’ or ‘Jesus is risen!’ I have to fight the temptation to reply, ‘Not just yet!’ Such proclamations, although well meaning, rush me to a destination I’m not ready to reach. Before I experience the joy of Easter morning, a lengthy journey awaits.[10]

“Not just yet” is only true if the place we find ourselves in the story of redemption is pre-Easter. A lengthy journey through Lenten sorrow that anticipates resurrection joy is only true if Easter has not yet come. This is not simply a return to the shadows, signs and seasons of the Mosaic rhythm of time, it misunderstands where the Christian is in the story of redemption and denies them true joy and hope. Another recent devotional from a high-profile evangelical ministry put it this way, “Lent is a time where we search our hearts and repent in anticipation of Christ’s victory over the darkness of sin and death.” Lent becomes about what we do (search our hearts) in anticipation of what Jesus will do (rise again and triumph) but the truth is that Jesus has already done this. By making the Christian redemption story liturgically cyclical, it pulls the Christian from where we truly are.

In other words, we actually always do live post-Easter, post-Pentecost. Jesus has died, is risen, and will come again. The liturgical church calendar tends us towards a life-story where Jesus will die, Jesus will rise, and Jesus will come again. There is always a waiting for Jesus to not only return, but to die and rise again. It steals the hope of the gospel, now. I can have the joy of Easter morning in the deepest pit of despair because Jesus has already risen again.[11] In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says that if Jesus has not risen from the dead, we of all people are most to be pitied. The liturgical church calendar returns people to the state of sorrow and pity over and over again, when the good news of the gospel is that Jesus is alive.

This criticism stands in continuity with Zwingli’s rejection of the Lenten fast. The church calendar is neither about our participation in the suffering and mediation of Jesus, nor preparation for his suffering and mediation. Jesus has suffered and is risen. The hope of the gospel is that we receive this by faith. 

The Reformation: What Should an Annual Christian Calendar Be?

The earth does indeed orbit around the sun, and human experience of the natural seasons is cyclical: winter-spring-summer-autumn-winter again. The rhythms of our lives reflect this. There is something of a secular liturgy that all people follow according to the seasons. For Americans it includes: New Year’s Day, return to school, icky winter, spring break, Memorial Day, end of school and summer break, Independence Day, Labor Day and return to school, fall and Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then winter and school break around Christmas. We live on a planet that orbits the sun and therefore in a rotational, seasonal world. This shapes us and is unavoidable.

Yet even the signs and seasons of the sun and moon are provisional. The natural, cyclical pattern of creation will ultimately give way to a single point: the return of Christ and his direct governance and leadership in our time and worship. This is what Revelation 21:22-24 is driving at when it says the sun will be no more in the new creation, but Jesus will be in the midst of his people. The rulership given to sun and moon in Genesis 1:16-17 is temporary, stewards holding down the fort until Jesus returns and consummates creation and redemption. History and time, even with Earth’s orbit of the sun, are still linear, with the glory of Jesus being the final point. So, for now, the divinely established liturgical calendar remains the seven-day week. Six days for labor, one for rest in worship.

Yet the natural cycle and secular liturgy of life shape people and mold their conception of identity and story. The practice of Christian Sabbath is the best complement to God’s design in nature and best corrective to secularized liturgies. Our true story is not seasonal, nor secular, but salvation in Christ.  Since we do live in a naturally seasonal world there is a benefit to having biblical and gospel themes establish our rhythm of life, to augment nature and counter the secular. But any intentional adjustment of Christian practices must necessarily be based upon the divinely established weekly rhythm of Sabbath and directed by the teaching of God’s word.

In short, Protestants have responded in three ways the seasonal nature of life. Lutherans and Anglicans with intentionality maintained a good many events of the historic, Western church calendar. For the Lutherans, the liturgical holy days or feasts were not part of their formal doctrine (definitively expressed in the Book of Concord, 1580) but varied from region to region and church to church. For Anglicans, there was a great deal of variety between the different editions of the Book of Common Prayer (1549, 1552, 1559) with the final version of 1662 (the basis of modern Anglican and Episcopalian prayer books) including three categories for a total of 27 holy days. There were Principal Feasts (e.g. Christmas, Easter) which people were obligated to observe and often had special liturgies and ceremonies; Red Letter days (e.g. the Circumcision of Christ, Candlemas), which people were expected to observe and had specific scripture readings and prayers, but not liturgies or ceremonies; and Holy Days (e.g. All Saints’ Day, Maundy Thursday) which were included on the church calendar without expectation on church services or any additional liturgical change beyond recommended scripture readings.

The Reformed had two different responses.[12] In Britain, the direction taken was to ban all observances of holy days and church feasts due to their superstitious nature. The Scottish First Book of Discipline (1560), primarily written by John Knox and used to guide the practices of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, forbade any observation of holy days and specifically listed out a number of celebrations that it deemed especially bad. The Scots argued that there was no assurance from God’s word that the observances of these days were acceptable in God’s eyes or beneficial to faith. Rather, because the observing of these days turned faith away from God’s word, focused on saints instead of Christ, and added human invention to God’s worship, they are abominations.

The Westminster Assembly, the same group of primarily English Presbyterians that produced the Westminster Confession and Catechisms which are the doctrinal standards of global Presbyterianism including LPC, also wrote a Directory for Public Worship (1644). This directory supplanted the Scottish books of discipline and worship and remained the overall guide for Presbyterian worship for centuries. The Directory had this to say about the liturgical church calendar “There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord’s day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued.”

On the European continent there was a different approach taken by the Reformed churches. The Second Helvetic Confession of Faith (1562) was written by Heinrich Bullinger as the doctrinal standard of the Swiss Reformed churches. That confession states

Moreover, if in Christian liberty the churches religiously celebrate the memory of the Lord's nativity, circumcision, passion, resurrection, and of his ascension into heaven, and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, we approve of it highly. But we do not approve of feasts instituted for men and for saints. Holy days have to do with the first Table of the Law and belong to God alone. Finally, holy days which have been instituted for the saints and which we have abolished, have much that is absurd and useless, and are not to be tolerated. In the meantime, we confess that the remembrance of saints, at a suitable time and place, is to be profitably commended to the people in sermons, and the holy examples of the saints set forth to be imitated by all.

The six celebrations mentioned here (Nativity/Christmas, the Circumcision of Christ, Passion/Good Friday, Resurrection/Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost) all focus on the redemptive and saving work of Jesus. These became known as “evangelical (i.e. gospel) feast days”. The confession approved of their celebration since they focus on the gospel, but only if churches in their Christian liberty wanted to celebrate them. There were no specific instructions or liturgies on how to celebrate the days or which day of the week to celebrate them, but it was left up to the individual churches in conformity with the regulative principle. A similar guideline was provided for commending the remembrance of saints: no change in liturgy, no holy days for them, but feel free to acknowledge them in the normal elements (e.g. sermons, prayers) of worship.

The Second Helvetic Confession was followed by two other groups. The Reformer Zacharias Ursinus (author of the Heidelberg Catechism) drafted the Palatinate Church Order (1563) to guide the worship of the German-Reformed churches. It commended the observation of the evangelical feast days. Similarly, The Synod of Dordt in the Netherlands, after it issued the Canons of Dordt from which the famous Calvinistic acronym “T.U.L.I.P.” is derived, also produced the Church Order of Dordt (1619). It likewise commended the evangelical feast days.[13]

What these latter groups were doing with the evangelical feast days was acknowledging the natural, cyclical rhythm of the world and seeing the value of having a gospel-shaped liturgy of life. They prioritized in both word and practice the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Day, allowed churches the liberty to celebrate the evangelical feast days, grounded the calendar in what Jesus has done for salvation, and did not compromise the regulative principal of worship in commending these days. Rather, the evangelical feast days provided themes to guide the regular worship of the church according to the word of God on the Lord’s Day. These days were helpful, but not holy.

Applying This to Langhorne Presbyterian Church

To guide Langhorne Presbyterian Church, being directed by scripture and learning from the history of the church, there are six guiding principles for utilizing the church calendar.

First, Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the Christian Sabbath, and it is a day that should be devoted to the public worship of God. This is how we rest in Christ. This is the only day that God has established in his word to be kept holy. The weekly celebration of the Lord’s Day is more important for Christian faith, spirituality, the glory of God, and Christian practice than any other holiday. Sunday worship is the central and non-negotiable time for the church to gather and worship God. It is the primary means by which God liturgically forms his people and properly orients us to our place in Christ’s story of redemption. If LPC must choose between worship on the Lord’s Day or on a holiday (e.g. Christmas Eve celebrations on Saturday and Sabbath worship the next Sunday morning) it must always choose worship on the Lord’s Day.

Second, Worship, whether on the Lord’s Day or any other time, must always remain focused on the glory of God in the redemptive work of Jesus. To change our focus onto other people, what we are doing, or what we are bringing to God, is an inversion of the gospel. Worship must always center on the gospel, which is what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do. It is ok to have times where we speak about and meditate on people and what they are doing (e.g. praying for people of the church, hearing from mission partners, having a Sunday commemorating the communion of saints in sermons or prayers), but this must always be done in express reference to the centrality and glory of the work of Jesus.

Third, God determines how we are to worship him. He does this by his commands in scripture. We are not to introduce any liturgical element, ceremony, or motion that does not have a positive warrant from the Bible. To do so is to elevate our creativity over God’s instructions and to impose, no matter how well intentioned, venerable, or pleasant, a human tradition upon the conscience of our fellow worshipers. The church does not possess the authority to deviate from scripture in its worship. Our church’s doctrine, expressed in the Westminster Confession and Catechisms, provides the concrete directives on what we believe are the biblically prescribed elements, motions, and ceremonies. Specific examples of rituals without biblical warrant include the application of ashes or the waving of branches in worship.

Fourth, LPC is free to have particular topics or themes present in its prayers, songs, scripture readings, and sermons. These themes can follow the traditional Christian calendar, but should never veer from the first three principals above. LPC will generally follow the rhythm of the evangelical feast days in setting the themes of its worship service. For example, it is appropriate to have prayers, songs, scripture readings, and sermons on Easter Sunday that meditate on Christ’s resurrection. It also appropriate to thematically decorate the church building (a circumstance of worship), but it should never be done ostentatiously or in distraction from the biblical principles of worship. It is inappropriate to have worship thematically determined by the secular calendar or to have non-gospel/biblical themes or practices shape our worship. A specific example is singing patriotic music on the Fourth of July.

Fifth, LPC is never to use its authority to implement in worship practices absent from or contrary to God’s word, nor to expressly or implicitly pressure the people of the church to believe or practice anything for their Christian walk lacking a scriptural warrant. This is especially true in pressuring people to observe additional celebrations and to ritually fast in preparation or anticipation for a specific day on the church calendar (Colossians 2:16-23). A specific example is encouraging the observation of Lent, whether expressly or implicitly.

Sixth, LPC’s use of the church calendar does not repeat, re-enact, or recapitulate the historic events of the life of Christ. Rather, it remembers, commemorates, and celebrates events that have definitively occurred in the past.[14] The church will never urge its people, expressly or implicitly, to prepare for or think of the work of Christ as if it has not yet happened. Nor will it urge people to use days of the calendar to specially participate in the work of Christ or receive his blessings. The church has Jesus and his benefits now, and receives and participates with Christ by faith as he is offered in the gospel. This offer of the gospel is to be proclaimed and administered week-in and week-out at LPC. This will protect the church from granting so-called holy days superstitious power or spiritual significance and will instead prioritize the definitive work of Jesus.

[1] James K.A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom is the best, accessible explanation for how this works in our world.

[2] The Didache, the earliest extra-biblical Christian document, instructs the church to gather on Sundays to worship God. For further information on the topic of Christ’s fulfillment of the Sabbath and the day still remaining obligatory for the Christian see Sinclair Ferguson’s Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification.

[3] The reference to “Sabbaths” here is not the keeping of the Lord’s Day and fourth commandment, but is shorthand for all the other Old Testament festivals that were collectively referred to as sabbaths.

[4] The best examples of Reformation era writing on this topic come from Heinrich Bullinger of Zurich in his Decades (1548-1551), which for a time were the standard textbook for clergy in the church of England; the French-Genevan John Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559) and his commentaries on Galatians and Colossians; the German Zacharias Ursinus’ Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (1587), which he authored; A Dispute against the English Popish Ceremonies (1637) by George Gillespie, a Scottish-Presbyterian delegate to the Westminster Assembly; and the English Puritan John Owen’s A Discourse Concerning Liturgies and their Imposition (1662). All of these are accessible and easy to digest.

[5] There was another concern that holy days had become secularized and turned into days of debauched partying, much like how St. Patrick’s Day today. Christmas was a chief offender here. However, the Protestant churches differed in their solution to this. Some just wanted to correct sinful behavior, while others eliminated the holidays altogether.

[6] This definition is borrowed and modified from Zacharias Ursinus’ Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism.

[7] “Calvin’s Response to Being Forced to Observe Christmas”, preached on Christmas Day, 1551.

[8] Fasting is good, and it is appropriate for the church to call for a fast from time to time. Individuals are free to fast in any season (e.g. Matthew 6:17-19, 9:15; 1 Corinthians 7:15), but for the church to call a fast should be in response to specific and timely circumstances of judgment, discernment, and thanksgiving. When the church calls for fasting, it is to be the condition of the people as they gather in public worship (Joel 2:12-18). It is wrong to disregard the church calling for a fast, not because of the inherent authority or respect of the church or value in fasting, but because the call to fast should always be tied to a pressing need or blessing, and disregarding the fast is discounting the suffering or blessing identified by the church. The church calling for fasting should always be to specific moments and circumstance, not a recurring, automatic season like Lent. See the Westminster Directory the Public Worship for more on this.

[9] For example, here, “How to live Lent According to the [Catholic] Catechism”.

[10] “Our Pilgrimage Through Lent”.

[11] This point is made brilliantly by Karl Barth in his wonderful little Dogmatics in Outline and Learning Christ Through the Heidelberg Catechism

[12] Worship: Reformed According to Scripture by Hughes Oliphant Old and Christ’s Churches Purely Reformed: A Social History of Calvinism by Philip Benedict are the best historic resource on this subject.

[13] Though in the case of the Dutch church there was extended debate on the subject. The final arrangement was a compromise, with the liberal ministers and civil government on the side of following the church calendar and the conservative ministers being on the side of imitating the Scots and banning their observance. See “Why are Ecclesiastical Feast Days in our Church Order?”

[14] I am indebted to Steven Wedgeworth for this pithy summary.

Advent. By at least 480 AD there was a recognition in some Christian churches of a season of preparation for Christmas. Starting at the Council of Tours in 567, monks in French churches were required to fast the entire month of December until Christmas. Throughout the medieval period Advent was a season of fasting comparable to Lent. However, Advent was only sporadically recognized or practiced in Western Europe until the 13th century, when it became more common. Advent fasting fell out of practice by the 14th century, though it remained part of official Roman Catholic guidance until the 1950s. During the Reformation, only the Anglicans and Lutherans retained Advent. Among the Lutherans there were diverse practices and liturgies, depending on region and congregation, which remains the case. For Anglicans, Advent is practiced in specific prayers and homilies being used during the season. It was only in the mid-20th century that Presbyterian churches began commonly recognizing Advent.

Advent has several practices associated with it, such as liturgical colors and Christmas carols, both of which vary across denominational traditions. The Advent wreath was invented by a German Lutheran teacher in the mid-19th century. Originally it had 24 candles for each day of December to help the school children count down the days until Christmas, much like Advent calendars, which were also invented by German Lutherans around this time. The Advent wreath was first added to worship services by American Lutherans in the 1930s, and only started being used among American Presbyterians and evangelicals in the 1970s-1980s. The identification of the different candles with Advent weeks (e.g. hope-peace-love-joy with a final “Christ candle”) followed, and gained wider prominence in the 1990s, though there remains a great variety in what each candle represents to each congregation. Rather, beginning in 15th century Western Europe, the “four last things” were the themes preached on the four Sundays of Advent: Death, judgment, heaven, and hell.

Christmas. An annual celebration of the birth of Jesus is one of the oldest extra-biblical practices of the church. There is much debate and many books written about the origins of Christmas (its relationship to the winter solstice, pagan religions and traditions, and the date it should be celebrated), but by at least the 2nd century there were annual celebrations of Jesus’ birth. By 200 debates arose over when it should be observed, and by 336 December 25th was widely practiced in the Western church. The Eastern church celebrated the birth of Christ from December 25th to January 5th (the day before Epiphany), which is the source of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”

In the early years of the church, Christmas was overshadowed by Epiphany in importance, though Christmas grew in prominence through the medieval period. It was not until 13th century France that celebrations of Christmas took on forms recognizable to the modern church. Christmas was often associated with wild partying prior to the Reformation, much like Saint Patrick’s Day is currently.

During the Reformation, Anglicans and Lutherans both retained the celebration of Christmas as part of their church calendar, for the Anglicans as one of their principal feasts. Among the Reformed, Christmas was retained in the German Palatinate, approved of by the church of Dordt, and commended as an evangelical feast day by the Second Helvetic Confession. Its observance was banned as superstitious in the Scottish First Book of Discipline. Among American Presbyterians, as late the 1890s the church was encouraging its members not to observe Christmas. It was only in the early 20th century that Christmas celebrations became commonplace among Presbyterians. However, many Presbyterians still do not alter their worship practices for Christmas itself and opt instead for either regular worship services or for special Christmas Eve services.

Circumcision of Christ. The feast of the circumcision of Christ takes place eight days after the Christmas celebration of his birth, on January 1st, in recognition of Christ’s circumcision in Luke 2:21. January 1st had seen church celebrations since the 4th century as the “eighth day of Christmas”, but starting in the 13th century the Roman church began celebrating the circumcision of Jesus on it. During the 16th century Roman Catholics began emphasizing the day as the "Naming of Jesus" instead, which is now their official practice. During the Reformation the celebration of the circumcision of Christ was retained by the Anglicans (a red-letter day) and Lutherans, though in both traditions it has now been replaced, overshadowed, or combined with the celebration of the Naming of Jesus. Among the Reformed it was commended by the Church Order of Dort and as an evangelical feast day by the Second Helvetic Confession. Its observance was banned as superstitious in the Scottish First Book of Discipline. The Revised Common Lectionary completely replaced it with a celebration of the Holy Name of Jesus and New Year’s Day, the latter of which has functionally supplanted it in any American churches which had ever recognized it in the first place.

Epiphany (Theophany). In the Western church, Epiphany, which means “manifestation”, primarily celebrates the Magi visiting Jesus, with secondary celebrations of Christ’s baptism and his first miracle turning water into wine. In the Eastern church, the celebration of Theophany (which also means “manifestation”, just using a different word) exclusively celebrates the baptism of Jesus. Both traditions celebrate this on January 6th. January 6th is speculated to be the date of the celebration because early Christian churches would begin reading the Gospel of Mark together on January 1st and arrive at the baptism of Jesus by January 6th. This is probably the oldest Christian celebration, and goes back to at least 200 AD. By the mid-4th century its practice was well established, and in both Western and Eastern churches it had greater prominence than Christmas. While still practiced by both the Roman and Eastern churches throughout the medieval period, its importance had faded by the Reformation. Of the Protestants, only the Anglicans retained it, which they did as a principal feast. Its observance was banned as superstitious in the Scottish First Book of Discipline. In the modern era, churches following the Revised Common Lectionary sometimes celebrate it.

The Presentation of Christ (Candlemas). This celebration of the presentation of Jesus in the temple takes place 40 days after Christmas, on February 2nd. It is also known as the feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, recognizing her conforming to the Mosaic law in presenting Jesus at the temple. The feast began being celebrated in Jerusalem in the 4th century, and gained importance in the 6th. In the 15th century an icon of the Virgin Mary was found on the seashore during the feast, and so the celebration took on association with her purification. A tradition associated with the feast is to bring candles to the church for a blessing, which is where “Candlemas” is from. Of the Protestants, only the Anglicans retained it. For them it is a red-letter day, initially as a celebration of the purification of Mary, but now of the presentation of Jesus. Its observance was banned as superstitious in the Scottish First Book of Discipline.

Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, 46 days before Easter. During the medieval period in the Roman Catholic church, people who were grievous sinners and penitent would begin the season of Lent by dressing in sackcloth and being sprinkled with ashes until Maundy Thursday. By the 9th century, this practice had begun to disappear, and eventually in the 11th century there emerged the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of all the congregation to begin Lent. The Eastern Orthodox, who follow a different calendar for Lent, have never observed Ash Wednesday. Ashes in the Bible are associated with death and repentance, and so were applied to people to represent those themes in their lives during the season of Lent. The use of the previous year’s palms from Palm Sunday to make the ashes was not a common practice until the 20th century. During the Reformation all of the Protestant churches either heavily modified or rejected Ash Wednesday. The Lutheran churches left it up to each congregation, and often did not apply ashes. The Anglican church retained a worship service for Ash Wednesday, but eliminated the application of ashes until the 20th century. Even today the application of ashes is optional in Anglican liturgies. The Reformed universally rejected Ash Wednesday, both as a specific service and in the application of ashes. The observance of Ash Wednesday among American evangelicals only began in the 1970s and still remains uncommon.

Lent. Lent is the season of preparation preceding Easter, lasting 40-week days before Easter Sunday. It is a season of repentance and self-denial through fasting in preparation for Easter, with the timeframe meant to imitate Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the desert before being confronted by Satan. The term comes from Old English, from before the 10th century, and literally means “lengthening of days”, referring to the season of Spring when Lent occurs. The earliest records of Lent are from the 4th century. In the earliest centuries of the church, Easter was often the annual worship service when people would be baptized. A season of fasting, with varying lengths depending on congregation and region, was required for the baptismal candidate. Lent partially evolved out of this practice. A 40-day fast preceding Easter was established in 325 at the First Council of Nicaea. By the Council of Laodicea in 367, the 40-day fast preceding Easter became a requirement for all Christians. This eventually became known as the season of Lent. Christians were to only eat one full meal a day throughout Lent. In the 14th century this was amended to allow for an additional small meal in the morning, which was again modified and loosened in 1966 by the Roman Catholic church. Since the fast of Lent is not absolute, traditions arose of Catholics voluntarily selecting a pleasure or luxury to additionally fast from during this season, which is called a Lenten Sacrifice. This practice became much more common in the mid-20th century. 

Among the Protestants, Anglicans and Lutherans both retained the season of Lent, though neither mandated fasting like the Roman Catholics or Eastern Orthodox. All of the Reformed churches rejected Lent as superstitious and sinfully binding the church. It was only with the rise of the ecumenical movement in the 20th century, and especially the adoption of the Revised Common Liturgy, that some Reformed churches began recognizing Lent. Among American evangelicals, the 1970s saw the first practices of Lent, with recognition picking up by 2010. Evangelicals typically do not fast, but rather follow the tradition of the Lenten Sacrifice.

The Annunciation. The announcement (“annunciation”) to Mary by Gabriel that she was pregnant with Jesus is celebrated on March 25th, nine months before the celebration of his birth at Christmas. The celebration is first referenced in the Council of Toledo in 656, and in 692 it was ruled as the only day beside Sunday upon which Christians in Western Europe were allowed to break their Lenten fast. By the 13th century its celebration was well established in both Eastern and Western churches. The day continues to be celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, and is a Principal Feast in the Anglican communion. The other Protestant churches did not acknowledge or celebrate the Annunciation during the time of the Reformation.

Palm Sunday. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century there was a reenactment in Jerusalem of Christ’s triumphant entry. This celebration was repeated sporadically over the next few years. In 8th century Francia local practices of blessing branches and palms as part of the celebration grew, and were later incorporated into official Roman Catholic liturgy. Palm Sunday was not a significant celebration among the Roman Catholics, though for the Eastern Orthodox it is one of their 12 Great Feast Days. During the Reformation, Palm Sunday was not included by any Protestant tradition in their liturgical calendars, with even Martin Luther and Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer rejecting the waving of palms as adding an nonbiblical ceremony without historic pedigree into the worship of the church. In the 19th century the Anglican Communion began recognizing Palm Sunday, adding it to their prayer book in the early 20th century. It was only in the 20th century that the celebration of Palm Sunday and the waving of palms became commonplace in both Roman Catholic and Protestant churches.

Maundy Thursday. The day is often referred to as “Holy Thursday”. The word “maundy” comes from the Latin word “commandment”, referring to the special commandment Jesus gave his disciples to love on another as he had loved them given by him on the Thursday before his resurrection as he washed their feet. Maundy Thursday began as a celebration of the Lord’s Supper in Jerusalem in 4th century. The practiced was endorsed by the Roman Church by the 7th century. In 694 the Council of Toledo added the washing of feet into the liturgy of the service. By the 8th centruy three different masses had developed, which were each celebrated on Holy Thursday. By the 12th century, foot washing was part of the formal Roman rite for the day, as was the “Chrism Mass”, when priests would be ordained by the anointing of oil. In 1570 the Roman Church modified the day’s worship by merging the three masses into a single service, but retained the foot washing and anointing. Beginning with this reform, stripping the communion altar of all colorful vestments became a common tradition. The Eastern Orthodox celebrate Holy Thursday, but with very little different in practice from their typical liturgy. Among the Protestants, only the Anglican retained the service, with it included as a general Holy Day in their prayer book, and the only special instructions related to the scripture readings for the day. Maundy Thursday starting to become a common Protestant practice in the United States in the late 20th century, often as a replacement to Good Friday services.

Tenebrae Services. “Tenebrae”, which is Latin for “darkness”, is not a day on the church calendar, but rather a way in which certain days in the week leading up to Easter have been conducted. Tenebrae services have their origin in Western Europe in the 9th century. The tradition in the services for the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday leading up to Easter was to conclude those late-evening services after midnight, with the candle light slowly being extinguished throughout the service so that it ended in darkness. This tradition was haphazardly followed in the Roman Catholic church until 1955, when liturgical reforms eliminated the Tenebrae services. Some Roman Catholic churches still practice this, however. Since the Tenebrae service was intimately connected to Roman Catholic liturgies of the mass, no Protestant group in the Reformation adopted the practice. Starting in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, some American Protestant groups began using the Tenebrae format during their services on either the Wednesday preceding Easter, Maundy Thursday, or Good Friday.

Good Friday. The earliest recording of a distinct day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus is from the 4th century in Jerusalem. Starting in the 15th century Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem would visit the 14 stations of the cross on Good Friday. This practice quickly became mimicked in local Roman Catholic parishes. Good Friday services are typically held around 3:00pm, in order to align with the time of day of the death of Jesus. The celebration of Good Friday was implicitly rejected by the Scottish Presbyterians and Westminster Assembly, while maintained by the Anglican church, Lutherans, and commended in the German Palatinate and as an evangelical feast day in the Second Helvetic Confession.

Easter. Easter is the annual celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. The title comes from an old English word referring to the spring month in which the day fell, named for the Germanic goddess Ēostre. The day is also sometimes called Pascha, from the Hebrew word for “Passover”, or Resurrection Sunday. The Sunday on which Easter is celebrated is the Sunday following the full Moon which falls on or after the spring equinox, which is always between March 22nd and April 18th. Easter has been celebrated since the 2nd century, and the appropriate way to date it was debated and resolved at the Council of Nicaea in 325. Beginning at least in the 3rd century, Easter was traditionally the service when people would be baptized and receive their first communion. In preparation for this those receiving the sacrament were expected to fast. This practice evolved into Lent. Even today in Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and among some Anglicans and Lutherans, there is a special fast the week preceding Easter that is not broken until Easter Sunday. Typically in these churches there is an Easter Vigil on the Saturday evening before Easter. In this service the church gathers in the darkness and then is brought into the light to worship, with the sacraments then administered. In many Protestant churches the Easter Vigil has been replaced by a sunrise service, a practice that began in the 18th century. Easter as a specific and special celebration of the resurrection of Jesus was implicitly rejected by the Scottish Presbyterians and Westminster Assembly. It was affirmed by the German Palatinate and Church Order of Dordt, and commended as an evangelical feast day by the Second Helvetic Confession with the title “Resurrection”.

Ascension. The service celebrates the ascension of Jesus 40 days after his resurrection, which is always a Thursday. Sometimes the ascension is liturgically celebrated on the Sunday following Ascension Thursday. The celebration of the ascension is first recorded in the 5th century. In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox liturgies the day is intended to be commemorated with a vigil. The day was maintained as a principle feast by the Anglican church, was implicitly rejected by the Scottish Presbyterians and Westminster Assembly, was affirmed by the German Palatinate and Church Order of Dordt, and commended as an evangelical feast day by the Second Helvetic Confession.

Pentecost. Pentecost is a title that comes from the Greek word for 50, since the celebration occurs 50 days after Passover. In the Old Testament a celebration of God’s provision was established (sometimes called the Festival of Weeks, sometimes the feast of harvest, sometimes the day of first fruits). This celebration became known as Pentecost by the time of the New Testament. Pentecost is always a Sunday that occurs 50 days after Easter and 10 days after the Ascension. In Acts 2, God pours out his Holy Spirit upon the church on the day of Pentecost.

Pentecost was regularly celebrated by the 2nd century. In the Eastern Orthodox Church it is second only in importance to Easter. In the west it was firmly entrenched by the 11th century. The day was maintained as a principle feast by the Anglican church, was implicitly rejected by the Scottish Presbyterians and Westminster Assembly, was affirmed by the German Palatinate and Church Order of Dordt, and commended as an evangelical feast day by the Second Helvetic Confession.

Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday following Pentecost in the Roman Catholic Church. While a feast was held by the Roman Catholic Church on this date beginning in the 14th century, it was only made a chief celebration in 1911. During the Reformation, the Lutherans and Anglicans recited the Athanasian Creed on Trinity Sunday, but that was the extent of the acknowledgement of the day by the Protestant churches. Trinity Sunday was added to the Revised Common Lectionary in 1983, and from there became a much more common and prominent feature in Protestant liturgical calendars.

All Saints’ Day and Reformation Day. Beginning in the 4th century the church began holding days of celebration and commemoration of its martyrs and other deceased saints. These services were sporadic and the date shifted constantly. In the 5th century, the Eastern Church fixed the date to the Sunday following Pentecost, but it was not a prominent celebration until the 9th. In the Western Church, it was not until the 9th century that November 1st became the fixed day celebration. A vigil was added to the commemoration, taking place the night before on October 31st, which became known as All Saints’ Eve or All Hallows’ Eve. By the 11th century All Saints’ Day became focused on the saints and martyrs of the church, while the day following on November 2nd became focused on all the deceased Christians. The commemoration on November 2nd was called All Souls’ Day, and the three days together were labelled Allhallowtide (all saints time). Only Lutherans and Anglicans retained All Saints’ Day during the Reformation. While the Scots Confession and Second Helvetic Confession both denounced having days of worship devoted to saints, both the Westminster Directory for Public Worship and the Second Helvetic Confession commended setting aside time in worship services, through sermons and prayers, to acknowledge the saints of God. Starting in the 20th century other Protestant groups started acknowledging All Saints’ Day, often on the Sunday closest to November 1st instead of the day itself.

All Hallows’ Eve was eliminated in the Roman Catholic’s liturgy in 1955, and throughout the 19th and into 20th century that day has evolved into the secular holiday of Halloween. Martin Luther famously nailed his 95 Theses on October 31st in 1517, and beginning in 1667 (the 150th anniversary of the Reformation) Lutheran churches have celebrated Reformation Day on October 31st. A significant number of other Protestant churches now celebrate Reformation Day on the Sunday closest to October 31st, in many cases supplanting All Saints’ Day, though in some instances celebrating both together.

Christ the King. In 1925, in the face of growing secularism, the Pope instituted the feast of Christ the King to affirm that Jesus is king over all the world. Initially it was observed on the last Sunday in October, but the Roman Catholic Church moved it in 1969 to the last Sunday prior to the start of Advent. The celebration was added to the Revised Common Lectionary in 1994 and has since become a common practice in Protestant churches that utilize that calendar.

The more often we do this in worship, the better. What makes the sacrament special isn’t the sentiments we attribute to it (that would mean God’s gifts are special because of our feelings!) but because in it we truly and graciously receive Christ. There is no drawback to receiving Jesus more frequently.

In the Lord’s Supper we don’t have an altar, but a table. Altars are for sacrifices, and Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all on the cross. We have a table, because this sacrament is a meal for the family of God. Jesus at the Passover meal before his death gave us food and drink, and as his people we gather together at the Lord’s table to feast by faith on Christ, our true passover (1 Corinthians 5:7-8, 10:16-17, 21).

The table should be simple: it supports and presents the sacrament and should not distract from it. The worship of the old covenant was elaborate and showy, because it anticipated the glory of Christ’s redemptive work. The worship of the new covenant is simple and direct, because now we rest in what Christ has done by faith, not by sight. The table should simply and directly present what is necessary for the administration of the sacrament.

The table of the Lord is a table of communion. How could a family meal be anything else? The pastor administers the sacrament, but it is the gift of God for the people of God. Having the table of the Lord close to the people of God communicates this. Minimizing the distance between the administration of the sacrament (breaking the bread and pouring the cup in the words of institution) and distributing the sacrament is valuable in signaling that the sacrament is a meal, consecrated by God, given to and among his people. As a church we come forward to receive the meal and return to our own seats and partake together. This signals the meal-like fellowship we have with each other in the sacrament.

The Christian church has historically divided its worship service into two segments: the liturgy of the word (everything before and including the sermon) and the liturgy of the table (the parts of the worship service surrounding the Lord’s Supper). Having the table below the pulpit and after the sermon reminds us that we only receive Christ by faith through the guidance and direction of God’s word. The way in which we go about administering the Lord’s Supper at LPC is therefore based on scripture, learning from the good practices of the church in the past. The order generally follows:

The Exhortation. To exhort someone is to encourage them to a course of action. Paul does this in 1 Corinthians 11 when he explains the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. The exhortation at the table is the pastor teaching on the Lord’s Supper and holding forth the benefits and value of partaking. It is an encouragement to respond and receive the sacrament in faith.

The Creed. A creed is just a statement of faith. Since the Lord’s Supper should be received in faith, it is appropriate for the church to lift our voices to God together declaring what it is that we believe. Sometimes we recite creeds from church history, sometimes statements from scripture about who God is and what he has done as our confession of trust.

Fencing the Table. The Lord’s Supper is the meal for God’s people. That means those who are part of God’s family should come to the table. People who are baptized (the sacrament of admission into the family), have professed their faith to the church (sometimes called confirmation), and are repentant of sins are welcome to partake. This part of the liturgy includes a warning, following Paul’s guidance in 1 Corinthians 11, against coming in an unworthy manner. It also includes an invitation, to come and receive Christ by faith, even if we are weak.

Lifting Up Our Hearts. The Lord’s Supper is not a sacrifice, but a gift. Christ presents himself to us and we present ourselves to him. The Sursum Corda (Latin: Lift Up Your Hearts) is an ancient Christian declaration of our joy in responding to God’s invitation which we recite. Sometimes we also additionally respond in joy by singing the Sanctus, an ancient, scriptural Christian hymn of praise.

Prayer of Thanksgiving. The Lord’s Supper does not work by magic, but by divine appointment. That means it is not our faith that makes the sacrament God’s gift, but God who makes it God’s gift. In prayer, the pastor asks the Lord to be faithful to his promise to use the common foods of bread and wine to provide us Jesus through his Holy Spirit. This is a glorious gift, and we thank God for it. Sometimes we as a congregation will then prayer together, gratefully acknowledging to God that we receive humbly from him though we are not worthy on our own.

Words of Institution. Jesus commanded his disciples to imitate him in administering his Supper, which we see Paul do in 1 Corinthians 11. Christ’s words that the bread is his body broken for us and that the cup is the new covenant in his blood poured out for us are repeated, along with breaking the bread and pouring the cup. We as a congregation then acclaim in faith what we are showing forth: that Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Distribution and Partaking. We come forward to the table to receive the meal. While the bread that is physically broken by the pastor in the administration of the Supper is not passed out, the distribution from the same table represents partaking together of the singular loaf and cup of Christ. We come forward to receive from the same table, and then sit and partake together as the one family of God.

Prayer of Dedication. It is wonderful to receive from God his grace in Christ. In this prayer, the congregation together thanks God for what he has given and done, and asks that he would be faithful to use his gifts to work grace and faithfulness in us as we forward into the world.

The morning devotional is one of the most common practices encouraged among evangelical Christians. A good question to ask is, What is the biblical basis for a personal devotional? In all of our spiritual practices, the foremost consideration we must have is what God thinks of it. And it is the Bible that gives  us God’s perspective on our spirituality.

So, what does God have to say about personal devotions?

Quite a bit, in fact. That term is never used in scripture, but the Bible does lay down a number of principles and priorities for how to practice spirituality outside of Sunday worship (public devotion).

First is that we should meditate on God through his word. Meditation means intentional, focused contemplation. Considering God, devoting our minds and hearts to him is the highest calling and joy of the Christian. But we are fallen, easily distracted and unsatisfied with the goodness of God. That is why we should meditate on him through his word. Using the Bible to direct our consideration and contemplation of God is God’s gracious gift to us, to assist and direct our minds and affections.

The Bible speaks of this constantly. God tells Joshua that success in faithful obedience requires that “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night.” (Joshua 1:8). Similarly, Israel’s kings were to meditate daily upon God’s word by reading it (Deuteronomy 18:18-19). This is true not just of Israel’s leaders, but for all of God’s people. Flourishing in relationship to God flows from delightfully meditating on him through his word. This is the dominant theme of Psalm 1 and 119 for example.

Jesus explains that searching the scriptures to find life is right, because true life from God comes from the one that scripture reveals: Jesus himself (John 5:39). The daily rhythm of meditating on God through his word is not only for personal devotion to God, but family devotion to God. In Deuteronomy 6, Moses provides God’s greatest commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And what does this look like in practice?

“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, cf. Psalm 78:5-8).

Loving God at the very least means embracing a daily rhythm of meditating on him through his word. Reading it, talking about it, teaching it to your family is what God expects of a daily, spiritual devotion to him.

Second, personal and family devotion should be prayer-filled. The Bible is full of pictures of this: Pray without ceasing! (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), Pray about everything! (Philippians 4:6), Pray with persistence! (Luke 18:1), Pray as long as you have breath! (Psalm 116:2), Pray constantly! (Psalm 86:3). Meditating on God should lead us to respond to God in prayer. Why? Because a relationship with God is not about receiving information from him, but receiving him. God is the greatest good, the highest joy, and since we have received him we have the privilege of speaking to him and being heard. That’s what prayer is: speaking to God. Prayer should be part of our devotions because through this gift we grown in our appreciation, trust, and delight in God himself.

Sometimes we overcomplicate devotions. Personal and family devotion to God should simply be a daily rhythm of reading God’s word, considering God through his word, and responding to God in prayer.

Now, some people find devotional guides helpful, and they can be! Here are a few recommendations that provide structures for reading and prayer, as well as conversation and insight on the biblical text for families.

For families,

• The Family Worship Book: A Resource Book for Family Devotions (Terry Johnson).
• Family Worship Bible Guide (Joel Beeke).
• Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism (Starr Meade).
• Comforting Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Heidelberg Catechism (Starr Meade).

For individuals (most of which can also be used for families or friend groups as well),

• Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy For Daily Worship (Jonathan Gibson).
• Morning and Evening (Charles Spurgeon).
• Through the Bible, Through the Year: Daily Readings from Genesis to Revelation (John Stott).
• The Daily Office of the Book of Common Prayer. The daily office can be found more easily at https://www.dailyoffice2019.com/, which also has links to an app for this.

Every church has a music playlist. A congregation needs to pull its rotation of songs from somewhere. Sometimes it’s the music team’s favorite songs, sometimes it’s the Top 40 Christian songs on the radio. A hymnal is a predetermined set list. What makes a hymnal valuable as a set list is that is curated and physical.

A curator in a museum knows all the exhibits well, and knows how to skillfully show and describe them to the guests A curated song list, such as a hymnal, is selective in the songs picked. Since hymnals are physical items, instead of a digital set list, the curation has to have a higher standard of selection: you can’t change the set list once the hymnal is published. The physicality of hymnals demands a high curation standard.

As a result, hymnals are effective in bringing a local congregation in the present in touch with the faith of the church in the past. Rather than being dependent on the knowledge of a single music leader, a hymnal is the result of expert curation across the ages. The Trinity Psalter Hymnal has songs from as recently as the past decade and as old 200 AD (“Shepherd of Tender Youth”, by St. Clement of Alexandria). This is a way in which LPC can join our voices with the church across time; hymnals guide our worship in embodying the communion of saints. 

The physicality of hymnals also determines the set list for a local church for an extended period of time. A hymnal ensures that the church has a set of songs that endure regardless of what pastor or staff are there leading the church.

This is important because music cements theology in memory. Having an enduring, multi-generational, established set of music that a congregation knows solidifies God’s truth in the heart of Christians. Music in general has that power, but a shared musical history accomplishes this far more effectively than having a music set that reflects the most current and popular Christian music. The 425 hymns in the Trinity Psalter Hymnal are solidly curated and reflect the deep truths of the Reformed biblical tradition.

The Trinity Psalter Hymnal brings something else to the table: the biblical psalms. The book of Psalms is the divinely inspired hymn book of scripture. The psalter covers the range of human experience and emotions, and was written to be sung. Not only that, the psalms are a divine corrective to our experience and emotions. Sometimes the psalms cover subjects that we may find strange, but that is God’s way of teaching us how to think and feel in his likeness. The Trinity Psalter Hymnal has all 150 biblical psalms set to music for congregational singing. This is a good tool to sing the very words of scripture.

Of course, there will always be good music that LPC could sing that is not found in our hymnal. And we sing those as well. But these reasons are why Trinity Psalter Hymnal serves as the backbone of the songs that we sing together at LPC.

How should the church think about money, especially when it comes to acts of giving in worship and honoring God with our resources? These are two inter-related questions: How should the church collect money? and What is God’s expectation for giving? What follows is a sketch of the biblical summary on these topics along with historical considerations. It concludes with principles for LPC’s practice. 

Tithes and Offerings in the Old Testament

In the Mosaic law there were broadly three categories of tithes: the tithes to support the Levitical priesthood (Numbers 18:21, Deuteronomy 14:22-29, 2 Chronicles 31:3-5); the tithes for the celebrations at Israel’s festivals (Deuteronomy 12:6ff, 16:13-17; and tithes for the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29, 26:12-13). Each of these kinds of tithes had a variation in the frequency in their collection. Notably the tithe to the Levites was explicitly premised on Israel living in the promised land (Deuteronomy 12:19, 26:1-4).

A common misconception is that tithing equated to 10% of an Israelite’s income. However, “Some [scholars] think the Israelites gave 14 tithes over seven years; others believe they gave 12. Regardless, when we add the required tithes together, the amount certainly exceeded 10 percent. In fact, the number was probably somewhere around 20 percent per year.”[1] The term “tithe” originally meant “tenth”, but in the biblical text it came to encompass all that Israel was commanded by God to give. Even tithes for the festivals (Deuteronomy 12:6) are assessed at “every man shall give as he is able” (Deuteronomy 16:17) rather than a specific percentage of income or wealth.

Not every Israelite was expected to tithe. Deuteronomy 14:22-29 highlights who is expected to pay: those who control the means of production. The farmers, not the farmhands, are expected to tithe. It is the tithes of the fields, groves, vineyards, herds, and flocks that need to be paid (v.23. cf. Leviticus 27:30-32, 2 Chronicles 31:4-5). The owners of such resources are the ones who pay the tithes, because it is their resource. The poor and the immigrant were allotted the freedom to glean from the fields (Leviticus 23:22) to support themselves, which is a crucial aspect of the book of Ruth. The wealthy pay, the poor receive: the very same tithes that that are used to support the Levites goes to support the poor and disenfranchised (Deuteronomy 14:29). The only time those who received tithes were themselves expected to tithe were the Levites to support the chief priest (Numbers 18:25-28). Tithing was not a requirement for the believer, but for the wealthy.

Malachi 3:8-10 is often cited in teaching on tithing and stewardship for the church. It reads,

Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, “How have we robbed you?” In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

 Why is this robbing God? Because it is withholding from God what he is rightfully owed by the terms of his covenant with Israel. The terms of the covenant require obeying the law given to Moses (Deuteronomy 5:1), and Israel was not keeping their end of the bargain. God is inviting Israel to see that obedience will result in blessings, per the terms of the covenant. Obedience to the covenant results in blessing (opening the windows of heaven), disobedience results in cursing (“You are cursed with a curse”).[2] Malachi 3:8-10 is not about giving gifts to God, but about being faithful to what God has commanded. And the specific command here is tied to the Mosaic covenant which has now been fulfilled and abrogated in Christ.

John Calvin comments, “But we know that other sacrifices are now prescribed to us; and after prayer and praises, he bids us to relieve the poor and needy. God then, no doubt, is deprived by us of his right, when we are unkind to the poor, and refuse them aid in their necessity.”[3] How do we rob God in the new covenant? By neglecting prayer, praise, and care for the poor.

Tithes were not paid as part of the liturgy of Israel’s worship. Tithes, as they were typically perishable foods, were kept in storehouses so that they could be distributed in the town centers of Israel (Deuteronomy 14:28). During the temple repairs under Jehoash an offering box was placed at the entrance of the temple for people to drop off their contributions (2 Kings 12:9). This practice continued into the temple worship of the Jews during the time of the New Testament (Mark 12:41, Luke 21:1). There is no warrant from the worship of the Old Testament to teach the collection of tithes and offerings is an element of Christian worship. Rather, there is basis in both biblical principle and pattern for the Reformation practice of collecting offerings outside of worship.

 In the old covenant tithing was required for the people of God to have access to him through the Levitical priesthood. Now, all who are hungry and thirsty come to the Christ of the everlasting covenant without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1-3). Jesus has paid the cost for us to come to God so that we don’t have to pay ourselves.

Tithes and Offerings in the New Testament

An important passage about tithing is Hebrews 7:1-10. The author of Hebrews makes the case that the priestly order of Melchizedek is superior to the priestly order of Levi. In the ancient world inferiors paid tithes to their superiors and superiors blessed their inferiors (v.7). Abraham as the ancestor of Levi represented him and his priestly order when he paid tithes to Melchizedek (v.1-2, 9-10, cf. Genesis 14:17-21). Hebrews is arguing this to make the case that Jesus’ priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood because Jesus is the head of the priestly order of Melchizedek. The tithes for the Levitical priesthood are intertwined with that priesthood (v.5), and with the change in priesthood from Levi to Jesus comes a change in the law (v.11-12). Since the priesthood changed, the law for the people of God has changed.

John Owen summarized this well in his comments on Hebrews 7:1-2, “I shall take leave to say, that it is no safe plea for many to insist on, that tithes are due and divine, as they speak,–that is, by a binding law of God,–now under the gospel.…The precise law of tithing is not confirmed in the gospel.…it is impossible any one certain rule should be prescribed unto all persons.”[4] Tithes are not a moral obligation upon the Christian in the new covenant.

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 Paul holds out the church of Macedonia as an example of generosity and urges the church in Corinth to imitate them in this “act of grace” (8:7). Paul quickly adds that this is not a command, but a way of showing that the Corinthians love their neighbors (8:8). This assistance is good, but it should be an expression of love, not a moral duty. Love is the obligation, generosity is the outworking. Give from what you have, not from what you don’t (8:12). A specific kind of giving (e.g. tithing) is not commanded as a moral obligation, but rather love exercising wisdom in generosity.

Paul urges them to continue on generously, but says “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (9:7). Here is the clearest statement about what percentage of your wealth you must donate to the church: whatever you decide, but do it cheerfully. This meshes with Paul’s earlier instructions in 1 Corinthians 16:2 for “each of you to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper.” Give as you can.

Paul forbids giving reluctantly or under compulsion. People should give because they want to give. Cheerfulness and generosity as a posture of the heart ought to be cultivated. This is the exact exhortation Paul gives when he tells the Corinthians to excel in the grace of generosity (8:7). The Christian should be joyful to give for the sake of the poor and for the sake of the ministry of the gospel. Compelling people by telling them that are morally obligated to give a specific cut of money to the church does not demonstrate “love that is genuine” (8:8) or alleviate cheerless reluctance. In fact, it can have the opposite effect and instead produce resentment of the church. This is why Paul also forbids giving under compulsion. He does not mean literal robbery, but spiritual bullying. Using the ministry of the church to tell Christians that they owe the church money and if they don’t give 10% they are sinning is the kind of inappropriate compulsion Paul has in mind. That is why he makes it clear that his instructions to seek the grace of generosity are not a command (8:8). The giving of the church is to be a willing gift (9:5).

The widow giving her last mite (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4) is an embodied demonstration of Paul’s point. Jesus’ comment that she gave more than the rich because she gave all that she had to live on is not celebratory. Her giving more than all those donating out of their wealth is a bad thing. The offering box, as it collected tithes and gifts, should have been an instrument of poverty alleviation. Instead, the scribes devoured widows’ houses (Mark 12:40) to ostensibly fund God’s house. This widow was making herself a burden, exactly what Paul warned against in 2 Corinthians 8:12, and was not obligated to tithe under the law (Deuteronomy 14:29).

How did this happen? Compulsion. Spiritual manipulation, through the teaching that God would be honored through giving up all she had and that God commanded this giving. Rather than being a source of provision for this woman, the offering box became a vacuum for her money. This account is a warning to the church of what happens when we pressure people to give, when they feel compelled to give (maybe even cheerfully!) by the church. This is not to blame the widow or the poor, nor to strip them of their agency. People wisely and generously giving out of their poverty is a good thing (2 Corinthians 8:2). The call of the rich and of the church is to refuse to pressure (i.e. compulsion or manipulation) the poor into giving up what little they do have

Paul does not want the Corinthians to be stingy, and tells them the return on their investment will be significant. Thanksgiving to God will be produced through the ministry they financially support (2 Corinthians 9:11). Ministry bears fruit! The gospel will go forth in power; God who supplies for his people will continue to supply for them. Paul encourages giving in anticipation of God’s provision through the work of the gospel (9:8-15). The return on financial investment is growth in grace through the ministry of the gospel.

Christians have a loving duty to support the ministry of the church through their financial gifts, and that giving should be done freely, cheerfully, generously, not under spiritual coercion, as each person decides for themselves based upon the circumstances of the needs of the church and their own lives.

NT Principles of Financing and Collection

The New Testament itself gives very little indication about how the work of the church is to be funded. Acts 4:32-37, 5:1-6 tells us that the church did not allow any of its members to go needy, and this was accomplished through people providing money to the church by laying it at the apostles’ feet. This was not a liturgical act of worship, but the setting in which collection and distribution was managed. 1 Timothy 5:3-16 provides guidelines for caring for widows, one of the groups that would need to receive support from the church through its deacons, but with no procedural details. Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 instructs the Corinthian church to collect financial support for the suffering church in Jerusalem, which he later thanks the church for doing and encourages them to continue (2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:1-15).  John Calvin in his commentary on 1 Corinthians makes the case that this is not a feature of worship in Corinth, nor did Paul intend for it to be one (“so that there will be no collecting when I come”). Rather, this was something that the individual Christians in the church were to do on their own in order to meet a specific need.[5] This interpretation has been the dominant view in the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition.

Paul in 1 Corinthians teaches that ministers should make their living from preaching the gospel, “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). Paul’s overall argument in 1 Corinthians 9:6-15 is that ministers of the church should receive their livelihood from the church, much in the same way that the Old Testament priests received their livelihood from their work in the temple (v.13). Quoting Deuteronomy 25:4, Paul applies the principle that even the oxen in the Old Testament made their livelihood (eating from the grain they helped cultivate) to the ministry of the church. He makes a similar point when he again quotes that passage in 1 Timothy 6:17-18 and says that elders who rule well, especially those devoted to preaching and teaching, are laborers who deserve their wages. Paul provides an example of this when he recalls the church in Macedonia supporting him (2 Corinthians 11:7-9).

Churches are to support the ministry of the gospel through providing money for its ministers to make a living. The New Testament does not describe or prescribe the way in which that is to happen. What scripture does make clear is that the primary purpose of financial giving to the church is to ensure the operational and missional success of the church’s work of gospel ministry.

Historical Considerations

The church throughout its history has received funding through a variety of means. For instance, the Fourth Council of Carthage instructed clergy to support themselves through additional labor, which was still followed by many into the 5^th and 6^th centuries. Under Charlemagne in 779 AD, financial support for churches through congregational contributions was made legally obligatory upon all the nation’s citizens, though the tax was scaled to grow with parishioner’s wealth rather than being a flat tithe. The manner of collection varied throughout the centuries. Sometimes giving was done in the worship itself as an offertory, with congregants coming forward toward the chancel and placing their contributions into a box, sometimes giving was dropped off in an offering box in the church building during the week, sometimes given as indirect support such as through pew rentals (dominant in colonial America) or gifts of food (collected in literal tithe barns), or sometimes from the government-levied taxes later dispersed to the church.

By the mid-19^th century in America pew rentals were falling out of favor and government support for churches was ending. Instead, the practice of passing the collection or offering plate became common. Revivalists associated with the Second Great Awakening were proponents of using techniques, such as the altar call or the anxious bench, that elicited an emotional reaction designed to drive attendees to a crisis of spiritual epiphany. These were “New Measures”, and thought necessary to both get the attention of the world and to invigorate revivals due to the character of the cultural age.[6] It is in this context that passing the offering plate was introduced into American worship, alongside the introduction of the idea that people were obligated to individually tithe. This became the undisputed method of collecting contributions in the American church by 1900.

At the outset of the Reformation, Protestant churches began eliminating offertories altogether. For example, under the leadership of Martin Bucer, by 1526 there was no offertory in the churches of Strasburg. Instead a box was put in the back of the sanctuary where congregants could place their contributions.[7]

The great liturgies of the Reformation did not include collection of financial contributions as part of the church’s worship.[8] Collection of contributions or tithes is absent from Luther’s German Mass (1526), Calvin’s Form for Ecclesiastical Prayers (editions 1545, 1552, 1566), The Heidelberg liturgy (1563), John Knox’s Book of Genevan/Common Order (1564), the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (editions 1549, 1552, 1559, and the now standard 1662), the Church Order of Dort (1619), and most importantly, the Westminster Directory of Public Worship (1645).

 The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) 21.1 summarizes our approach to God’s worship like this, “[T]he acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men…or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.”

 In short, we may only worship God as he has instructed in his word. This has been called the “rule of worship” or the “regulative principle of worship.” God’s word is the rule, the regulation, for how he is to be worshiped. This is sola scriptura applied to worship.Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC) 107-109 and WCF 21 identify the biblically prescribed elements of worship. WLC 108 in particular is helpful,

Q. What are the duties required in the second commandment?

A. The duties required in the second commandment are,

• the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath instituted in his word;
• particularly prayer and thanksgiving in the name of Christ;
• the reading, preaching, and hearing of the word;
• the administration and receiving of the sacraments;
• church government and discipline
• the ministry and maintenance thereof;
• religious fasting;
• swearing by the name of God, and vowing unto him:
• as also the disapproving, detesting, opposing, all false worship;
• and, according to each one's place and calling, removing it, and all monuments of idolatry.

Notably, the practice of having an offering in the worship of the church is absent. Giving financial gifts to the church is not among the elements of God’s prescribed worship.

The Westminster Directory of Public Worship was crafted by the same assembly that wrote our Confession and Catechisms, though the Directory was never formally adopted by American Presbyterians. Notably, the Directory does include three occasions in which alms were to be collected: days when the Lord’s Supper was administered, days of public humiliation (when the church called for fasting and lamentation), and days of public thanksgiving. The Directory instructed that the manner should be such that “The collection for the poor is so to be ordered, that no part of the publick [sic] worship be thereby hindered.”

The collection of alms, the only Reformation practice liturgically similar to the modern offertory, was to be conducted so as not to disrupt the acts of worship. This is highly instructive. There was no room for the act of giving to be seen in itself as a part of worship. Rather, the act of worship, particularly Holy Communion, should prompt Christian charity. That charity, though righteously motivated, was to be practiced in such a way that it could not be interpreted as a part of worship (and therefore distract through delay or displacement of the actual parts of worship) or disrupt the other parts of worship.

The teachings of Jesus also have direct bearing on almsgiving. In Jesus’ teaching on anger in Matthew 5:21-26, he says, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” The principle is that the worship of God, including giving to God at the altar in the temple, can be thwarted in spirit if sin that disrupts fellowship is left unaddressed. Now, the church no longer has an altar where we present gifts, but a table from which we receive communion. Yet the principle remains the same and stronger: fellowship broken between brothers disrupts fellowship with God. This is why the Reformers connected almsgiving to the Lord’s Supper – fellowship in the church is disrupted when those who have fail to care for those who have not. The church fails its fellowship when it neglects the financial care of the poor.

Concluding Principles

The collection of tithes, offerings, and financial gifts to the church is not a biblically warranted element of worship. One of the great dangers of introducing liturgical actions, such as passing an offering plate down a row of pews for people to place their gifts, is that it inevitably takes on a position of liturgical prominence. Because it is something being done in worship, with time and attention devoted to it in the service, it becomes understood by the church as a part of worship rather than a “background circumstance” of worship.

The risk is motivated theological-circular reasoning: We do this in worship, we are only to do in worship what is commanded and is pleasing to God, so this must be commanded and pleasing to God, and therefore must be something we do in worship. Wisdom teaches that it is impossible to include something as liturgically significant as setting aside time and focus in worship to collect offerings without this being the result. Christians want their worship to honor God, and it is much easier to convince themselves that their worship already does instead reforming their practice.

This in turn leads to endowing the collection with invented spiritual importance. If it is understood as part of the worship of God, then it must have a spiritual significance. And if it has spiritual significance, then we are dutybound to not only practice it, but to seek in it a means of spiritual comfort. No person, pastor, or church has the authority to add to God’s worship what God has not commanded. The church has the duty to ensure its worship is according to God’s authority alone.

In practice, the effect at LPC is that the collection of financial support for the church will not include passing an offering plate. Rather, we are encouraging online giving, mail-in checks, or dropping off gifts in the offering plates/boxes in the sanctuary. When the subjects of money and supporting LPC are addressed to the church from its leadership, there will not be a message that people are duty-bound to give a certain percentage of their income or wealth to the church. Rather, there will be an emphasis on free, cheerful, generous, and prudent giving to maintain the ministry of the gospel and care for the poor.

[1] “7 Reasons Christians Are Not Required to Tithe” by Thomas Schreiner (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/7-reasons-christians-not-required-to-tithe/).

[2] Exodus-Deuteronomy are full of examples of this, but Deuteronomy 28 is the most extensive and clear example of the covenantally conditioned and promised blessings and curses.

[3] Calvin’s Commentaries, vol. 15, page 586 on Malachi 3:8.

[4] Owen, John, The Works of John Owen, vol. 21, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1991, pages 324-325.

[5] Calvin's Commentaries, Vol 20. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker, 1979, page 68-69.

[6] See Lecture XIV, “Measures to Promote Revivals”, especially pages 203-206, in Charles Finney’s Lectures on Revivals of Religion (1868): https://www.ccel.org/ccel/f/finney/revivals/cache/revivals.pdf.

[7] Old, Hughes Oliphant. Worship, Revised and Expanded Edition: Reformed According to Scripture. United States: Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2002, pages 155-156.

[8] A perusal of the liturgies in Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present (edited by Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey, 2018), shows that the collection of tithes or offerings is totally absent from the liturgies of the Protestant Reformation, though the collection of alms does appear in several.