Chapter 1

The Nature of Worship

1. God made man in His image to glorify and enjoy Him. In the public worship of the church, the people of God, redeemed by Christ, glorify and enjoy the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as He reveals Himself in His Word.

2. The main purpose of worship is to bring glory to the triune God, particularly for His work of redemption through Jesus Christ. However, God, in His benevolence, also invites and commands His people to draw near to Him to experience all the benefits of their redemption, to declare their dependence on Him, to enjoy His appointed means of grace, to encourage one another, to celebrate their union with Jesus Christ and to be transformed, more and more, into His image.

3. In the corporate worship of the church the triune God meets with His people in accordance with the terms of the Covenant of Grace. In worship the church remembers God’s covenant of grace and renews her commitment to her Lord. Worship involves intimate communion between God and His redeemed people. In worship God initiates a covenantal dialogue with His people in which He calls them to worship, declares to them His great acts of creation and redemption, assures them of the efficacy of His promises, and seals His promises to them by means of sacraments. In response to God’s initiative, the people of God offer prayers of confession, petition, and thanksgiving, sing Psalms with grace in their hearts, receive God’s word as it is both read and preached, make offerings to Him and seal their personal and corporate commitment to Him through the sacraments.

4. Because worship involves drawing near to the living and holy God, God’s people should enter public worship prepared for communion with Him. In addition, pastors and elders should lead the congregation in public worship in a manner commensurate with the joy, dignity, solemnity and glory of such a holy occasion. All of God’s people should enter His presence with both reverence and awe.

Chapter 2

The Practice of Worship

29. The session should carefully consider how to lead the church in observing the day. Since the circumstances of each congregation vary, the session should carefully consider whether a second meeting should be held, and whether it should be a public worship service or some other gathering for fellowship and edification, always considering the glory of God and the good of the congregation.

Chapter 3

The Administration of the Sacraments

Baptism of an Adult

6. Before Baptism is administered, instruction should be given as to the institution, nature, and purpose of the sacrament. The institution of Baptism should be read in Matthew 28:18-20. (Other suitable Scriptures, such as Ezekiel 36:25-27, may also be read.)

The following (or similar) instruction should be given: Baptism is a sacrament ordained by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a sign and seal of the inclusion of the person who is baptized in the covenant of grace. Baptism with water teaches that we and our children are conceived and born in sin. It signifies our dying to sin and our rising to newness of life by virtue of our union with Christ in His death and resurrection. It also signifies and seals to us cleansing from sin by the blood and Spirit of Christ. Since these gifts of salvation are the gracious provision of the triune God, who is pleased to claim us as His very own, we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptized persons are called upon to assume the obligations of the covenant; Baptism summons us to renounce sin and the world, and to walk humbly with our God in devotion to His commandments.

The congregation should be encouraged to reflect on their own Baptism, to repent of their sins against their covenant God, to stir up their faith, and so to improve and make right use of their Baptism.

The Lord’s Supper

15. The pastor shall then declare who may partake of the Lord’s Supper, and who should refrain from partaking, drawing attention to the words of warning and invitation in I Corinthians 11:27ff.

It is the duty of the church to warn you that if you do not trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, or if you are living an ungodly, disobedient life, and have not repented, you should not partake of the Lord’s Supper, lest you eat and drink condemnation to yourself. The Lord’s Supper is for repentant and believing sinners, who, after examining themselves and seeking reconciliation with their brothers, come confessing Christ as their Savior.

This warning is not designed to keep the humble and contrite away from the Lord’s Supper. On the contrary, the Supper is a means of grace offered to sustain weak pilgrims on their journey through the wilderness of this life. We who come to partake of the symbols of Christ’s body and blood, come as sinners whose only hope is the grace of God in Christ. We come in a worthy manner if we recognize that in ourselves we are unworthy sinners who need a Savior, if we discern His body given for our sins, if we hunger and thirst after Christ, giving thanks for His grace, trusting in His merits, feeding on Him by faith, renewing our covenant with Him and His people.

If you are prepared to come in this way, then hear the Lord’s words of gracious invitation: [Here should be read Scriptural invitations, such as Isa. 55:1-3; Matt.11:28-30; Rev. 22:17.]

Chapter 5

Weddings and Funerals

Weddings

2. As God created marriage in the beginning, it is not peculiar to the church, nor a sacrament, but is integral to all societies and nations, and is therefore rightly recognized by both church and state. The state, therefore, should recognize the role of the church in solemnizing marriages, and the church should respect and abide by all reasonable and sound civil regulations that do not violate Scripture. The pastor in particular should ensure that sound state regulations are fulfilled, while also keeping the church’s own record of marriages.

Funerals

…Likewise, neither the pastor nor any Christian may offer worship or veneration to any idol or ancestor. The pastor should ensure that the funeral is clearly free of idol worship. Christians should mourn with those who mourn, yet not mourn as those without hope. Therefore it is right and proper for Christians to gather with their families and loved ones before and after funerals, so long as their allegiance to the Lord Jesus is not compromised by any unbiblical practices such as ancestor worship or prayers for or to the dead.