Worship Services

We believe that the purpose of worship is to praise God. He is praised by our presence in worship, the singing of His praises, and through the reading and preaching of the gospel.

The preaching in the morning service usually is an explanation of a passage of Scripture. The preaching in the afternoon service usually is topical, following the order of topics presented in the Heidelberg Catechism. Currently, we use the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible, a clear translation in contemporary English.

Our singing is based on the Psalms of Scripture put to music, that have been rhymed and paraphrased for this purpose. We believe we praise God best when we use words of authors inspired by the Holy Spirit. The hymns we sing focus on God’s great work in Christ and try as much as possible to use passages from Scripture. These songs are found in the Genevan Psalter, also known as the Book of Praise.

The actual worship service follows what can be considered a dialogue format. The two partners in this dialogue are God and His people. The Minister is God’s servant and speaks in His name. At certain points, the Minister is the spokesman for the congregation, such as in congregational prayer. At other times, the people speak for themselves, which takes place especially in congregational singing.

In order to treat the whole Sunday in a holy manner, we also have an afternoon worship service. This is not simply a repetition of the morning worship service. In general, it can be described as having more of a teaching character, as the teachings of the Church are explained in a systematic way following the Heidelberg Catechism.

The sacrament of baptism is generally administered to newborn children of the members of the congregation and to adults who come to the faith. The water symbolizes the washing away of sin by the blood of Jesus Christ and the renewal by His Spirit for all who believe in His name.

Six times a year the sacrament of Lord’s Supper is also celebrated to remember and proclaim the death of our Lord Jesus Christ until He returns again.