Worship With Us
The early church theologian, Augustine, said, “O Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
At Apple Valley Presbyterian Church we rest in our Triune God, who saved us from our sins and graciously called us into His eternal fellowship. Our public worship reflects the joy and the reverence of redeemed sinners in the presence of Almighty God in union with Christ.
Foundational to the worship of God is letting Scripture Alone (sola scriptura) reveal worship that pleases God. Instead of filling the service with things that interest us, we strive for God’s interests. We often fail. But by the guidance of the Holy Spirit we seek to order and offer to God worship regulated by what the Spirit of Christ has revealed in scripture. The result is a liturgy (an “order of service”) that follows the bright and bold lines of the gospel.
Noticeable then in our worship services is a priority on approaching God by Faith Alone through Christ Alone. A practical expression of this is the absence of icons, statues of saints and other images. We do not wish to confuse the Lord’s flock but rather have all who worship approach the invisible God through the risen Christ by faith. The unseen glories of his eternal kingdom satisfy the believing heart. Hebrews 12:22-29 speaks of new covenant worship this way:
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
We come trembling yet stricken with joy to this glorious heavenly Zion every Lord’s Day, in Christ by faitth.
A gospel-shaped liturgy
As God is the One who speaks first in man’s salvation—by grace we are effetually called to Christ—He also speaks first in our worship services. We begin with a Call to Worship, usually a Psalm. Having been graciously called into His presence we joyfully respond with a Hymn or Psalm of Adoration followed by a prayer of Invocation, praising our Triune God and humbly asking that He be present with us as we worship, just as He promises in the Word.
Each week we read a different portion of Scripture that contains God’s Law, His holy and righteous standard which we all have transgressed. By its light we come to see ourselves clearly and learn the pilgrim path of this new life in Christ. Upon hearing the law we corporately make Confession of our sins, acknowledging afresh our need for God’s pardon and God’s power to do his will in us. This confession in no way wins God’s favor or forces His pity. Rather, because God’s favor has already been secured in Christ crucified and risen, we are free to bring our sin into the light. Confession renews us in the riches of the Savior’s love as we tell the truth about ourselves. Love in truth is the only basis of true heart-felt obedience.
Immediately following confession we hear the Assurance of Pardon, a gospel declaration of God’s full and free forgiveness of our sin. Our response to this good news follows by a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song, sung by the whole congregation.
Because the gospel is also for our children (Acts 2:38-39), we regularly give direct instruction to children in the worship service. In this way they learn early they too are sheep who belong to the Chief Shepherd of our souls.
Our service continues with the responsive reading of a psalm or a Confession of Faith, using the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed. We may also use one of the Reformed catechisms as our confession of faith for they have proven to be biblically faithful interpretations.
After the deacons collect our Offering, we prepare to hear God’s Word preached. As God’s Word is read and preached His Spirit ministers to us, leaving us helpless to save ourselves so that by faith we will be raised up and seated with Christ in the promise of the gospel. Our pastor follows an expository pattern of preaching, continuing through a book of the Bible over the course of several weeks. This way we learn how the Bible unfolds God’s truth.
Twice a month we receive the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. From the Lord’s table we are fed with the crucified, resurrected, exalted Christ. Through our faith and by the Spirit we really and indeed feed on Christ. He is present to us spiritually for it is only his life which sustains our new life in him. Thus the sacrament signifies and seals the forgiveness of our sin and is nourishment and growth to us in Christ.
The service closes with a song of response to God for hearing from him in his Word. We depart with God’s blessing upon us in the words of Benediction (Numbers 6:22-27).
A gospel-shaped heart
When the gospel and scripture regulate our worship not only do we discover a pattern similar to that above, we also discover the attitude of heart God requires in worship. God requires sincerity (Joshua 24:14), reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28). Let us not despair at our weakness, for the sovereign Lord grants what He requires when we humbly ask for it in Jesus’ name. This means our best worship is when we come as beggars, needing and feeding on Christ, the true bread of heaven.
Frequently Asked Questions
The morning service usually is between 75 and 90 minutes even on Sundays where the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. The evening service is usually between 60 and 75 minutes.
In our service there will be men in suits with ties, business casual as well as very casual clothing. Women will similarly be wearing dresses, nicer pants and tops as well as very casual clothing. However you dress, you should honor God in this as well as all aspects of your life. 1 Peter 3:3-4, 1 Timothy 2:8-10.
Children are welcome in the service. We do have staffed nurseries for children up to age 4. We also have two rooms toward the rear of the worship space where you can settle fidgety or disruptive little ones while still seeing and hearing the service. All children are different with respect to when they are able to sit through the service without distracting those worshiping around them. Believing that God uses his word, even in the lives of our little ones, we do not have a children’s service, but encourage children to be in the service when they are able to do so, yet not disturb those around them.
We follow our nursery policy, a copy of which is available at the church and which includes safety policies and procedures, in all of our interactions with the children of our church to provide a safe, nurturing environment for them.
We do livestream our services, however we recognize that livestreaming is not in any way a substitute for in person worship. If you are able, you should attend in person. There are times when, because of illness or other circumstances, it is not possible to gather with the church for worship. For those times, we do offer livestreaming which can be found here.
Our music consists of congregational singing of hymns and psalms. We use the Trinity Psalter Hymnal which was published in 2018 and contains settings of all 150 psalms as well as hymns for all occasions. Our singing is accompanied by piano or at times is a cappella.
We are a member congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) and hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith, Westminster Shorter Catechism and Westminster Larger Catechism as our doctrinal standards. We believe these are a faithful summation of what the Bible teaches, which is our ultimate and controlling standard, to which all other standards are submissive.