This morning, my family were privileged to attend a service of worship in a church that is not our normal place of worship, to find a quite different atmosphere than that to which we are accustomed. There was reverence from the outset, an awareness that this is the House of the Living God. The worshippers presented themselves in a most appropriate manner, and conducted themselves accordingly.
The congregation was duly called to the worship of God at the very commencement of the service, and we sang Ps.23 - again a rare experience in the Presbyterian church that we attend. The prayer directed our hearts primarily to God, not ourselves, to His greatness, not our petty needs, and to His glory. The children's address was part of the minister's ongoing teaching of Old Testament history and dealt with the Israelites leaving Egypt and facing the impossible situation of the Red Sea before them and the blood-thirsty army of Pharaoh behind them, the lesson being that with God nothing is impossible. The children remained in their family pew while the minister spoke to them.
There was an appropriate mix of old and new hymns, all of which were theologically sound, uplifting and challenging.
The sermon was based on Matt.4:12-17. Here, the preacher employed a teaching style and brought out the context of the passage and applied it ably to the context of the congregation. He preached as if he meant what he was saying - always an essential element in any preaching.
Because of the overall approach of the service, the impression was conveyed that the minister had a reforming spirit. This was a most encouraging service and form of worship for me; I just wish that more evangelical ministers were to adopt the same attitude.
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