And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25
One of the great privileges we have as God’s people is to join together every Sunday to celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead. His Word commands us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves as those He has redeemed, and so with great joy we gather each Lord’s Day to worship God as he has instructed us in His Word and to praise his name for all he has done for us in Christ. Our primary objective when we gather is to see Jesus Christ exalted as we sing God’s Word, preach God’s Word, read God’s Word, pray God’s Word, and see God’s Word enacted through the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Our service formally begins at 10:00 am and typically ends by 11:20 am. The service is structured in such a way that our attention is on God and how he has instructed us to worship him according to his Word. Our services are characterized by serious contemplation of the Bible, robust corporate singing, and deep joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The music we sing is blend of old and new, ranging from the theologically rich hymns from centuries past to contemporary songs written today. We strongly prefer congregational singing, which emphasizes the gathered body singing together with one, unified voice in praise to God. To help with this, we favor a more mere musical accompaniment, emphasizing the congregation’s voice over the musical performance. We will also spend a good deal of time during the service hearing God’s Word read from both the Old and New Testament, and offering prayers of praise and confession to God. Every Sunday, one of the elders of the church will also lead our congregation in a pastoral prayer, where we corporately bring our requests to God as a church.
The preaching at PG First is expositional, meaning that it seeks to make the point of a particular Bible passage the point of the sermon applied to the heart of the people. Occasionally a topical sermon may be preached, but the typical practice is expositional. Sermons last approximately 35 minutes and are laced with rich meditations and material for reflection. Our sermon series typically alternate between Old and New Testaments so that we are being regularly fed a healthy diet from the whole of God’s Word.
We regularly celebrate baptism and the Lord’s Supper as Christ commanded his church, and as a picture of the gospel. We take the Lord’s Supper once a month in the morning service, and welcome all baptized believers who are members in good standing of an evangelical church to partake of the Lord’s Supper with us.
All that we do in our service is driven by the gospel, and is meant to draw our attention to the Bible’s main message of God saving sinners through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We pray that all of it glorifies our God and helps us behold the splendor and beauty of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We are a diverse congregation, so you can expect to find a wide range of people in different seasons of life and from different backgrounds. Even the way we dress varies significantly; some people choose to be more formal, but most choose to dress casually. The people are friendly, and we love having guests and visitors join us for the service. It’s not uncommon for people to still be talking and fellowshipping with one another in the Worship Center long after the service has ended.
