Value that which has brought glory to God in the past;
Embrace that which brings glory to God in the present;
Impact that which will bring glory to God in the future.
Worship is all about God, and not about us. People are helped most when they remember that God is at the center of life and when they give him the honor that is due him. So our worship is Christ-centered and grace-oriented.
In our worship of God, we desire to utilize both traditional and contemporary worship elements. Thus, our worship is blended, both in musical style and liturgy. It is also our desire to encourage, educate, and equip members and visitors in the areas of worship and worship leading.
About Our Worship Ministry
Worship Vision Statement
Beginning with AVPC corporate worship, believers and unbelievers will be so impacted by the glory and goodness of God and the message of the gospel that they will develop a passion for a lifestyle of worship.
Worship Mission Statement
We plan to foster a loving community where members will be educated, encouraged, and equipped to worship God daily—through personal, family, and corporate worship—in such a way that lives of both believers and unbelievers will be changed for the glory of God.
Worship Core Values
We are committed to fostering biblical, gospel-centered worship that brings glory to God, edifies the church, and evangelizes the unbeliever.
We are committed to fostering a loving, safe environment for worship.
We are committed to fostering personal, family, and corporate worship.
We are committed to fostering the worship gifts given to all of God’s people.
We are committed to fostering a deep reliance on God to give us hearts of worship.
Have more questions about our corporate worship?
To find out about more about our corporate worship services at AVPC, please download the file below:
Corporate worship of God should be open to all who wish to take part, but every church congregation worships differently. Often it can be confusing or overwhelming to understand and participate in all aspects of the worship service. This may leave a person in the pew feeling uncomfortable at best, or even alienated from what is going on. The purpose of this Q&A booklet is to help communicate how we worship corporately at AVPC, and why we do it the way we do.
Corporate Worship
Q. What is corporate worship?
A. God commands us to worship him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. Corporate worship is God’s people meeting together to actively and accurately render unto the one true and Living God the glory, honor, and submission due to Him.
Q. Why do we have corporate worship?
A. First of all, because God commands it. (Ps. 95; Heb. 10:25) But he commands it because he knows that our greatest joy and fulfillment in life comes when we are doing that for which we were created – to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Second, we are all part of the body of Christ and we function best spiritually as a body, not as individuals. (1 Cor. 12) Corporate worship is an opportunity for God’s people to draw together in order to glorify God as his people and to encourage and edify one another in that worship.
Q. How do you decide what to include in corporate worship?
A. Our church and denomination are guided by what is called “The Regulative Principle of Worship” which states “The acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his own revealed will, that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture.” (Westminster Confession of Faith 21.1) This means that we look to the Bible to determine what elements are appropriate for corporate worship and we avoid elements that are not found in scriptures. However, being created in the image of God and led by God’s Holy Spirit, it is very appropriate and good for God’s people to seek to be as creative and relevant as possible in carrying out those elements of worship prescribed by God in His Word.
Preparation for Worship
Q. How do we prepare for corporate worship?
A. Time is provided (approximately 10 minutes of instrumental prelude music) before the service begins for people to prepare their hearts for worship. But people are also encouraged to take time prior to arriving at the church to pray and ask God to be preparing their hearts for worship.
Q. Is it okay to talk to people during the instrumental prelude music?
A. We do not mind people talking during the instrumental prelude music (God is also glorified by the joyous sounds of his children enjoying fellowship with one another), but it is important to be observant of those around you who might take this time to quietly prepare for the worship service. If there are people close to you with bowed heads or trying to listen to the music, then please be sensitive to that. And always try to lower the volume of your voice during conversations.
Q. When should the congregation quit talking?
A. When the praise team or choir begins to sing the prelude or when the worship leader gives specific instruction to that effect.
The Call to Worship
Q. What is a Call to Worship?
A. This is the voice of God, mediated through the worship leader, calling us in His Word to worship Him.
Q. Why do we have a Call to Worship?
A. The Call to Worship reminds us of the importance of worshipping God and serves to notify us that as God’s people, we are entering into the presence of God in corporate worship.
Q. Why do we close the doors during the Call to Worship?
A. It is very distracting for both the worship leader and the congregation when people are walking around looking for seats during the Call to Worship.
Invocation
Q. What is the invocation?
A. This is the opening prayer (done by one the AVPC pastors) calling upon God to help and guide us through the power of His Holy Spirit so that we might honor Him and bring glory to His name through our worship.
Q. Why do people sometimes move around during the prayers? (e.g. the praise team moving up unto the stage)
A. Two reasons: to minimize visual distractions and to minimize the amount of “dead time” (i.e. when nothing substantive is happening because we are waiting for people to move from one location to another).
Q. Isn’t it irreverent to God for people to be moving around during the prayers?
A. Going all the way back to Old Testament worship, it has been necessary for a smaller group of people (e.g. priests, Levites) to be doing “behind the scenes” work and movement in order for the larger congregation to be freed up for worship. We view this as following in that tradition of service.
The Welcome f God
Q. What is the Welcome of God and why do we do it?
A. Despite our sins, we have been welcomed by God through the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our welcome of one another is a tangible expression of God’s welcome to us.
Q. What should we do during this time?
A. On several occasions, the apostle Paul exhorted Christians to greet one another with a holy kiss and words of peace. This was the culturally accepted way of issuing a greeting. In our culture, a handshake or hug, accompanied by a smile and greeting, is more of the norm. Some people may want to go a step further and state to one another something like, “The Lord be with you; and with you also” or “The peace of Christ be with you; and with you as well.”
Worship Leading
Q. Does AVPC use non-ordained worship leaders?
A. AVPC does use non-ordained worship leaders (men and women) in certain portions of the corporate worship service that have been approved by the Session. These non-ordained worship leaders, who are approved by the Worship Team, work under the direct supervision of the Worship Pastor.
Q. Are there portions of the worship service that only ordained officers can lead?
A. Yes, most notably the administration of the Sacraments (Baptism and Communion) and the closing Benediction, which can only be administered by a Teaching Elder. Other elements of our worship that either our denomination or our Session have determined must be led by an ordained officer (or one who is in training to be an officer) are: Call to Worship, Invocation, The Welcome of God, Sharing & Prayer, Pastoral Prayer, Reception of New Members, Commissioning Services, and Preaching.
Worship in Music & Song
Q. Why do we sing and play instruments in the worship service?
A The Bible encourages Christians to speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in our hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Psalms repeatedly speak of using different musical instruments as a means of assisting the congregation in its corporate worship of God.
Q. What does it mean to have a blended style of worship?
A. There are wide ranges of liturgical and musical styles in corporate worship, dating from the early church era to the present day. Churches with blended worship seek to utilize and combine the various liturgical and/or musical styles in their worship services.
Q. Why does AVPC desire blended worship?
A. AVPC believes that each generation of believers is guided by God to create and design meaningful, Christ-centered worship songs and liturgy. AVPC seeks to identify and utilize these different worship elements and styles in order (a) to speak the worship languages of both young and old and (b) to broaden and enrich the worship experience of believers by exposing them to liturgies and styles they might not naturally gravitate toward.
Q. Is it okay to clap during the congregational songs?
A. Yes. Presbyterians tend to be more reserved in their expressions of worship, but scripture makes it very clear that clapping one’s hands during singing is an appropriate way to worship God. One practical inhibitor to clapping at AVPC is that we are generally holding a bulletin or hymnbook when we sing. But if members or visitors can maneuver around that, they are welcome to clap in the congregational singing.
Q. Is it ok to raise my hands during the congregational songs?
A. Yes. The scriptures are clear that lifting one’s hand in praise to God is an appropriate way to worship.
(It is not at all uncommon at AVPC to see people lifting their hands during worship.)
Creeds in Confession of Faith
Q. What is a creed?
A. A brief statement of essential points of our religious belief. Two historical church creeds commonly used at AVPC are the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed.
Q. What is a Confession of Faith?
A. This can refer (a) to the congregation verbally and corporately articulating tenants of the Christian faith through scriptures, creeds or other statements of theology, or (b) to a larger statement or document that summarizes the theological beliefs of the church. AVPC’s denominational Confession of Faith is the Westminster Confession of Faith completed in 1647.
Q. Why are these used in AVPC worship?
A. 3 reasons: (1) It is good for Christians to be reminded and to articulate what they believe; (2) it is good for our children to grow up hearing and learning what we believe as Christians; (3) it is good for nonChristian visitors to hear and learn what we believe as Christians.
Liturgical Reading
Q. What is liturgy?
A. Any church’s order of worship and all the worship elements that are contained in that public corporate worship. However, the word “liturgy” is often used to refer to the readings, prayers, and other worship elements commonly used in the corporate worship of highly liturgical churches (e.g. Episcopal, Catholic, Orthodox).
Q. Why do we use liturgical readings or prayers written in the past?
A. When God’s people would gather together in the Old Testament and the early church, it was common for them to read or recite God’s Word together. The liturgies we use at AVPC are either taken directly from scripture or based on scripture. We believe it is still important for God’s people to read God’s Word corporately throughout the worship service and not just during the sermon.
Q. Why do we have responsive readings?
A. In the Old Testament many of the Psalms were read as a call and response in order to have the congregation actively participate in the worship service rather than the leader doing everything. We believe this is an important concept, and we desire to provide opportunities for the congregation to actively participate throughout the worship service.
Prayers of Confession
Q. What is a prayer of corporate confession?
A. A prayer that confesses the sins of the entire congregation, not just one individual. At AVPC, this is most often done by having the congregation read in unison, but occasionally the worship leader will pray as a representative for the congregation.
Q. Is it appropriate to have a prayer of corporate confession? Isn’t confession of sin a personal matter?
A. Scriptures show that confession of sins to God can be both personal and corporate. In Psalm 51, we see King David confessing his own personal sin against God. But throughout scriptures, we also see people like Moses, Daniel, and Nehemiah, confessing the sins of the people and asking for forgiveness for those sins. Sometimes, those men were not even present or alive when the sins were committed, yet they still associated themselves and all the people as having sinned against God as a community. As a community of believers, it is appropriate that we should confess our sins together.
Q. Isn’t it a bit insincere to be praying prayers written by other people?
A. Since Old Testament times, God’s people have used the words of gifted poets and songwriters to express their own praise, repentance, and supplications to God, whether it be through songs or through prayers. Just as songs written by other people can bring fresh expression to our personal worship of God, so also can prayers that have been written by other people.
Q. What if I don’t agree with something in the corporate prayer or I do not believe it is true of my own experience?
A. We try to include only those things that are generally true for all sinful humans. However, a good practice for the worshipper would be to read the prayers ahead of time during preparation for worship and ask the question, “Is this true of me?”
Q. Is there a reason we don’t always have the Prayer of Corporate Confession?
A. Since time is allotted on Communion Sundays (the last Sunday of each month) for confession and reflection, we often do not have the Prayer of Corporate Confession on those weeks. Sometimes we are not able to include it because of time constraints, particularly in the early service.
Q. What am I supposed to do during Silent Confession?
A. This is a time (a) to personalize what was just prayed in the corporate confession and/or (b) to reflect on other areas of sin in your life and to confess those to God.
Assurance of Pardon
Q. What is an Assurance of Pardon?
A. This is a biblical response to the prayers of confession. God declares to his people that because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, in Christ Jesus we are pardoned from the penalty of our sins.
Q. Can only a pastor declare this Assurance of Pardon?
A. Since the power and truth of this forgiveness rests in the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ, the unchangeable truth of God’s Word, and not in the person who declares the forgiveness, AVPC does not limit the declaration to a pastor only. However, because many people do not understand the significance or purpose for Confession and Assurance of Pardon, we generally see this as a teaching time as well. For that reason, we normally have our pastors lead the Prayers of Confession and Assurance of Pardon.
Hymn, praise song, chorus, anthem
Q. What is the difference in a hymn, a praise song, a chorus, and an anthem?
A. There are many different ways to define these terms and there is a lot of overlap in them, but in general, at AVPC we use the terms in the following ways: Hymns are those worship songs, ancient or modern, that are metrical poems with multiple stanzas, often without a refrain (chorus). The Trinity Hymnal in the pew is a book of hymns, but often times we will print the hymn lyrics in our bulletin. Praise songs (or gospel songs) usually have multiple stanzas plus a memorable refrain. Modern praise songs tend to be more syncopated and melody-driven. Choruses are mini-poems consisting of a refrain, but usually without stanzas or with only one stanza. Anthems generally refer to the pieces written for and sung by the choir. But you will find that all of these terms are often interchangeable.
Q. Why does the bulletin sometimes state something like “Song of Response”, “Hymn of Response”, or “Choral Response?”
A. This generally means that the hymn, song, or anthem has been chosen as a musical means to respond to what has immediately preceded in the Order of Worship. Sometimes the congregation is asked to sing along; sometimes the congregation is encouraged to reflect and meditate on the words as the soloist, ensemble, or choir sings.
Q. Why do we have a choir?
A. There are several reasons to utilize a choir in worship: (a) Choirs were used for worship in biblical times and it continues that tradition; (b) it allows a larger number of people to use their singing gifts for worship in ways unique from congregational singing; (c) it allows the congregation to hear and connect with historical worship music that has been sung for centuries; (d) and hopefully, the congregation will be drawn into worship as they hear and see the choir singing and worshipping up front.
Q. How does the congregation worship when the choir is singing?
A. There are several ways: (a) Read the lyrics of the anthem and meditate on what they are saying as the choir sings; (b) close your eyes and listen to the lyrics as they are sung – music often highlights and nuances lyrics in a way that mere reading cannot achieve; (c) if the music of an anthem stirs up a particular emotion within you, use that opportunity to prayerfully worship God (e.g. if the anthem generates a joyful emotion, thank the Lord for his goodness; if the anthem generates an emotion of awe, thank the Lord for his majesty and holiness); and (d) if all else fails, thank God that your brothers and sisters in the choir are getting to worship through their singing.
Q. Is it okay to clap after the choir performs?
A. Yes, if you are clapping for the right reason. If your response is to applaud the choir’s performance, then we would prefer you not clap. But if you are clapping because after hearing the choir sing praises to God, there is something welling up in your heart toward God in worship, and you just can’t contain it inside, then a hearty “Amen” or clapping to God would be very appropriate.
Announcements
Q. Why do we have a time allotted for announcements? Aren’t announcements disruptive to the worship service?
A. Announcements are important to healthy fellowship and body-life in our church, and these things are glorifying to God. A majority of announcements are placed in accessible written forms, but several important announcements are made during the worship service to let people know how they can be involved at AVPC.
Q. Why do only pastors make the announcements?
A. Primarily because of time constraints. We will occasionally make an exception and call someone forward to make an announcement if we determine (a) that the announcement is very important and urgent to the entire church at that particular time or (b) that someone other than the pastor is better suited to make that announcement.
Sharing & Prayer
Q. What is the purpose of Sharing & Prayer?
A. This is an opportunity for people in the congregation to share prayer requests, words of thanksgiving, or ways that God has been speaking to them or working in their lives.
Q. Isn’t there always a chance or concern that someone will say something unbiblical or inappropriate?
A. That is always a risk, but the Session also believes that it is important to allow members and visitors the opportunity to share freely and openly what God is doing in their lives, so we trust that God’s Holy Spirit will guide and protect in this time. An ordained elder (or someone who is in training to be ordained) is responsible for leading the Sharing & Prayer and we trust that people in the congregation will understand that the words or opinions expressed in this time are not necessarily representative of the words or the opinions of the church leadership.
Q. Why don’t we have sharing and prayer every week?
A. Simply put, because of time constraints. There is not enough time in every service. If you don’t get a chance to share during the worship services, there are prayer cards available in the pew. There are people who pray weekly for these prayer requests.
Pastoral Prayer
Q. What is the purpose of the Pastoral Prayer?
A. This is an opportunity for the pastor to pray for specific needs in the congregation, but also things that are going on in the community, state, country, or world around us. It is also a time to pray that God’s Spirit will dwell with and speak through the pastor who is preaching.
Preaching & Heading the Word
Q. Are there ways to listen to recordings of the sermon?
A. Three ways: (a) you can fill out the Sermon CD request form on the round table in the parlor and leave $2 per CD in the adjoining packet; (b) for free, you can download an mp3 file from the Sermon Link of the church website (www.avpc.org); (c) or you can listen to the sermon from the website.
Offering & Offertory
Q. Why do we take up the offering after the sermon?
A Many churches take up their offering before the sermon. However, AVPC believes that it is very appropriate for God’s people to respond outwardly in faith to God’s Word. One tangible means of demonstrating that faith is through the giving of our tithes and offerings.
Q. What is the difference between a tithe and an offering?
A. A tithe is 10% of one’s income. Throughout scriptures, God commands his people to demonstrate their faith and obedience by giving back to the Lord 10% of what he has given to them. This is sometimes referred to as giving back to God the first fruits of his blessings to us. Offerings are anything above and beyond the tithe that a believer desires to give back to the Lord for His kingdom purposes, or just as a way of expressing thanksgiving to God.
Q. Why is there a song performed during the offering time?
A. A couple of reasons: (a) we believe that music and lyrics combined can serve as a powerful medium to assist the congregation as they meditate and respond to the preaching of God’s Word (even if someone else is doing the singing) and (b) practically speaking, it would be difficult and distracting for most people to sit in silence the entire time the offering plates were being passed, or to try to pass the plate while everyone was standing and singing the Closing Hymn.
Closing Hymn
Q. Why do we always close with a hymn?
A. After the congregation has had the opportunity to meditate as the praise team sings the offertory, the closing hymn allows the congregation to actively respond to the preaching of God’s Word through singing.
Benediction
Q. What is a benediction?
A. A pronouncement of God’s blessing upon all believers.
Q. What should the congregation be doing during the benediction?
A. There is no set rule. Some people like to close their eyes. Others like to look at the pastor giving the benediction and hold out their hands, palms up, as a physical expression of faith that they are receiving that blessing from God.
Sacraments
Q. What is a sacrament?
A. A visible, outward, physical sign of the inward spiritual work that God is doing to and for his covenant people.
Q. What sacraments are recognized and celebrated at AVPC?
A. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Communion)
Q. What does the outward sign of baptism signify?
A. Several things: It is a public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ, of being identified with Jesus and his people for all eternity; it is a sign and seal that our sins have been forgiven because of the death and resurrection of Jesus; it signifies that we are cleansed from the stain of sin and accepted as pure and righteous in the eyes of God.
Q. If this is a public declaration of faith in Jesus, then why do we baptize infants?
A. In the Old Testament, God commanded his people to administer circumcision to their male infant children as a sign that they were part of God’s covenant people. The faith was demonstrated by the parents, not the children. We believe that baptism is the New Testament version of that covenant sign, so church members are strongly encouraged to have that sign administered to their infant boys and girls. As these covenant children grow older and begin to understand their own need for Jesus as their Savior, they then will have to make their own decisions of faith toward Christ. However, it is not necessary for them to be rebaptized.
Q. Does AVPC baptize adults?
A. Absolutely! The outward sign of baptism should be applied to adults who have never been baptized.
Q. Is Infant Baptism the same thing as Infant Dedication?
A. No. While there are shared beliefs and declarations in the two, they are not the same thing. The primary focus (and starting point) of Infant Baptism is on what God is promising to do for his people (i.e. that God will extend his covenant promises to the children of his people). The primary focus (and starting point) of Infant Dedication is on what the people are promising to do for God (i.e. to raise their child in the love and admonition of the Lord). Infant Baptism incorporates both focuses, while maintaining the primacy and starting point of God’s promises and faithfulness to his people. Infant Dedication does not do this.
Q. Why do we do this in the worship service?
A. It is a constant reminder of God’s covenant love and promises to his people. It is also a time of celebration – to see God’s sign applied to one of our children and to proclaim through song, God’s love for his covenant children. (It is AVPC tradition to sing “Jesus Loves Me” to the child being baptized, changing the pronoun to second person – Jesus Loves You.). Furthermore, it is a time for church members to reaffirm their belief that we are a covenant community. We do this through taking a vow that we will work together to support the parents as they raise their child in the love and admonition of the Lord.
Q. What does the outward sign of communion signify?
A. Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificing his life and shedding his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. It also signifies that those who have been cleansed of their sins by Christ are now partakers of his body and blood (in a spiritual sense). In other words, just as a person experiences physical nourishment and growth after eating physical food, so do Christians experience spiritual nourishment and growth when in faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, they partake of Christ’s body and blood, spiritually present in the bread and juice.
Q. Why do we have communion on the last Sunday of every month?
A. That is simply the time and frequency prescribed by the AVPC Session. Different churches do it different ways. Even in our denomination, churches will have varying frequencies to serve communion. (e.g. weekly, monthly, or quarterly)
Q. Why are not all children allowed to take communion?
A. In 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul warns, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” In order to ensure that our children understand the significance of communion, we require them to be interviewed and approved by the Session before they can become communicant members (i.e. members of the church who can partake of communion).
Q. Why do we use leavened bread and grape juice for communion?
A. In the Old Testament, the Israelites used unleavened bread and wine during their Passover religious ceremonies to symbolize the death of the sacrificial lamb (which actually was a sign pointing to Christ’s sacrificial death). This tradition continued with the Jews in Jesus’ day. However, in the New
Testament, the apostle Paul made it clear in his writings that we are no longer bound by the strict Jewish code of the ceremonial laws. God is more interested in what is happening in our hearts than what outward procedures we are using, so Christians have been given freedom to carry out God’s will using cultural norms, as long as those norms do not violate God’s moral law. Therefore, with this in mind, we choose to use leavened bread to represent Christ’s body, because to most people in our culture, leavened bread is more palatable than unleavened bread, thus making it more desirable to symbolically “feed on Christ’s body.” Likewise, we choose to use juice instead of wine because of the tensions that exist in our culture concerning the consumption of alcohol.
Special Services & Reports
Q. What are commissioning services?
A. Throughout church history, there have been those times when the church commissioned a subgroup of the church to perform a specific ministry for the larger church that was deemed especially unique and important. Those being commissioned would be encouraged and exhorted on the importance of their mission, and they would promise through vows to perform their duties in obedience to and dependence on God. The church would then send them off with their prayers and support. AVPC annually commissions its Sunday School teachers and Children/Youth ministry workers, God’s House Kindergarten Teachers and Staff, and short-term and long-term missionaries (members of our church) going unto the mission field, because we believe all of these ministries to be particularly unique and important.
Q. Why do we do them in the worship service?
A. We do these in the worship service before the full congregation because (a) we want those being commissioned to understand the importance of what they are being commissioned to do, (b) we want the congregation to see who is going so that they can support these workers, especially through prayer, and (c) we want to send these workers out with our prayers and exhortations.
Q. Why do we sometimes do missions reports in the worship service?
A. We believe that through the Great Commission, Jesus commanded his people to go into all the world preaching the good news of the gospel. AVPC supports many local, regional, and overseas missionaries. Missions reports are a good time for church members (a) to be reminded of that Great Commission and how it might apply to us personally, (b) to be encouraged how God is using AVPC in that effort, through its missionaries, and (c) to give God the glory for the work he is doing through missions.
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SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP
Join us as we meet to worship at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM.
PREVIOUS SERVICES
Click here find a searchable index of previous sermon audio files.
During the height of the Covid pandemic, AVPC offered livestream of our entire service. Those video files can be found here on our sermons page.