Author: Peter Dietsch

Dear Church Family, While serving as a hospital chaplain one summer during seminary, I would pay regular visits to the patients on my assigned ward. One time, I visited with a man as he was preparing for heart surgery. I didn’t know the man, but as we talked, he told me of his faith in…

Dear Church Family, In our morning worship service, after the pastoral prayer, we recite together a portion of a Reformed catechism or confession. The Westminster Standards (Confession, Larger and Shorter Catechisms) contain the summary of the doctrines taught in Scripture and as such are received as part of the constitution of our denomination, the Presbyterian…

Dear Church Family, In the corporate worship of the church, the pastoral prayer (called “the long prayer” in some traditions) has fallen on hard times. If there are any prayers publicly offered in worship services today, they are often limited to opening and closing prayers for the service and the sermon. Thus, whether intentional or…

Dear Church Family, One of the elements of worship that is often overlooked, or perhaps taken for granted, is the giving and receiving of offerings for the support of the gospel ministry of the church. Some people see the giving of offerings as a sort of due which one gives because they are a member…

Dear Church Family, For many people, singing is one of the most affective parts of worship. By its very nature, music effects our emotions unlike many other things. When the people of God sing together, they join in one voice giving expression to both the content and the affections of their faith in a unique…

Dear Church Family, In the last several pastoral reflections, we have been examining the various parts of our corporate worship service. After discussing some of the foundational principles of worship and what it means to prepare for worship, last time we looked at the salutation and response (these previous reflections are available online at the…

Dear Church Family, In the first installment of this series on corporate worship, we examined some basic principles that inform worship in the Christian church. And, last time, we discussed some of the important aspects of preparing for worship – things that would help God’s people in preparing to enter His presence as a church…

Dear Church Family, In last week’s email, I addressed some general principles of corporate worship. This week, I would like to delineate some recommendations in preparing for worship. At the beginning of our corporate worship service, we have a time designated in the order of worship as “Silent Preparation for Worship;” however, there are things…

Dear Church Family, As we come to the end of this first month of the new year, I am beginning a series of (hopefully) weekly emails on the corporate worship of the church. My aim will be to first enumerate and define a number of the foundational principles concerning the public worship of God. Then,…