Introduction

We do many things when we gather as the church on Sunday. Here as the Westminster Reformed Church we have a very simple and straightforward church service. Looking back over the past couple of years at our gatherings, I am caused to ask, "what is primary in our church services?" This has to become the question, "what should be primary according to Scripture and how do we match up with Scripture?"

So how would you answer the dual question, "what is and what should be primary in the Sunday assembly?" Hopefully the answer is the same for both. So let's focus on this "ought" question regarding conduct in the household of God, which is the church (the pillar and foundation of the truth, 1 Tim. 3:15). What ought to be primary when we assemble?

Some may answer this question by citing worship as primary. And I can hardly disagree in the sense that everything we do when we assemble is an act of worship. But I am looking at this question in this way: given that the assembly is a worship assembly, we can still ask, "what is primary in the worship assembly?"

My answer is that preaching is primary. That what I want to stress in the context of having our annual church meeting a little later today: "The Primacy of Preaching in the Assembly." I want to defend the primacy of preaching and then apply it.

1A. The Primacy of Preaching Defended

To defend up front like this is in keeping with the goal of rooting all we do in Scripture. Two lines of biblical teaching support this claim.

1B. First, the elements of worship support it

What are the elements of worship in the assembly? Prayer, giving, the sacraments, singing, reading, and preaching are the elements of worship. Now what is at the core of each as far as the gathering is concerned? How do these elements relate to each other showing that the preaching element is primary?

1) Prayer and giving are directed to a wide variety of concerns regarding those in need but a very specific core of both related to church life is the ministry of the word of God. Giving enables the minister to do the work of the word (he is like an ox that is not to be muzzled while treading the grain, 1 Tim. 5:17-18; Gal. 6:6). And prayer for the ministry of the word petitions the Lord for clarity, boldness, and God's open door in gospel proclamation (Col. 4:2-4).

Prayer and giving are acts of worship performed when we assemble (bring your gifts on the first day of the week and pray with the saints, 1 Cor. 16:2; pray, "Our Father"). They are concerned with things other than preaching but they do relate to preaching in a critical way: enabling the work of the word versus, for example, bricklaying on six days and then preaching on one day.

But think of how giving to the ministry of the word and praying for the ministry of the word impacts your conduct in the assembly (how it impacts worship). If you give of the provisions of life that God has given you, and you give prayerfully to the ministry of the word that it be clear, bold, and expansive, then an attitude and interest is cultivated in your heart toward the gathering. How could you give so that the word may be preached with clarity and not have that affect your attendance and expectations? How could you pray for bold preaching (earnestly, regularly and from the heart), and not have that affect your conscience? Giving and praying for the ministry of the word prepare your heart and conscience to receive the word. Surely, you do not want your money wasted. And surely you do want your prayers answered.

Thus, even though giving and praying do not take up the whole time of worship (that is not all that we do nor is it most of what we do), nevertheless, they prepare our expectations and they cultivate a ready conscience. Think of the posture of giving. You give with you hands opened wide, which is a position of readiness to receive. Think of the posture of prayer for the word: it is not, "Lord I pray for clear and bold preaching for the others, but of course not for me." The posture of prayer for clarity and boldness cultivates a willingness (true prayer does this) to receive the double-edged sword that "judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).

We should recall that the context of the living and active word is related to the Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God, which is weekly rest in anticipation of heavenly eternal rest (Heb. 3:1-4:13). Sabbath rest includes coming under the living and active word that divides the soul and judges the heart. Prayer for the ministry of the word on the Lord's Day Sabbath prepares you to receive it in a soul searching and thus life edifying way.

Therefore, in short, giving and praying accent the primacy of preaching in the gathered assembly. If you give of what you have by the sweat of your brow and if you give praying for clear and bold preaching, then in a very practical way you are placing a premium on preaching.

Your hard work is represented in giving as an act of worship in which you thank the Lord for all you receive from His hand and in which you trust the Lord for your daily bread. Your praying is represented in public prayer in which a central petition is for God's blessing by His word.

But again to make my point, these acts of worship that are part of gathered church worship point away from themselves to the proclamation of the gospel.

2) The sacraments of baptism and communion are word signs or gospel signs. They express the gospel in visual form. In the history of reformed theology, these ordinances have been called preaching rites. As I have pointed out often in the past, Calvin says that the job of the minister is to point the people to where the sacraments point, to the gospel of cleansing and nourishment unto justification and eternal life. Why don't we simply have a love feast spending the whole time eating and drinking together? Why don't we simply have a baptism after the regular service (say, preach on Joshua in the OT then have a baptism afterward)? Calvin gives all we need to answer this. These are signs that point somewhere beyond themselves. Where they point is the point! To properly appreciate the sign we must view it in terms of the thing signified. Therefore, it is reasonable and proper to expound on the gospel in terms given by each sign. Thus, the good news is explained, preaching the sacraments emphasizes certain aspects of the good news. The sacraments ought not to be tacked on to the end of a service that has other accents then those made by each sacrament.

Consequently, the sacraments as gospel signs support the primacy of preaching in the gathered assembly. They point to the gospel and call for its exposition along certain lines (whether along the lines suggested by cleansing with water or along the lines suggested by nourishment by bread and wine).

3) Singing in the assembly is subordinate to and governed by the preached word.

We are to teach and admonish one another with songs, hymns, and spiritual songs (Col. 3:16). What is the content of this teaching and admonishing in the gathering for worship? It will be filled with praise to the Lord and thanksgiving that is guided by a rich dwelling of the word in our hearts: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach one another by singing.

Singing is a way of giving out the gospel message. We have to grant that singing is a way of teaching and admonishing one another. Therefore singing is important. We should work at improving our contribution to singing and our attentiveness to the theology taught. It is this importance and the theology taught that makes me write words to tunes I know as we did for the baptism song put to the tune of "The God of Abraham Praise."

He by Himself hath sworn, this is His sacrament

By grace set free for liberty, by His cov'nant

In baptism now I turn, my life in sovereign hands

to serve my king forevermore, by His commands

This is the commitment made by the person baptized and renewed by all of us as we sing. We speak to our own hearts and say "awake my soul and sing of Him who died for thee." We call out to each other saying in song: "Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice, Him serve with fear, his praise forth tell, come ye before him and rejoice." We voice the Father's promise: "I will never, no never, no never forsake" the soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose.

But then why do we not simply make this the whole of worship (at least at times)? Why do we not have singing the message as another form of preaching the message? Why then do we not replace preaching with singing (to have a singing time instead of preaching)? It is simply due to the fact that singing is subordinate to and serves the preaching of the word.

What is the reply to those who say that we can have a song service (or drama, etc.) as preaching and thus not really in place of it?

We have already stated that it is because singing is subordinate to the word. I think a further way to answer this question is to compare singing with reading of Scripture? Sometimes we sing Scripture and sometimes we sing a theology of the word. So singing and reading are not exactly the same thing. But both have a text that needs to be explained, interpreted, proclaimed, clarified, and applied. That is the nature and goal of preaching: explanation, interpretation, proclamation, clarification, and application of the gospel of Christ given in the sixty-six books of Scripture.

Thus we sing the message to be preached and we read the message to be preached. Like the sacraments what we sing and what we read directs our attention to the word of God that is to be clearly and boldly preached.

2B. Second, the nature of worship supports the primacy of preaching

It is clear that preaching and teaching are an inseparable unit. When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, He taught with authority (Matt. 5:1-2; 7:28-29). In His ministry as a preacher of the gospel of the kingdom, He gave that gospel by preaching-teaching-healing (Matt. 9:35). The healing miracles were enacted parables of restoration that embodied the message He gave in parabolic teaching and preaching. Likewise the pastor-teacher (Eph. 4:11) is to preach the word by correction, rebuke, and encouragement "with sound doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:1-3).

It is easy conclude that preaching-teaching to the assembled church is a component of worship. But how does pastoral instruction relate to worship specifically?

Consider the audience issue. Many like to stress that the gathered church must be active in song and prayer most of the time or all of the time of the gathering because God is the audience to our praises. That contains an important fact, namely, that God is the center and all of our worship is directed to Him. However, this way of thinking about worship and the practice it entails misses the critical point that worship involves listening to the voice of God. Remarkably, God has appointed the way to do that. We are to preach His word and listen to His word. Worship has a silent side to it. We are silent and we listen to what God has to say. Granted, it is through sinful and fallible ministers but nonetheless this is the way God has set things up. Therefore, on the whole when we gather, we are the audience listening to the voice of God preached by His appointed pastor-teachers.

As the assembly of called out ones the Lord calls us to Himself. When we gather or assemble as His people we assemble in His presence. This is a sweet and awesome place where Christ is within the doors and everlasting love displays the choicest of her stores. We come into His presence with cheerful song, we give thanks, and we praise. But most of all we bow at the feet of the Lord Jesus in silence to listen carefully and attentively to what He has to say to us about the storehouse of kingdom truth. That in a nutshell argues the primacy of preaching.

2A The Primacy of Preaching Applied

I can apply this message in one sentence. Because preaching has this primacy the pastor-teacher has the duty of very careful preparation for preaching and the hearer has the duty of very careful attendance to preaching.

1B. This why preaching begins on Monday

I am very conscious of the importance of labor in the word to handle it accurately and wisely. It is a way that I show my love for you and for the Lord Jesus who said, "if you love me feed my lambs." I am very conscious of the fact that those who will be saved as by fire are ministers who build up the saints with wood, hay or straw instead of gold, silver and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:10-15). I will never forget the time when this verse was driven through my soul by the Lord while reading G. Vos. That set all my work in seminary on a path of awareness and determination marked by 1 Corinthians 3. I know that I shall give an account to the Lord Jesus who loved me and gave Himself for me. I know I shall give an account to Him for how I care for your souls, you who are loved by Him and saved by His death and resurrection. This is why as a bottom line that my work of preaching on Sunday must begin on Monday (if possible) and not end until the sermon is preached. That is why I give earnest reflection on Saturday afternoon and final reflection on Sunday morning often finishing the sermon an hour before we meet.

2B. This is why listening begins on Saturday

In a way we could back this up to Monday and all through the week as you remember to pray for the ministry of the word on the Lord's Day. Given the awesome fact that God is present with us in the preaching of His word, then we must attend regularly and with due diligence. We must come to hear the voice of God. We speak and sing in prayer and gospel song but then we come to a time of silent listening. This is prayerful. It is an attitude. It takes adequate rest, a good nights sleep and clarity of thought. It demands attention and reflectiveness because we seek through God appointed means to hear His voice in the gospel of Holy Scripture.

The Monday and Saturday references are designed to make the point that the time of preaching is a great marvel. It is an amazing privilege. It is a wondrous joy. It is at the core of worship. Here we rest in silence on our Father's knee as it were and there we feel His embrace while He teaches us and comforts us with His promises.

For me, preaching is arduous and challenging. But it is a privilege excelling all privileges because it is a taste of heaven here and now on earth!

May the Lord bless you in living before the Lord Jesus the ascended Sabbath King. Week by week, may you experience the joy of hearing His kind words given in Holy Scripture.