Our Worship

Our churches hold worship services twice each Sunday and generally also on Christmas Day and Good Friday. Preaching from the Bible is the central element of worship. Preaching is by ordained ministers, or alternatively sermons written by an ordained minister may be read by a lay male Session appointee when a minister is not available.

Sung praise and corporate prayer are the next most significant elements of worship. Sing to the Lord, the official songbook of the RCNZ, is a ‘psalter hymnal’, meaning that it contains arrangements of both the biblical psalms set to music, and also a wide variety of Christian hymns that express sound biblical thought, taken from the whole history of the Christian church. It was first printed in 2013.

The hymnal was made to be suitable for use in the Christian worship of God. It was created by the Reformed Churches of New Zealand for their own use and for the benefit of all Christians.

Corporate confession of sin and the assurance of God’s pardon are an integral part of Sunday morning worship, while in the second service one of the creeds is usually recited in unison.

The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (or Holy Communion) is celebrated at least three-monthly. The sacrament of baptism is administered to the infant children of church members.

Sing to the LORD,
all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous deeds among all peoples.
1 Chronicles 16:23-24