The structure of our worship service follows what we call a covenant renewal pattern. First, there is a call to worship, where God’s people are solemnly called to order in the name of Christ, making this a worship service. When we do this, the Holy Spirit gathers us up and escorts us into the heavenly realms, together with all the saints.
We know that we have sinned in various ways, and so the first thing we do at the doorway is confess our sins. We do not want to enter into the holy place in an unholy condition, with unholy attitudes.
We then consecrate ourselves, by hearing the Word read, by listening to the sermon, by singing our hymns to God.
God then invites us to sit down with Him, and commune with Him in a sacred meal, which we do every week.
These three elements—confession, consecration, and communion—follow the structure of worship in the Old Testament. There were three different kinds of sacrifices, which, when they occurred together, always follow this order. There was the guilt offering which is our confession. There was the ascension offering or whole burnt offering which is our time of consecration. This offering of dedication resulted in the whole animal ascending into heaven in the column of smoke. Then there was the peace offering, our communion, after which the worshiper sat down and shared the meat of the sacrifice with God.
After covenant is renewed in this way, you all are commissioned in the benediction, and sent out into a dark world to be the light of the world, who is Jesus Christ. This is what we do, this is why we are here.
Not to lay down the law, but if confession has to be first, however OT this is and whatever intuitive sense it makes, how come “forgive us our debts” isn’t the first petition in ‘the Lord’s prayer’? (For a liturgy structured by ‘the Lord’s prayer,’ search “poccchop liturgy”). Maybe the prayer assumes general repentance and puts a footwashing repentance in the middle???
I have wondered this about the Lord’s Prayer myself. As you say, it makes intuitive sense for confession to be first, but apparently, it doesn’t really have to be, since the one explicit NT structure for the manner of approaching God that we have, doesn’t put it there. Maybe dealing with our sins, important and necessary as it is for fellowship with God, takes a back seat to recognizing Him and His eternal purposes, and our own dependence.
This is what I think of when I read in the Gospels (Mark, specifically): Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” — Mark 1:14-15 Of course, Jesus says “repent and believe,” so that can’t be minimized, but his proclamation of God’s Kingdom at hand (the Gospel) should be responded to with a declaration of loyalty to that Kingdom. This conversation might lead to a debate on the ordo salutis, which I don’t care… Read more »