Finding the Middle C(s): Another Step Toward Liturgy

Finding the Middle C(s): Another Step Toward Liturgy

On a piano, the Middle C is the key that organizes all the others. For beginners, therefore, the Middle C plays a critical role in locating all the other keys, notes, and scales.

By comparison, when we look at our 5 C’s of liturgy (Call to Worship, Consecration, Counsel of God, Communion, and Commission), we discover that God’s Word is at the center. As noted from Exodus 19–24, the centrality and volume of God’s speech on Sinai gives his word pride of place. Equally, everything in the service builds up to that moment when God’s Word is expounded. And then, everything else in the service flows from God’s speech, as communion responds to God’s Word and the commission impels the saints to go into the world with the Word on their lips.

Such is the pattern of worship that is found at Sinai, and one that we will continue to think about this weekend.

Yet, before going too far Sinai’s liturgy, let me offer an important caution that protects us from over-reading the Bible. The caution is this: God did not inspire a section of liturgies to be put in the back of the Bible. Thus, while various traditions have written books that order all their services, the Bible itself does not have one mandated order of service. Instead, in places like Hebrews 12, Revelation 1, and Exodus 19–24, we find a series of parallel worship services. And this means that in our sermon series, we are attempting to learn that choreography and apply it wisely to our own service. This is how we have arrived at the Five C’s.

Effectively, these Five C’s help us remember what we are doing in the service and why. And more importantly, they help us teach the liturgy to our children and those who are new to the faith. Therefore, it would be sheer folly to claim that this order of service is the only way to worship God. Yet, it would be equally foolhardy to ignore the importance of liturgy, and the many places in Scripture that teach us how to worship God, including Leviticus.

In Leviticus, the Lord speaks to Moses on Mount Sinai and he gives him instructions for ascending the mountain. In fact, the whole book is shaped like a mountain, or at least a chiasm.


The Five Sacrifices (chs. 1–7)

                  Priests Ordination (chs. 8–10)

                                         Ritual Holiness (chs. 11–15)

                                               The Day of Atonement (chs. 16–17)

                                         Moral holiness (chs. 18–20)

                  Priests Qualifications (chs. 21–22)

The Blessings of the Sacrificial Calendar (chs. 23–27)


From this point of view, we can see how Leviticus is an instruction manual for priests who will serve at God’s altar. And today, knowing that Christ has fulfilled the ceremonial laws of Leviticus, we can learn much about worship by studying this book. And this Sunday that is what we will do as we turn to Leviticus 9 and the offerings found therein.

These three sacrifices—the sin offering ,the ascension offering, and the peace offering— are the ones that offer confession, bring consecration, and lead to communion. With a variation on our five-fold liturgy, these sacrifices help us to see what happens at the center of the worship service and what it means to be made living sacrifices before our living God.

Indeed, consider how the New Testament uses imagery from the altar (see Rom. 12:2; 15:14–16; 1 Cor. 9:13; Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:2; Heb. 13:10) to explain our new covenant service before the Lord. This priestly language proves our worship is not disconnected from the Old Testament; it has simply moved to a higher key. We’ve gone from the Middle C of Leviticus to the Higher C of Jesus. Still, to sing on key with Christ, we must attend to the sacrifices that prepared the priests for service at the altar. And so, this Sunday that is our goal, as we consider confession, consecration, and communion, as revealed in Leviticus 9.

To prepare for Sunday, therefore, read Leviticus 9 and Hebrews 13. Also, pray for the service, that our worship would be pleasing and acceptable to God, even as we continue to refine our liturgy at OBC. As the Lord allows, I look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday.

For His Glory and your joy in Christ,
Pastor David