Here at the Potter's House St Marys, we don't have the complex and formal order of service that marks many churches and denominations. It is our belief that the Bible is the greatest guide ever given to man. Instead of following an empty tradition, we follow the direction of the Holy Spirit and the biblical order laid down for the church. We hope this will help explain to you why we worship as we do.
WHY
HAVE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
"Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals!" (Psalms 150:3-5)
WHY
LIFT UP YOUR HANDS?
"Because Your loving kindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I Live; I will lift up my hands in Your name." (Psalms 63:3-4)
"Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven." (Lamentations 3:41)
"Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!" (Psalms 47:1)
WHY
GATHER FOR SERVICE?
The word "church" in the Greek is "ekklesia", literally meaning, "those called out together with God." We believe that only in our gathering for worhip is the church made real.
"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)
WHY
WORSHIP AND PRAISE SO VIBRANTLY?
"With trumpets and the sound of a horn; Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King." (Psalms 98:6)
"Shout joyfully to the Lord, let all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises." (Psalms 98:4)
"Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!" (Psalms 32:11)
"After all these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!" (Revelation 19:1)
"And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!" (Revelation 19:6)
"Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen." (Luke 19:37)
WHY
SPEAK IN TONGUES?
"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues," (Mark 16:17)
"For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding." (1 Corinthians 14:14-15)
WHY
HAVE THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant... There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit... for to one is given the word of wisdom through the same spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues." (I Corinthians 12:1,4,8-10)
"And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." (Joel 2:28)
WHY
PRAY TOGETHER OUT LOUD?
"So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them." (Acts 4:24)
We find the disciples coming daily to join in prayer in the temple. (Acts 3:1, 6:4)
At Pentecost, for ten days the church gathered and prayed until the Holy Ghost came; and when it fell, it was manifested by audible praise and prayer. (Acts 2:1-4)
WHY
TAKE AN OFFERING?
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10)
"Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase." (Proverbs 3:9)
"On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come." (I Corinthians 16:2)