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NEW VISITORS

We welcome you to join us at one of our worship services. No matter where you are coming from - another church, a different denomination, or a first time church visitor - we hope you'll feel at home! Visit often and refresh in the spirit of the Lord.

Service times.

We have a traditional Sunday morning services at 8:30 - 09:30

Finding a seat.

We are an open congregation. You are welcome to sit anywhere you feel comfortable. Seats are available on first come, first serve basis.

Our Services

Our typical service times last approximately an hour. There are readings from the Bible, hymns, a choir anthem and a sermon is delivered. Our songs are traditional hymns, and everyone is encouraged to join in.

What should I wear?

If you are worried about what to wear, please be assured that you can dress as you feel most comfortable. Whilst some of the members of Amanzimtoti Presbyterian Church like to come to church in their Sunday Best, others are happier in Jeans and t-shirts. God doesn’t judge anyone on their outer clothing and neither do we. You will be equally welcome regardless of whether you are wearing your ‘Sunday Best’ or ‘Comfortable Casuals.’

Parking.

Parking is available opposite the church. If the parking is full you are more than welcome to park at the centre across the road.

WHY DO WE WORSHIP?

Why do we worship God in the public services of First Presbyterian Church in the way that we do? People visiting or new to our congregation regularly comment on the form and content of congregational worship of First Presbyterian.

We read the Bible in our public worship

Paul told Timothy “give attention to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim. 4:13) and so, a worship service influenced by the teaching of Scripture will contain a substantial reading of Scripture (and not just from the sermon text!). The public reading of the Bible has been at the heart of the worship of God since Old Testament times. In the reading of God’s word, He speaks most directly to His people.

We preach the Bible in our public worship

Preaching is God’s prime appointed instrument to build up his church. As Paul said “faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:14, 17). Faithful biblical preaching is to explain and apply Scripture to the gathered company, believers and unbelievers alike. This means expository and evangelistic preaching, squarely based in the text of the word of God.

We pray the Bible in our public worship

The Father’s house “is a house of prayer” said Jesus (Matthew 21:13). Our prayers ought to be permeated with the language and thought of Scripture. The call here is not for written and read prayer, but studied free prayer. Our ministers spend time plundering the language of Scripture in preparation for leading in public worship.

We sing the Bible in our public worship

(Psalm 98:1, Revelation 5:9, Matthew 26:30, Nehemiah 12:27, 46; Acts 16:25; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). This doesn’t mean that we can only sing Psalms or only sing the language of scripture, though this tremendous doxological resource of the church should not be overlooked. What we mean by “sing the Bible” is that our singing ought to be biblical, shot through with the language, categories and theology of the Bible. It ought to reflect the themes and proportion of the Bible, as well as its substance and weightiness.

We “see” the Bible in our public worship

That is, we are to observe the appointed visible ordinances or sacraments in public worship. When we say that we are to “see” the Bible, we do so because God’s sacraments are “visible words” (so said Augustine). The sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) are the only two commanded dramas of Christian worship (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38-39, Colossians 2:11-12, Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

In them we see with our eyes the promise of God. But we could also say that in the sacraments we see/smell/touch/taste the word. In the reading and preaching the word, God addresses our mind and conscience through the hearing. In the sacraments, he uniquely addresses our mind and conscience through the other senses.

In, through and to the senses, God’s promise is made tangible. A sacrament is a covenant sign and seal, which means it reminds us and assures us of a promise. That is, it points to and confirms a gracious promise of God to his people.

Another way of saying it is that a sacrament is an action designed by God to sign and seal a covenantal reality, accomplished by the power and grace of God, the significance of which has been communicated by the word of God, and the reality of which is received or entered into by faith.

Hence, the weakness, the frailty of human faith welcomes this gracious act of reassurance. And so these “visible symbols of Gospel truths” are to be done as part of our corporate worship. They will be occasional, no matter how frequent, and so we are reminded that they are not essential to every service.

This is not to denigrate them in the least. After all, they are by nature supplemental to and confirmatory of the promises held out in the word, and the grace conveyed in them is the same grace held out via the means of preaching.