In this series of posts we discuss the format and vibe of our gathered Sunday worship at Foundation Church.

---

Scripture Reading and Preaching

Throughout our gathered worship we want God’s word to set the pace, shaping everything we do and say. Whether it’s through the call to worship, the gospel promise or the sermon text, we read quite a bit of the Bible each week at Foundation Church.

The Bible has always formed a central part of the Christian faith and practice. That’s why the Apostle Paul writes:

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching (1 Tim 4:13).

Reading is important. Understanding is important. That’s why we follow up the scripture reading with the sermon (aka ‘exhortation’ and ‘teaching’ as Paul puts it above).

How this works out at Foundation Church

Preaching at Foundation is based on the bible text – allowing the bible to be heard and understood as it stands on its own. It’s called expository preaching: the point and purpose of the passage is the point and purpose of the sermon. What the bible text says, the preacher opens up and helps us to understand and apply it.

This is an ancient form of learning. We see the great Hebrew scholar and teacher Ezra doing the same:

[Ezra and the other teachers] read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the meaning, so that the people understood the reading (from Nehemiah 8:1-8).

So our sermons show what the Bible says and helps us to see how it connects with our life and mission as people.

Our sermons typically last between 35-40 minutes.

For an idea of what they’re like, you can hear our latest sermons here. (They’re also available on iTunes, Spotify and TuneIn – just search Foundation Church Belfast.)

---

Foundation Church meets every Sunday 10:30am at Belmont Tower, Belfast, BT4 3FG.