Christ-Centered Worship by Bryan Chapell is a book rich in history and overflowing with examples of the elements of a worship service. He writes, “My hope in articulating the beauty and historicity of Christ-centered worship is to show how the church’s worship has always been shaped by its understanding of the gospel… Gospel purposes should shape our worship more than personal preferences or respected traditions” (p. 154).

Don’t let the word liturgy get you sidetracked. According to Chapell, every church has a liturgy of worship, a way of shaping its worship services around the elements considered as important. He argues that the gospel should be at the center of the shape of our worship services. Chapell explains the order of worship conveys an understanding of the gospel. And this order of worship, or liturgy, tells a story. “We tell the gospel by the way we worship” (p. 19).

The book has more history than I was expecting. And I liked it. I enjoyed the chapters on Luther, Calvin, and others about the elements of worship they incorporated into their worship services. After going through historical examples, Chapell compiles a list of the consistent elements of historic liturgies (p. 100). Chapter 8 is an excellent chapter on biblical patterns of liturgy. It is about Christ’s story and the importance of a redemptive priority in worship. “Redemptive flow of biblical worship inevitably makes our liturgy Christ-centered” (p. 113).

Here are the elements of Christ-centered worship.

1. Adoration
2. Confession
3. Assurance
4. Thanksgiving
5. Petition and Intercession
6. Instruction from God’s Word
7. Communion
8. Charge and Benediction

Chapell provides many examples and useful elements of the service we can use in our services. In fact, the second half of the book is full of examples of each element of a Christ-centered worship service.

Here’s the table of contents,

Part 1: Gospel Worship
1. The Gospel of Structure
2. The Roman Story
3. Luther’s Story
4. Calvin’s Story
5. Westminster’s Story
6. The Modern Story
7. The Gospel Story
8. Christ’s Story
9. “Re-presenting” Christ’s Story
10. The Mission of Our Story
11. The Aspects of Our Story
12. The Components of Our Story

Part 2: Gospel Worship Resources
13. Call to Worship
14. Affirmation of Faith
15. Confession of Sin
16. Assurance of Pardon
17. Rubrics (Transitions)
18. Historic Components
19. Scripture Reading History and Practice
20. Christ-Centered Sermons
21. Benedictions and Charges
22. Worship Service Examples
23. Communion Service Thoughts
24. Music Style Thoughts
25. Worship Resources on the Internet