Trinity Sunday–The Worship of Three in One
What is the purpose behind a celebration? Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, graduations, growing old and retiring, growing up and maturing. Festivities that share a common spark of enthusiasm of a particular event in our human existence. I’ve grown up with the traditions and celebrated for so long that they’ve become a part of my cultural vocabulary. And while some are familial–like birthdays or anniversaries– others are communal like graduation and New Years. This question led me to think about the observance of certain milestones in the life of the church and how to incorporate fresh ideas into the worship. Marked by celebrations throughout her history many were instituted as a reflection of the church’s heritage by God so that the people would never forget.
Exodus 13:8–10
On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips. For the Lord brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.
God designated observance of communal celebrations as a way to convey an important spiritual truth by joining the culture physically, mentally, and emotionally together as one, revealing the nature of the coming church. The weekly celebration and worship of God was itself dedicated by God that a person was to work for six days and on the seventh day to take time to rest (Leviticus 23:3). As the history of the church began to lengthen so did it’s observance of important traditions and festivities. These traditions are both an annual re-creation of the gospel story to create context for the believer and increase dialog with the community as well as a way to celebrate important doctrinal truths such as Trinity Sunday.
Trinity Sunday has been celebrated from as early as the 10th century when the feast gradually spread in the churches of northern Europe and was formalized in 1334 by Pope John XXII for the entire church. This order of the first order celebration of the doctrine of the Trinity is traditionally recognized in the western Christian liturgical calendar on the first Sunday following Pentecost and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Its significance marks the time when Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit;
Acts 1:4–5
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
On this occasion when the promised Holy Spirit arrived it astonished the disciples as the people began hearing their own language being spoken by the disciples;
Acts 2:1- 4
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
This is the fulfillment of the new covenant. The new covenant in Christ gives us the gift of his Holy Spirit in our hearts so we have the freedom to know and love God (Heb. 8:7–12). The celebration of the Trinity is, in all its fullness, the acknowledgment of the Father as our Creator, the Son as our Savior and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter. All three of the Godhead as one God. The Father is God from the beginning (John 1:1); Jesus revealed Himself as equal to the Father in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one;” Together, they sent the Holy Spirit.
1 John 5:7–8
For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.
Celebration of the Trinity
Developing ideas for worship during Trinity Sunday could involve a number of events such as scripture reading, congregational singing, prayer stations and creative responsive reading.
Scripture Reading
Jesus is Baptized | Matthew 3:16–17
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Great Commission | Matthew 28:18–20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
I Will Not Leave You As Orphans | John 14:16–21
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
There is But One God | I Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
Different Gifts | 1 Corinthians 12:4–6
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Seal of Ownership | 2 Corinthians 1:21–22
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
Fellowship of the Holy Spirit | 2 Corinthians 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
In Christ is the Deity | Colossians 2:9
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
Songs of Worship About the Trinity
How Great Is Our God |Chris Tomlin / Ed Cash / Jesse Reeves
We Believe |Matthew Hooper, Richie Fike / Travis Ryan
This I Believe (The Creed) |Ben Fielding / Matt Crocker
Holy, Holy, Holy |John Bacchus Dykes / Peter King / Reuben Morgan / Reginald Heber
King of Kings |Brooke Ligertwood / Jason Ingram / Scott Ligertwood
All Creatures of Our God and King |David Crowder / Thomas Ken
Praise the Father Praise the Son |Chris Tomlin / Ed Cash
Prayer Stations
Prayer stations could be set up so that the congregation could gather at one of three stations representing God the Father, Jesus the Son, and The Holy Spirit taking a card from each station and writing down their prayer. By transferring to each station they would take up a card from each station then place a rubber band around the three of them and place them in a single box. It’s important to clarify that although there are three distinct stations they all represent one God. A prayer vigil could be conducted where people (or families) come up to the box and take out one stack of cards and commit to pray over those cards throughout the week.
Responsive Reading
God the Father
The Gathering of the Community
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
–And also with you.
Dear friends in Christ, we have come together on this Trinity Sunday to celebrate in word and song and to affirm our faith in God, the Three in One.
As we stand in God’s presence, let us pray:
Almighty God, before you angels sang for joy when you created with your voice the heavens and the earth.
–Hear our voice this day and accept our praise and thanksgiving for the gift of speech and song, which we on earth share with the heavenly host.
O Jesus Christ, you are the Word made flesh, the firstborn of many sisters and brothers in the family of God who have heard your music in their hearts.
–Open the ears of our hearts this day, that all we say and all we sing may reveal you in us and us in you, whose body and voice we are in this world.
O Holy Spirit, with tongues of fire you have inspired the speech and song of evangelists, preachers, poets, and musicians.
–Visit us this day to kindle anew the fire of love and the light of understanding, that your church may live in the counterpoint of community.
O Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, you are three persons in one God living in harmony. As your church, our many voices, our many lives, become one chorus to praise your holy name.
–Bless our coming together now so that we, in communion with your saints, may hear your voice and sing your words this day and always. Amen.God the Creator (Father)
Let us confess our faith in God, the Father:
–We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.
Jesus the Son
Let us confess our faith in God the Son using the words of the Nicene Creed:
(Reading of the Nicene Creed) We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
… whose kingdom shall have no end.
God the Sustainer (Holy Spirit)
Let us confess our faith in God the Holy Spirit:
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and Giver of life;
who proceeds from the Father and the Son;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified;
who spoke by the prophets.
Conclusion
Celebrations and festivities have been a part of our cultural vocabulary for thousands of years. Trinity Sunday was designed by the early church leaders to emphasize the importance of the doctrine of the trinity and to educate the church. As you seek to find creative ways to present the service remember that you have the power and inspiration of the scriptures, the depth and latitude of genres of music as well as artistic poetry, the fine arts, the spoken affirmation in responsive reading and even the beauty of visual arts within the media ministry. The importance of reflecting the truth and sanctity of the trinity is the goal of this communal worship service.
