CONTEXT OF OUR PREACHING Part Eight: Worship

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• CONTEXT OF OUR PREACHINGPart Eight Worship

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PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP SIMPLE

• John 424- Worship in Spirit and in Truth
• Worship is New Covenant worship (vs. Old
  Covenant)
• Worship is done in and through the Spirit
• Spiritual Worship has an inner coherence and
  intentionality
• Simplicity does not rule out symbol, but
  regulates it

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PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP ORDERLY

• God is a God of order, I Cor. 1440
• Orderliness is a function of the creation
  mandate, Gen 126-28
• Order is not opposed to freedom, but concomitant
  to it
• Diversity in worship styles and particulars is
  appropriate

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PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP FREE

• Romans 1423, whatever is not of faith is sin,
  provides a basis for freedom of conscience
• Adiaphora must be affirmed
• Diverse worship styles are grounded in the
  Churchs freedom in Christ
• For chaplains, there is freedom to embrace a wide
  range of options

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PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP GLORIFY AND EDIFY

• We are to glorify God in all that we do, I Cor.
  1031
• All true worship is for the building up of the
  body of Christ, I Cor. 1426
• Edification
• May include enjoyment
• But is more than enjoyment

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PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP CATHOLIC

• We are to share the good news with all people,
  Matt. 2819,20
• Our worship should be that which is done in all
  the congregations of the saints I Cor. 1433
• This requires openness to other traditions
• There are two dimensions to catholicity
• The Horizontal
• The Longitudinal

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PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP CULTURALLY SENSITIVE

• Distinguish between divine commands and the
  cultural expressions of those commands
• Truth is timeless
• But it exists in temporal manifestations
• Consider the redemptive-historical pattern of
  Scripture
• Consider the requirements of the Great Commission

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PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP BALANCED

• Word and Symbol
• Worship involves the whole person
• It is more than an intellectual exercise
• The NT uses symbol (water, wine, bread)
• The use of sacred space, time, arts
• Word and Sacrament
• Truth is communicated through the Word read,
  preached, and exhibited
• In NT, the Lords Supper was a regular
  occurrence, Acts 246, 207 I Cor. 1118

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PRINCIPLES OF WORSHIP CHRIST-CENTERED

• Complementary to Trinitarian worship
  (perichoresis)
• Each gathering is a rehearsal of the Christ event
• Each gathering points back to the cross and
  forward to the Second Advent
• All worship is mediated through Christ
• The Spirit of Christ gifts the Church as he will
  sovereignly

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THE CONDUCT OF WORSHIP

• Issues of Poise, Visual Impressions
• Use of Humor
• Clothing and Calling

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PUBLIC PRAYER

• Read . . . Or Extemporaneous?
• A Potential Problem with Both!
• Reading can be stilted, unnatural
• Extempore prayer can be repetitious, incomplete
• People cannot actively join Extempore prayer
• A Benefit to Both!
• Extempore prayer comes from pastors heart
• Extempore prayer resonates with current issues
• Read prayers are carefully crafted (you are
  talking the to King!)

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PUBLIC PRAYER

• So, what to do?
• Recognize that both types are legitimate
• Yes, read prayers go back to synagogue!
• Consider the Lords Prayer
• Get a good collection of prayers from various
  books
• Avoid ineffectual prayers
• Prepare adequately- at least an outline
• Work on Personal prayer life!
• Develop a theology of prayer

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FORMS OF PUBLIC PRAYER

• Very ancient format (at least back to 4th
  century). Elements
• Address to God
• Ascription of divine attribute
• Single petition (related to theme of day)
• Related clause
• Trinitarian conclusion or Doxology

• Collect from Latin, collectio
• Focus is on meaning of a particular Sunday or
  feast
• Sources
• Book of Common Prayer, ECUS
• Book of Common Worship, PC (USA)

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FORMS OF PUBLIC PRAYER

• A Collect may be used in unison as an opening
  prayer or transition prayer
• Example from Book of Common Prayer
• Address- O Lord God
• Attribute- Whose blessed Son our Saviour gave his
  body to be
  Whipped and his face to be spit upon
• One petition- Give us grace to accept joyfully
  the sufferings
  of the present time
• Related Clause- Confident of the glory that shall
  be revealed
• Doxology- Through Jesus Christ your Son our
  Lord, Who lives and reigns with
  you and the Holy Spirit, one God for
  ever and ever. Amen

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FORMS OF PUBLIC PRAYER

• Prayer of Confession
• Should be specific
• Should be corporate (though silent prayer can be
  effective after general confession)
• May be sung
• Calvin led this prayer from the communion table
  to show its corporate nature

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FORMS OF PUBLIC PRAYER

• The Litany (from 4th-5th century)
• Prayer with repeated congregational response
• Lord, Hear our Prayer
• Lord have mercy
• We give you thanks, O Lord
• Bidding Prayer
• Minister mentions a concern
• Allows time for people to respond in silent prayer

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FORMS OF PUBLIC PRAYER

• The Morning Prayer
• Sometimes, the Pastoral Prayer
• Better still, Prayers of the People
• Major objections
• Not really a prayer, but a second sermon
• Not very pastoral often general, abstract
• Tries to do everything- does nothing well!
• Beware repetitious words Father, Just

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• Just as I am!!

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FORMS OF PUBLIC PRAYER

• Instead of the Pastoral Prayer
• Consider a number of shorter prayers
• Concentrate on various acts of worship
• Thanksgiving
• Intercession (prayer for world at large)
• Petition (local concerns)
• Confession, etc.

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• CONTEXT OF OUR PREACHINGPart Seven Worship