The Nature of Belief

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The Nature of Belief
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Private and Public Christian Worship

• What is Worship?
• Worship means worthiness
• Christians believe that when they worship, they
  are offering something to God
• They worship God because He is special and He is
  worthy of being worshipped
• Worship is personal and gives believers an
  opportunity to show God how much they love Him
• As Xians believe that God is loving, they see it
  as their duty to love God in return. It is not a
  chore, it is a pleasure and a delight.
• Worship does not only have to take place in a
  place of worship (e.g. a Church) it is
  something that is done as a part of everyday
  life, such as loving your neighbour as yourself
• Some Xians see worship as a way of life, not
  just something that is done on a Sunday
• Worship is also giving your whole life to God

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Private and Public Christian Worship
Many Xians set aside a time each day when they
read their Bible and pray quietly (sometimes
called quiet time). They will use this time
to pray for..
anything in the world that concerns them. It
might be something that they have read about in
the newspaper or seen in the news on TV
the needs of their family and/or friends.
Someone might be facing a decision about their
future, be worried about their health, about to
retire, get a new job
But remember WHY Xians pray because they
believe that God can actually change the world
through prayer and petition
themselves and their own needs. Jesus
encouraged people to pray for themselves but only
after they had prayed for others
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Private and Public Christian Worship
PUBLIC WORSHIP Many Xians belong to a local
church and attend services in their place of
worship on Sundays. Church services usually fall
into two categories
Liturgical Worship Liturgical worship follows a
written pattern set down in a prayer book (e.g.
The Anglican Book of Common Prayer). Whilst the
Bible readings (OT and NT), songs and prayers
vary from week to week sometimes in accordance
with an Annual pattern the rest of the service
stays pretty much the same. Many people like
this familiarity as they feel comfortable with it
and know what to expect. They also know that the
form and style of worship has not changed for
many Centuries which then gives them a link with
the past and gives them a link with Xian worship
across the world. The following denominations
generally use a liturgical format Anglican,
Roman Catholic and Orthodox.
Non-Liturgical Worship This is worship that does
not follow a certain strict order or pattern. It
does not mean that it is inferior just
different! It is not set down in a particular
written from and worshippers generally do not
have a copy of the service order in front of
them. The service is likely to have a rough
structure that varies from week to week. Non
liturgical worship is based on structures that
come from the Bible, and tends to have modern
rather than old fashioned hymns (e.g.
Hillsongs/Matt Redman as opposed to The Day Thou
Gavest..!!!). Some worshippers prefer
non-liturgical worship, as they feel that it
provides a freedom to worship in any way they so
desire they also believe that there is also
more room for the Holy Spirit to affect the
service. Anyone can lead the singing or
preaching, spontaneous prayer is
accepted/encouraged, and prophecy is more
likely to take place.
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Private and Public Christian Worship
Hymns hymns are poetry set to music. By
singing them together, worshippers are expressing
their spiritual unity and fellowship with each
other
Sermon the sermon, sometimes called the
homily or address is a talk given by the
vicar, minister or a member of the congregation.
It explains the meaning of a passage from the
Bible and tells the congregation how they might
apply it to their daily lives.
Prayers prayers play a very important part in
all Christian public worship. The worshippers
add the word Amen (Hebrew/Greek So be it) at
the end of every prayer. Sometimes though, the
people speak the words of a prayer together, such
as the Lords Prayer or the Nunc Dimittis'
What you find in most church services
Bible Readings this is the part of the service
where a passage (or section) from the Bible is
read aloud, often by a member of the
congregation. In many services, there is more
than one reading from the Bible and these usually
follow a set pre-determined pattern throughout
the year.
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Private and Public Christian Worship
A Christening.
?????
What on earth is the difference???
Or
A Baptism.
?????
.the
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And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
for they love to pray standing in the synagogues
and on the street corners to be seen by men
(Matt. 65a).
But when you pray, go into your room, close the
door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then
your Father, who sees what is done in secret,
will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep
on babbling like pagans, for they think they will
be heard because of their many words. Do not be
like them, for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him. (Matt. 66-8).
This, then, is how you should pray    " 'Our
Father in heaven,    hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,    your will be done
      on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us
today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts,
      as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation,    but
deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive
men when they sin against you, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. But if you do not
forgive men their sins, your Father will not
forgive your sins (Matt. 69-15).
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The Architecture of Church Buildings
What is in a Church?
There are two types of churches ones that are
focussed around a Pulpit, and ones that are
focused around the Altar.
Pulpit-Centred A pulpit is a raised area where
the minister, priest, vicar or preacher stands.
The idea of having the pulpit at the centre of
the church is to make it obvious that the Bible,
Gods Word, is at the centre of the Church ethos
and importance. Methodist and Baptists pulpits
are often very plain in order to reinforce the
idea that the Bible is at the centre of the
Church, whereas Anglican churches tend to be
ornate and decorative (worship God in the Beauty
of Holiness)
Altar-Centred An altar is a table that is used in
Christian churches to prepare the bread and the
wine (in the Catholic church these are called the
blessed sacrament), and harks back to the days
of the Old Testament where animal sacrifices were
made on the altar to God. Churches with altars
at the centre theologically focus on the
sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for mankind on
the cross the use of the altar can be seen to
have remained the same, that is, for sacrifice.
Jewish people made sacrifice, Christians remember
the sacrifice.
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The Architecture of Church Buildings
What is used in a Church service?
Music Music has always played a major part in
Church services. The Pipe Organ comes from when
Churches needed instruments, but couldnt afford
all the instrumentalists. So, they made their own
instrument To do the whole lot the Church
Organ. Hymns are sung, and the words show how
much the people love God.
Art Christian churches are Generally rich in
art, decorated everywhere possible. This
includes windows, walls, doors, furniture and
clothing. Stories in the Bible are illustrated In
order that people can understand Them and so
that the stories seem alive and relevant. Icons
are usually found in Orthodox churches, but
these are sort of dodgy according to other
Christians because Exodus 20 commands believers
not to take use false idols.
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The Architecture of Church Buildings Signs,
Symbols and Furniture.
This is the most well known and important
Christian symbol. It reminds worshippers of the
death of Jesus on the cross. Christians believe
that the death of Jesus brought them Gods
forgiveness of their sins and everlasting life.
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The Architecture of Church Buildings Signs,
Symbols and Furniture.
The fish or ichthus is the sign of Christianity
in the earliest days of the Roman Empire.
Christians were killed and persecuted, so being a
Christian was dangerous. The fish was used as a
sacred, secret sign for Christians to communicate.
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The Architecture of Church Buildings Signs,
Symbols and Furniture.
The Chi-Rho is an old Christian symbol taken
from two Greek letters (? and ?). In Greek,
these are the first two letters of the word
Christ.
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The Architecture of Church Buildings Signs,
Symbols and Furniture.
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of
the Greek alphabet. They were used to speak of
God having existed at the beginning of time, and
the idea that God will exist, and bring about,
the end of time.
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The Architecture of Church Buildings Signs,
Symbols and Furniture.
This is the same as the cross, but has the body
of Christ on it remembering His death, not His
resurrection. This is usually found in Roman
Catholic churches.
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The Architecture of Church Buildings Signs,
Symbols and Furniture.