Principles of Worship

(Faith : Worship)
Theology of Worship, 敬拜的神學基礎,

In proclaiming God’s saving work through Jesus Christ in song, story, prayer, and thanksgiving, the church glorifies God and extols him for his acts of redemption. Thus it accomplishers Peter’s declaration the God’s people “may declare the praises of him who called them our of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9)

Worship is based on the history of Salvation, Christian liturgy is patterned on the history of salvation.

Worship is event-oriented. In both the OT and NT, God’s purpose in revealing himself and in calling a people into existence, was to create a worship community to be a sign of his redeeming work.

By J.D.Crichton

The order of worship is designed to reveal God’s action in history. Through that order, the worshiping community meets the God who has acted, and who continues to speak and act among His people.

The order of worship flows our of the principle that worship celebrates Christ. Worship is patterned after God who revealed himself and after God who became incarnate. Therefore, the twofold focus of worship becomes the Word(the Bible as the symbol of God speaking) and the Table (bread and wine as the symbol of God acting to save us). In the course of time, two other parts were added: entrance for worship and dismissal to serve. Thus, the most basic and rudimentary shape of worship is fourfold.

Each of these four parts of worship contains a variety of prayers, hymns, acclamations, testimonials, and responses.

The acts of entrance form the people into a worshiping community preparing them to hear the word of the Lord.

The service of the word is the experience of hearing God speak and of responding to his words.

The service of the Table Christ becomes present to bring salvation and healing to the community gathered before Him.

In the dismissal God sends His people into the world to serve in his name.

This is appropriate for use in all expressions of the Christian faith, whether fundamentalist, evangelical, charismatic, or mainline Protestant groups.

If worship is truly rooted in the gospel and celebrates Christ, then we can expect a divine action to occur in worship revealed through words and signs.

The Word as Reminder of God’s Presence—(Exod. 24:3, 7) Jewish worship has always had Scripture at the center of its worship, which probably had its beginnings after exile to Babylon. By the time of Jesus synagogue worship had become a regular practice. (Luk.4:16-17)

By Robert E. Webber

Sacraments as Sign Acts—Ever since the NT, the church has found certain sign-acts essential for expressing the encounter between God and humans. These sign-acts pointed to sacred things and became ways of expressing to the senses what no physical sense could perceive, i.e. God’s self-giving. The sacraments call us to smell “taste and see” (Ps.34:8), to touch, to hear, even to smell “that the Lord is good,” in them the physical becomes a vehicle of the spiritual as the sign-act cause us to experience what it represents.

By: James F. White.

Communication takes place in worship when the Lord speaks and acts and the people of God respond. Worship employs both the spoken word and the symbolic act so that God can touch all areas of an individual’s life and communicate with people of varying personalities. By the same token, the worshiper uses both work and act to express devotion to God.

More than an intellectual assent to doctrine, creed, or prayer, worship is an experience of the presence of a holy God. Response to this encounter should touch the center of the worshiper’s being, creating a sense of awe and mystery. It should also result in an admission of one’s unworthiness and need for repentance, and in renewed commitment to a life of obedience to the mighty and merciful God.

Response as Inner Experience—response is not just singing a hymn, not just saying a creed, not just saying a prayer. Response, from the very beginning of worship to the end, must be a powerful inner experience of actually being in the presence of God. When we sing a hymn or say a confession or prayer, we are not merely singing or saying words, but are expressing a feeling, baring our souls, truly responding and communicating to the living and active presence of a loving and merciful God.

Worship is not a service or entertainment performed for the laity, but an act that requires the participation of all members in the body of Christ. For this reason there is a need to achieve a balance between order and freedom. An overemphasis on order can lead to ritualism; an overemphasis on freedom sometimes leads to chaos. Most churches suffer from an overemphasis on order.

Worship is best understood when it carries the worshiper through a sequence of related events such as:

The Bible envisions worship as an offering of the entire person in living sacrifice to the Lord. Creative and thoughtful use of space and art, as well as attention to the traditional church calendar, combine to make worship an experience that involves body, soul, and spirit.

Worship involves the whole person. Worship is an activity that includes every aspect of the human awareness: heart and mind, senses and intellect. It is quite clear that we cannot and must not exclude the body with all its senses involving activity of worship. The use of the body is an outward and visible sign of the intentions of the heart and mind.

John Calvin v.s. Martin Luther and Anglicans had different opinion during 16^th century, Luther and the Anglicans believed that whatever is not explicitly rejected by the Scripture may be used in worship. But Calvin believed that only that which is explicitly taught in the NT is permissible in worship. Since the NT says nothing pro or con about the use of art in worship, Calvinists and their successors were not free to employ the arts as means of expressing worship to almighty God.

Worship is not only an action. It is also a way of life that the church experiences in each of its members day by day. When worship is central, all of life proceeds toward it and issues from it again, in blessed rhythm.

When we are healed and empowered by worship, our day-by-day lives at home, at work and at leisure take on a new dimension. They rise to new life.

By: Robert E. Webber