Worship (3)Worship in Community:

Roles & ExpectationsGood News Community Church

June 15, 2008Timothy Chan

• 6/1 - God: The Author of Worship• 6/8 - Acts of Worship: Biblical Models• 6/15 - Worship in Community (part 1)• 6/22 - Worship in Community (part 2)• 6/29 - Worship is an Instinct

Class Outline

• What is your most favorite (or most special) day of the year?

• What would you do on that day?

A Special Day

• What is the purpose of the church "Sunday worship service"?

• Why do we need to worship God together as a group?

Your View of Corporate Worship

Is This "Church"?

Source: http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/231/

Is This "Church"?

Source: http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/2007/11/08/236/

Is This "Church"?

Source: http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/475/

Is This "Church"?

Source: http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/232/

Is This "Church"?

Source: http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/2007/12/04/296/

• When someone comes back from vacation, we would ask him/her: "Did you have fun?" So fun became the basis of evaluation

• Some of the unspoken underlying evaluation criteria people might have for "church":o Fellowship (size of church, people's friendliness)o Emotional Impact (arousal of feelings, ability to

feel/sense God's presence)o Education (sermon quality, learned something)o Entertainment (nice music, smooth production)o Outreach (evangelistic message tailored to

seekers, altar call)

Evaluation Of "Church"

• We need to understand what our real expectations should be

• The church offers acceptable worship to God when it:o Lives up to the true identity of the churcho Carries out the essential elements of

corporate worshipo Involves the full participation of God's

people in their proper roles and duties (next week’s class)

Evaluation Of "Church"

• Some NT terminologies describing the church:o Temple of God (1 Cor 3:16-17, 2 Cor 6:16,

Eph 2:21)o God's Building (1 Cor 3:9-10, Eph 2:21-22)o Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27, Eph 1:22-23,

Eph 4:12)o God's Priests (1 Pet 2:5, 1 Pet 2:9-10, Rev

1:6)

The Identity of the Church

• OT: Temple is the central place of worship and the dwelling place of God

• NT: God's dwelling on earth is not a building or sanctuary but the people of God themselves

• The church is a worshiping community• "[The church's] identity as 'the temple of the

Lord' finds particular expression when they gather together in Jesus' name, to experience His presence and power in their midst." -- David Peterson, "Engaging With God" (1992), p. 202

Temple of God

• The church building is not God's building• We are built upon the foundation of Christ

o 1 Cor 3:9,11 我們是　神的同工，你們是　神的田地，　神的房屋。 ... 除了那已經立好的根基以外，沒有人能立別的根基。那根基就是耶穌基督。• Christ is the One who makes the church grow

to become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirito Eph 2:22 你們在他裡面也一同被建造，成為　神藉著聖靈居住的所在。

• We participate in Christ's work in helping the church grow

God's Building

• Christ is the head of the church• We need to have unity in the "one body"• We each have our diverse functions and

responsibilities• We need to meet together for fellowship and

mutual ministry• However, the body of Christ needs to be built

up and grow to perfectiono Eph 4:11-12 他所賜的，有作使徒的，有作先知的，有作傳福音的，也有作牧養和教導的，為的是要裝備聖徒，去承擔聖工，建立基督的身體

• Mutual edification is an aspect of worship

Body of Christ

• 1 Pet 2:4b-5 你們到他面前來，也就像活石，被建造成為靈宮，作聖潔的祭司，藉著耶穌基督獻上蒙　神悅納的靈祭。• Martin Luther promoted the idea of the

priesthood of all believers, but today's churches still have a clergy-laity distinction, in which believers leave the work of ministry and service up to those "professionals"

• Every believer is a "minister" and priest before the Lord whether he/she is employed in "full-time" ministry or not

• God uses ordinary people to fulfill His work

God's Priests

• According to Robert Webber:o We Remembero We Anticipateo We Celebrateo We Serve

Four Elements of Corporate Worship

Source: "Worship Old & New" (1994) by Robert Webber, p. 27

• God instructed Moses that they must tell of God's work and promises to their descendants and to their descendants' descendants, so they can fear and obey God

• Jews: Passover meal (to remember how God saved them out of Egypt), psalms (to remind and recount God's work)

• Church: we remember how God saves us through Christ's atonement and also what God has done in us

• We as a church should also be defined by our "corporate memory"

We Remember

• Greek word for remember (anamnesis, e.g. Luke 22:19) means not only to remember but to recall in a way that makes it personal

• We remember God's saving acts so that they may have an effect upon us

• Remembrance can be achieved through:o Songs - easy to remember, participatory

"A congregation is just as responsible to sing the gospel as the preachers are to preach it." -- Harold Best, "Music Through The Eyes Of Faith" (1993)

o Creed - reaffirming what we believeo Dramatic Enactment - e.g. Baptism

We Remember

• Worship looks forward to God's promises being fulfilled in the future, and we look forward to God's ultimate triumph

• Our earthly worship today is a foretaste of how we will worship in the new heavens and the new earth

• Our gathering may be regarded as an earthly expression of the heavenly churcho Rev 5:11-12 我又觀看，聽見了千千萬萬天使的聲音，他們都在寶座、活物和長老的四周，大聲說：“被殺的羊羔是配得權能、豐富、智慧、力量、尊貴、榮耀、頌讚的！”

We Anticipate

• We anticipate by proclamation and symbols (e.g. Advent)

• Through anticipation, we renew our hope in the eternal, and we derive the power to live in this world

We Anticipate

• We celebrate a past event/story (e.g. birthday, wedding, Christmas, etc.), and we have to know why we're celebrating it

• When we see the worship service as a celebration of God and His work, the focus is not on the experience of the celebration, but on God

• The point is not to celebrate the fact that we're saved, but to celebrate our Savior

• Through celebration we recognize that God's stories and actions are still relevant to us today

We Celebrate

• Celebrations are held on special days• A celebration requires active participation for

it to be meaningful• Celebration is done through singing,

storytelling, dramatizing, and feasting• Celebration can also include confession or

lament (e.g. funeral service)

We Celebrate

• Just as God called the people to worship, He also sent us forth to serve each other and serve in the world (e.g. Benediction)

• To praise God but ignore serving fellow believers make worship inauthentic

• Amos 5:21-24 我憎恨、厭惡你們的節期，也不喜愛你們的節日。雖然你們給我獻上燔祭和素祭，我卻不接受。你們獻上肥美的牲畜作平安祭，我也不悅納。你們唱歌的吵聲要遠離我，我不想聽見你們的琴聲。但願公正好像潮水滾流，公義好像河水長流。• Rom 12:3-8 also implies the use of spiritual

gifts to serve as an aspect of worship

We Serve

• "We Remember" in the Lord's Suppero Luke 22:19b “ 這是我的身體，為你們捨的，你們應當這樣行，為的是記念我。”

(anamnesis)o 1 Cor 11:26 你們每逢吃這餅，喝這杯，就是宣揚主的死，直等到他來。o This remembrance is a "re-calling" or "re-

presenting" of Christ's sacrifice to declare that its effects are operative here and now

Example: Lord's Supper

• "We Anticipate" in the Lord's Suppero Matt 26:29 我告訴你們，從今以後我必不再喝這葡萄酒，直到我和你們在我父的國裡喝新酒的那一天。o The Lord's Supper is a foretaste of God's

coming kingdom and an anticipate the day when we will feast with the Lord face to face

Example: Lord's Supper

• "We Celebrate" in the Lord's Suppero "Eucharist" means "give thanks"o Matt 26:26-28 他們吃的時候，耶穌拿起餅來，祝謝了就擘開，遞給門徒，說：“你們拿去吃吧，這是我的身體。”耶穌又拿起杯來，祝謝了就遞給他們，說：“你們都喝吧，這是我的血，是為立約的，為許多人流出來，使罪得赦。o Matt 26:30a 他們唱完了詩 ...o Every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper

we are declaring God's provision of salvation and renewing our faith in Him

Example: Lord's Supper

• "We Serve" in the Lord's Suppero "Holy Communion" implies fellowshipo 1 Cor 10:16 我們為福杯祝禱的時候，難道不是共享基督的血嗎？我們擘餅的時候，難道不是共享基督的身體嗎？o In the early church, each person or family

brought bread and wine and other gifts (food for the poor) to put on the table

o 1 Cor 11:33-34a 所以，我的弟兄們，你們聚集在一起吃的時候，要彼此等待。如果有人餓了，就應當在家裡先吃，免得你們聚集在一起的時候受到審判。

Example: Lord's Supper

Conclusion

1. God reveals Himself to us...

2. ... and we respond to God ...

3. ... as we minister to one another

Source: "Engaging With God" (1992) by David Peterson, p. 221