Worship Workshop

EMC, PJ

30th July 2011

Content

Introduction to Worship

1.Priority of Worship

2.Whole Family in Worship

3.Unity of Worship Liturgy

4.Leading Worship

5.Servanthood of Worship Enablers

God is looking for…

worshippers.

“… a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.”

Jn 4:23

Are you a worshipper?

Worship is an attitude of life and it is a continuous act.I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Ps 34:1Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Heb 13:15

1. Priority of Worship

Jesus: "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.“ Lk. 10:41-42

Priority of Worship

Early Church: “And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42

Tradition: History of Sunday Worship and the way we are defined: “Go to Church” means worship on a Sunday.

Today: the largest turn out of all Church activities.

Priority of Worship: Implications

We should not substitute service for worship.

Where possible, we should put programs not to clash on Sundays.

We do not encourage Church hopping.

Divine Presence in Worship

Historic Worship conveys a sense of divine presence.

Prince Vladimir in Church of Holy Wisdom converted in AD 988.

Roman Catholics during Middle Ages; holy sacraments, crucifixes, incense.

Protestant Reformation; reverence for Scriptures, the sacraments, hymnody, preaching.

Loss of Divine Presence

Secular worldview diminish holy mystery characterized by casualness.

Our sacred rituals viewed as mere forms and words, void of the divine.

Lost sense of direct divine-human encounter in repentance and sanctification.

Lack expectation of anything religiously significant will actually happen.

Wesleyan Worship

Centrality of the presence of GodWorship must bring people into the presence of God.

Need to relearn reverence: facial expressions, tone of voice, bodily gestures, manner of handling Bible, communion elements.

Coming late to Church?

Prayer in preparation for divine encounter.

Wesleyan Worship

Liturgical and Evangelical Both belong to our traditions.

One or the other is ok. Balance is the key. (Freedom within structure.)

Corporate DimensionNot an expression of the individual

Liturgy must express consensus. Congregation must “feel together.”

Cf. our individualized attitude.

Wesleyan Worship

Life of HolinessWorship is declaring that we do not belong to the world but to God.

Worship must express our love and loyalty to the triune God.

Our life of commitment to God in EMC will enhance worship life.

2. Whole Family in Worship

Household baptism must have included children.

Holy Communion during the Early Church included children. E.g. Queen Victoria was baptized and received Communion when she was an infant.

Worship includes the entire family.

The Mickey Mouse Church

Adult Congregation

Youth Fellowship

Children Sunday School

What will happen to Mickey Mouse Church?

Whole Family in Worship

1st Sunday – Holy Communion.

2nd Sunday – Family Worship.

What about the 3rd to 5th Sundays?

Bring them to Sunday Worship.

Bring them to Care Groups.

Why Bring Children to Church?

Worship and Community Life in Church belongs to them as well.

They absorb “faith.” Faith is intuitive and not just cognitive.

For older ones, they watch (and participate in) a Christian community.

Parents will not be hindered from attending Church.

3. Unity of Worship Liturgy

Worship Liturgy is one whole unit, and not individual segments that stand on their own.

The content, the flow, and the way it is led must be seen as a whole.

The focus during a worship service is God’s Word and our responses.

We must minimize distractions, interruptions, and unnecessary comments.

Theological Definition Of Worship

Paul W. Hoon, The Integrity of Worship, “Christian worship is God’s revelation of Himself in JC and man’s response.”Peter Brunner, Worship in the Name of Jesus, 2 chapters: “Worship as a Service of God to the Congregation. Worship as a Service of the Congregation before God.”Martin Luther, “that nothing else be done in it than that our dear Lord Himself talk to us through His holy Word and that we, in turn, talk to Him in prayer and song of praise.”

Synagogue Worship

Focused on what God has done:Reading their history (Scripture)Songs rejoicing in this historyPrayer thanking God for that historySupplication anticipates God to act again

• The above are creeds, praises, thanksgiving and supplications.

• E.g. Exodus. Cf. Service of the Word.

Early Christian Worship

Justin Martyr (mid 2nd century) “And on the day called Sunday there is a meeting in one place of those who live in cities or the country, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time permits. When the reader has finished, the president in a discourse urges and invites [us] to the imitation of these noble things. Then we all stand up together and offer prayers. And, as said before, when we have finished the prayer, bread is brought, and wine and water.”

The Basic Pattern Of Worship

[See UMH p. 2]

ENTRANCE

PROCLAMATION

RESPONSE

THAKSGIVING AND COMMUNION

SENDING FORTH

EMC Pattern

We Enter to Worship

We Unite in Praise and Prayer

We Unite in Affirmation

We Unite in Sharing

We Unite in Listening

We Leave to Serve

NT Concerns of Worship

The dominant concern of NT public worship is to glorify God and to seek the welfare of the whole fellowship of the Church.

Not a personal expression of an individual as he/she wants it. E.g. song presentation, personal celebration.

4. Leading Worship

We Enter to Worship

We Unite in Praise and Prayer

We Unite in Affirmation

We Unite in Sharing

We Unite in Listening

We Leave to Serve

We Enter to Worship

PREPARE TO WORSHIP: Silence15 minutes before service.

Worship team pray 5 min before service.

INSTRUMENTAL PRELUDE: Worship enablers – no unnecessary movements or talking.

Take your position. Your body language should invite the whole congregation to be ready for worship.

We Enter to Worship

WELCOME: Smile, warmly welcome everyone with exuberance.

Acknowledge visitors and new comers.

Go around and greet one another with, “The (peace of the) Lord be with you.” “And also with you.”

The congregation is joined in peace i.e. in reconciliation.

We Enter to Worship

CALL TO WORSHIP:Choose calls to worship appropriate to the occasion.

Purpose of call to worship is to remind us why we are here.

Lift up voice to arouse congregation to worship. E.g. UMH 6

Praise and Prayer

SONGS OF WORSHIPNo need to say, “Good morning” or begin with prayer, or explain why you chose this song, or explain the background of the song.

We are here to worship, so lead us into worship. Lead with no comments because you have chosen songs whose words speak for themselves.

If you have to connect songs, or give direction, use only one sentence.

(In worship, we come to “give to” God, not to “receive” or enjoy worship.)

Praise and Prayer

PRAYER CONCERNSUsually the Pastor will pray.

In his absence, liturgists, lay leaders or home speakers will pray, but prior arrangements must be made when the bulletin is prepared or before the service.

THE LORD’S PRAYERAll Sundays after Prayer Concerns except HC Sundays when it is used before receiving communion.

Affirmation

AFFIRMATION OF FAITHChoose one from UMH 880-889 (or elsewhere) that is most appropriate to the occasion.

GLORIA PATRIGloria Patri is not tied to Affirmation of Faith

It is a doxology to the Trinity sung at end of hymns to “culminate” our praises.

Gloria Patri can be removed, and Affirmation of Faith brought under Sharing

Sharing

OFFERTORY PRAYERPrinted or Extempore; choose short rather than long paragraph or edit it.

(COMMUNITY CONCERNS)No need “Good morning.”

If there are guests come late or if guest forms are received, say “We are glad to have visitors in our midst, and we would like to acknowledge them.”

Sharing

(COMMUNITY CONCERNS)Say “Here are the concerns for this week.” Then highlight what is necessary, important and more urgent.

Speak with the intention to capture attention and to convince participation.

Highlight what congregation need to be praying for this week.

Sharing

DOXOLOGYUsually, by this time the offering has been completed, and ushers ready to walk forward. (After the announcer has stepped down, ushers should start walking to the front.)

At the pulpit say, “Let us rise to sing the Doxology.” Then move over to receive the offering bags and put them on the Table.

Listening

HYMN OF PREPARATIONChoose a hymn appropriate to content and tone to prepare to listen to sermon.

Look out for sermon topic and Scripture reading.

You may want to consult the preacher the precise content or purpose of his sermon to help you select the song.

Listening

SCRIPTURE READINGNo “Good morning,” reference to page number, or waiting for congregation to turn to the passage. No LCD projection.

Congregation, don’t turn to the Bible passage. Just listen to the Word of God. You may turn to the passage during the preaching.

Your job is to read in such a way that the congregation will hear the Word of God.

Listening

This is the focus of the service. God’s Word must be given due attention by its proper reading.Make sure that you get the passage at least a few days before the Church Service. Read it several times until you are at home with the passage understanding the content, the facts and the tone of the message. Read it aloud privately a few times as if you were reading it during the Church Service. Make sure that you vary your volume and tone. Note the type of literature, determine the emphases, and the pauses. You may get a few people to read the various parts of speech.

Listening

Make sure that you can pronounce all the names, places and words in the text. If you are unsure, check the dictionary or with someone who knows.At the pulpit, say, “A reading from the book of ______, chapter _____, verses ___ to ____.” Then read. If there is a second reading, say, “The second reading is taken from the book of …. Adjust the height of the mike and speak into it. As you read look up at the congregation as much as you can. You are not just ‘reading Scripture’ but ‘reading Scripture to the congregation.’When you have finished reading, say deliberately, “This is the Word of the Lord” and wait for the congregation to respond with, “Thanks be to God.”

We Leave to Serve

CLOSING SONGChoose a hymn appropriate to content and tone to respond to the sermon.

You may want to consult the preacher the precise content or purpose of his sermon to help you select the song.

BENEDICTIONIn the absence of the Pastor, the preacher or announcer to close.

5. Servanthood of W. Enablers

FAST: Faithful, Available, Submissive, Teachable.

BE A WORSHIPPER

BE IN COMMUNITY

BE SURE OF YOUR ROLE

BE A SERVANT

Self-righteous vs. True Service ServiceHuman effort Divine centre“Big deal” Big or small is okExternal rewards Hidden contentmentCalculate results Not calculate

resultsChooses to serve Indiscriminate Moods + whims Needs out thereTemporary LifestyleInsensitive Can withhold

serviceBreaks community Builds community