Liturgy: A Work of the People (pt. 3)

What role does the history and tradition play when developing our liturgy?

Last time we took a look at the primary goal of our liturgy as well as some important underlying Biblical principles.   With the understanding that our services should be both God-centered and edifying for the believers who walk through our doors.  It is now time to look at how do we structure our Sunday gatherings?  As I mentioned in the first article, the Bible simply does not give us complete details on how we are to shape an entire corporate gathering.   So as Tim Keller stated, “we must ‘fill in the blanks’ that the Bible leaves open…we will have to draw on tradition; on the needs, capacities, and cultural sensibilities of our people; and on our own personal preferences. ” While everything we do at a Sunday gathering should be grounded in Scripture, we should also be willing to look across this spectrum of history and tradition towards all the saints who have gone before us.  Rather than trying to be innovative or hip, we can humbly look toward those who professed and lived under Christ’s lordship from years passed.

Before moving on, I need to clarify that to say the church is rooted in history is different than saying that the church only looks backwards in history for its credible methods.  “Liturgical” and “Traditional” are not synonyms.  Liturgy incorporates traditional elements, but cannot be defined or explained simply by referring to traditional aspects of corporate worship. We also must be careful to recognize that the church exists along a continuum of history of which its current setting and cultural context is a part.  We therefore need to learn from the historical applications of worship and incorporate them into our current context and setting.

When we look at our history, we need to start with the history conveyed in the Bible. Liturgical worship is deeply rooted throughout the history of the church, which extends all the way back to Adam in the garden. The prophets of the Old Testament demonstrate the significance of liturgical action as a barometer of corporate spiritual health.  Every time there is a revival or sign of spiritual health in Israel out come the liturgical events (sacrifice, circumcision, passover, etc.) On the contrary, nearly every time there is spiritual, political or moral decline, liturgical activities suffer.  (Report of the Christian Reformed Church’s Liturgical Committee) While many of the practices in the days of the Former Prophets do not exist today, we have continued to celebrate the covenant-renewal.  The covenant is a central biblical image for describing the relationship that God has established with his people.  Israel was God’s holy people; they were set apart from every other nation.  “The whole life of the nation was worship, set apart to God.” (Frame) Therefore the Law of Moses contained precise rules for prayer and sacrifice; it exhorted Israel to obey God’s word and sing praises to him.

Looking at New Testament worship, we see two things: 1. God now encompasses both Jews and Gentiles in one body to give him worship.  (1 Peter 2:9) 2. Various elements of Old Testament worship point to Jesus. (Heb. 10) Precise rules for liturgy are not found in the New Testament. While we have freedom of the Spirit, we are also commanded to do things in “decency and order.” “The tension between freedom and order is never relieved, but rather left to become a matrix of creative flexibility and common order, whose end was to be the edification of the church. People who, in the early days, worshipped as Christians also worshipped as Hebrews. They had no sense of being the less Jew for being the more Christian. Hence, it is not surprising to see Christian liturgy structured by the synagogue, as that structure was given new content and life by the reality of Christ. So the liturgy of the Christian church was both old and new; the old was taken up and infused from beginning to end with a new Spirit and a new life. The people of God have existed since this time and have carried on through to today.” (Report of the Christian Reformed Church’s Liturgical Committee)

Liturgy is not some new fad. This thing has been going on for thousands of years. The traditions of worship have been passed down by faithful men and women for generations. Our hope is to remain rooted in many of these important traditions, while thoughtfully structuring our services for our particular context.  Next week we’ll look specifically at some of the liturgical traditions of the Church over the past thousand years.  We will explain what they were and why they were important in their particular setting.

Liturgy: A Work of the People (pt. 2)

In the last article, I talked about the term liturgy and how it simply means “the work of the people.”  In the most basic sense, every church that has a structure and order to their services is liturgical.  One might ask, “How are we supposed to structure our corporate gatherings?”  But before we address that question, I think there is an important underlying question we need to talk about first: “What is our main purpose in meeting every week as a body?”  So in part 2 of this series, I want to address our primary goal for our Sunday corporate gatherings.  I also want to lay some important biblical groundwork for how we should structure our services.    

What is the primary goal for our Sunday corporate gatherings?

Unfortunately, while the answer to this question should seem clear, the practices and even structures of many evangelical churches across our country have muddied the waters.  Many churches with good intentions have taken secondary goals and built their services around them.  Most of these goals, (i.e. being evangelistic or seeker friendly) are good, however they are not primary.  We must first realize that our corporate worship is for God’s pleasure and his glory. When we gather as a body on Sundays, our number one goal should be to magnify the worth of God through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.    

It is also important to see that true worship cannot exist apart from Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the only mediator between us and God, and it is through Him that our praises will be made. (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:12) Anyone can sing “worship” songs of course, but unless the Holy Spirit is actively present in a person they cannot say such things as a sincere expression of true worship.  Once an individual has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, true worship can begin.  His life and death in our place has brought us peace with God.  We now come boldly before God, praising Him for what He has done.

Finally, we need to see that true worship is never something that people can initiate on our own - it always begins with God. John Frame writes, “In worship, God is always speaking to us…and we should be constantly responding to that word in faith and obedience.” Real worship isn’t something that is worked up within us, but rather a response to seeing and understanding God’s control, authority and presence in our lives.  So if worship begins with God and is primarily for his glory, how does liturgy or “the work of the people” fit in?  

It would be easy to turn all our focus to God and say that we should not pay any attention to human needs in corporate worship.  But in corporate worship it is important to recognize and live out the two greatest commandments: loving God and loving our neighbors.  Both can and should exist simultaneously and influence the way we organize our services.  Our corporate gatherings are to be God-centered, but also edifying for the believers who walk through our doors.  Edification can come through hearing words of encouragement, being continually reminded of the truths of the gospel, and seeing that we have a God who is ever present with us.  Paul says,”Let all things be done for edification” (1 Cor. 14:26), and to “teach and admonish one another in all wisdom,” (Col. 3:16) and to address one another is psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” (Eph. 5:19)  Frame writes, “Worship has a horizontal dimension as well as a vertical focus.”   Next week we will begin to look at this horizontal dimension and see what the Bible and history say about the way we structure our Sunday services.

Radical Generosity

This past Sunday, Pastor Kevin tackled the touchy subject of how we are to view our money and possessions in light of the gospel.  When we encounter the radical grace we have been shown through the death of Jesus on the cross in our place, it should change our attitude towards money.  In 2 Corinthians, Paul encouraged the Corinthian church to give of their finances “for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).  When we understand how much we have been given by grace through Jesus, how could we not be radically generous towards those around us?!

As stewards of God’s resources, we are instructed in the Bible to give a portion of our income away to the church and to help care for the poor.  Tim Keller teaches that without an experience of the gospel and grace, our giving is passive and spontaneous - - we only give when guilted into it by someone else and when we do give it is whatever we have or can afford at that specific time.  However, when we experience the gospel our giving then becomes active and intentional.  We become active in seeking out ways to give and bless others with our finances and we become intentional about how much of our income we want to give to others.  The gospel completely changes the way we view our money, and it gives us the freedom to give it away in acts of radical generosity.

In an effort to encourage active and intentional giving, we have electronic giving set up through The Oaks website.  Through this site you are able to give online by direct withdrawal from a bank account or by credit card payment.  Giving can be designated one time gift or as a recurring gift (weekly, monthly, etc.).  The recurring option helps to facilitate intentional giving rather than a spontaneous moment at the end of the month when we realize “oh I forgot to give this month!”  

We have been using this form of giving for several months now and it has been very helpful for many people.  In fact, nearly half of our monthly giving is done through electronic giving.  This has allowed people to be consistent in their giving and it also helps the church leadership in budgeting and planning because scheduled giving can be more easily tracked.

We don’t use online giving as a way to get more money from our people.  This isn’t about making money.  This is about worshipping Jesus in the way we use our finances.  If signing up for online giving would help you in this way, please visit our Giving web page on our main site and follow the directions found there.

http://www.theoakscommunitychurch.org/giving/

The Oaks Discussion Forum

Have a question about something you heard at The Oaks?  Want to let people know about a party you’re having?  Know of things going on around Middletown?  Do you need to borrow a car or have an extra couch that you’d like to give away?

If so, you should become a part of The Oaks Community Church discussion forum.  We are launching this forum as a place for people of The Oaks to interact and communicate with one another.  We hope this can be one more tool to keep each other connected to things happening at The Oaks and our community.

You can access the forum by clicking here.  To comment and start new discussions you will need to sign up as a member on the site.  Your username should be your name or something similar that will be easy to identify you.

Check it out today at www.theoakscommunitychurch.org/forum and join the discussion!

Liturgy: A Work of the People (pt. 1)

“Church meetings should not be regarded simply as a means to an end – a preparation for worship and witness in everyday life – but as ‘the focus-point of that whole wider worship which is the continually repeated self-surrender of the Christian in obedience of life.” David Peterson (Engaging with God)

At The Oaks, we hold our Sunday gatherings in high regard. This is an important time where believers can come together to worship God with one voice, where we are reminded of the hope we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ and where we can once again redirect our worship toward the one true God.  The question is, “How do we do this well?” How do we determine what practices should be included in our corporate gatherings?  Methodology continues to be a controversial subject in the Church because the Bible simply does not give us detailed instructions as to how we are to shape our corporate gatherings. “When the Bible calls us to sing God’s praises, we are not given the tunes or the rhythm. We are not told how repetitive the lyrics are to be or how emotionally intense the singing should be. When we are commanded to pray corporate prayers, we are not told whether those prayers should be written, unison prayers or extemporary. So to give any concrete form to our gathered worship, we must ‘fill in the blanks’ that the Bible leaves open. When we do so, we will have to draw on tradition; on the needs, capacities, and cultural sensibilities of our people; and on our own personal preferences. ” - Tim Keller (Worship By The Book)

Over a series of articles, we hope to explain our worship methods and practices - why we do what we do. Specifically, we will look at our liturgy and how we structure our services.

Over the past few year, many churches in contemporary evangelical Christianity have begun to look at their practices in corporate worship; specifically the use of liturgy in corporate worship. Many others still don’t know what it means or how it would be relevant in their Sunday gatherings. Regardless, most of these churches would probably consider themselves a non-liturgical church. In the purest sense though, any church that has an order of presentation and a way for the congregation to participate can be considered liturgical. Liturgy comes from the Greek word, “Leitourgia” and is literally translated: “the work of people.” When we assemble as a body of believers, our “liturgy” is the work that we do together. In Ancient Greece, before the birth of Jesus, this word referred to the work done by citizens of a community, for the community. Understanding liturgy in this way raises several question for the church:

I. What are our goals for our Sunday gatherings?
II. What has history and tradition taught us about liturgy?
III. What liturgical elements should be included in our corporate worship at The Oaks

Roger Scruton, a well-known British philosopher, suggests that corporate worship is one of the most important indicators of what a church really believes about God. He said, “If you want to know what a people really believe about God, don’t spend time reading their theologians, watch them worship. Listen to what they sing. Listen to what they say. Listen to how they pray. Then you will know what they believe about this God whom they worship.” Our liturgy at our Sunday gatherings will hopefully always reveal our love for God and his glory, our confidence in the gospel of Jesus, and our passion for changed lives through prayer, community and God’s word. Over the next few week we will explore this topic of liturgy and answer some of the common questions that usually accompany such a discussion.