Liturgy - What is it and why?
Notes
Transcript
Define Liturgy
Define Liturgy
the fixed set of rituals, words, and actions used during public religious worship Wikipedia +2
Public Worship: The official, communal prayer of a church or religious body, distinguished from private devotion.
The Eucharist: In many traditions, "The Liturgy" refers specifically to the celebration of the Eucharist (also known as the Mass, Holy Communion, or Divine Liturgy).
Order of Service: More broadly, it is the prescribed arrangement or "script" of a religious ceremony, including prayers, music, and physical gestures. Vocabulary.com +4
Ligonier Ministries +3
Scripture Readings: Organized portions of holy texts read to the congregation.
Call and Response: Prewritten prayers or statements recited together by the leader and the people.
Ritual Actions: Physical movements such as kneeling, standing, bowing, or making the sign of the cross.
Sacraments: Formal religious ceremonies, such as baptism or communion, that are believed to confer grace.
day of Pentecost
day of Pentecost
Peter’s Sermon @ Pentecost
Peter’s Sermon @ Pentecost
The fellowship “public gathering” of Believers
The fellowship “public gathering” of Believers
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Why these parts of the liturgy? “teaching, fellowship, communion meals, prayers, had all things in common. - distributed to others needs - The Lord is the one who adds to the numbers
Why these parts of the liturgy? “teaching, fellowship, communion meals, prayers, had all things in common. - distributed to others needs - The Lord is the one who adds to the numbers
Public reading God’s word
Public reading God’s word
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.
I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.”
“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests.
And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them,
And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths,
when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law,
and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.
There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.
Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him.
And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord.
And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.
So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.
And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.
And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places.
They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
Song - Praise - Exhort
Song - Praise - Exhort
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.
I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
Song - Encourage & Teach the believer - Unify
Song - Encourage & Teach the believer - Unify
and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud,
Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!
What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.
Unify the body
Unify the body
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
If all were a single member, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.
