christian practices

• what is the Church?


  the holy people of God, also called the Body of Christ,among whom Christ is present and active, and a building in which Christians worship
• what is worship?


  acts of religious praise, honour or devotion
• what is liturgical worship?


  a church service that follows a set structure or ritual
• how does liturgical worship take place?

  the priest leads the congregation in formal prayers that has set responses, bible passages are read out, particularly gospels and there may be a sermon based on these, also have hymns
• what are the advantages of liturgical worship?

  keeps tradition,allows everyone to understand what is happening-less chaos
• what are the disadvantages of liturgical worship?

  children that are younger could get bored, quite repetitive
• what is non-liturgical worship?


  a service that does not follow a set text or ritual
• how does non-liturgical worship take place?

  does not have to be a set order or ritual, in nonconformist churches(Methodist,Baptist and United Reformed Church)those planning may choose an order to suit a theme, service is usually focussed on bible readings and sermons are based on those readings
• what are the advantages of non-liturgical worship?

  is much more engaging due to it being based on a theme, lead by community so everyone is equal
• what are the disadvantages of non-liturgical worship?

  could be confusing as it is not in a set order, there is no sense of tradition so you won't feel connected
• what is informal worship?


  a type of non-liturgical worship, sometimes 'spontaneous' or 'charismatic' in nature
• how does informal worship take place?

  may depend on spontaneous prayers or sharing of thoughts,Quaker worship is mainly silent and people speak when they feel God's spirit moving them to other thoughts, prayers or a reading from Bible,Community or house churches meet to eat together and share faith
• what are the advantages of informal worship?

  more suited to younger generation and it is more sun and spontaneous, feels more personal as different styles can be expressed
• what are the disadvantages of informal worship?


  might feel that people are not focussing on the right thing, might find overwhelming and disrespectful
• what is private worship?

  when a believer praises or honours God on his or her own
• how does private worship take place?

  allows individuals to spend time with God, either alone or with close friends or family, it may involve prayer, meditation, studying or meditating on a Bible passage, or using aids to worship such as an icon, or a rosary
• what are the advantages of private worship?

  you are alone-so not distractions, one to one communication with God-closeness with God
• what are the disadvantages of private worship?

  some people may not know enough about the religion to worship alone, quiet and lonely with no guidance
• why are there so many different types of worship in Christianity?

  many different denominations, every Christian has their own unique style of worship, people could have been taught and brought up differently with different cultural backgrounds and the age of the Christian can also influence the variation
• what is prayer?


  communicating with God
• what is informal (extempory) prayer?

  spontaneous prayer from the heart which was unique to the people at that time
• what are set prayers?

  prayers that have been written down and said more than once
• what is Lord's Prayer?

  the prayer taught to the disciples by Jesus; also known as the 'Our Father' and widely said by Christians in both private and church sessions
• prayer quote


  pray in silent and your father will reward you
• what are 5 reasons why people pray?

  praise God

  confession(say sorry)

  thank God

  pray to others

  pray to self
• how does private worship have more meaning for a Christian than public worship?

  Jesus told his disciples to pray in private because God would reward them,'pray in silent and your father will reward you',you can choose how to worship God and put your heart and soul into it instead of just following what everyone else is doing
• how doesn't private worship have more meaning for a Christian than public worship?

  both are important and have different meanings eg.feeling close to God but also part of God's people,Christians will feel supported by others when they worship in public-this has just as much or more meaning because they ate part of a community-they may struggle to worship on their own,Christians may not know what to do or say it is better to have someone to lead them
• what are sacraments?


  rites or rituals through which the believer receives a special gift of grace
• what is baptism?


  the ritual through which people become members of the Church
• how is infant baptism not as important as believers' baptism?

  baptism is meant to wash away a person's sins; infants are too young to have sins,Jesus was ab adult when baptised, it should be a personal decision to become a member of the Church;Infants are not capable of taking personal decisions so their baptisms are less meaningful than a believers' baptism
• how is infant baptism as important as believers' baptism?

  everyone descend from Adam; everyone inherits original sin; this needs to be removed as soon as possible, everyone including infants have a tendency to sin, infants have the supports of the entire Christian community and can grow up in God's love
• what are the different Christian attitudes towards sacraments?

  catholics-all 7 sacraments are requires;God is present at each

  Church of England-only recognise 3 sacraments;Baptism,Eucharists and Marriage-and Marriage is not really a sacrament as God is not really present at this ritual

  Quakers-do not partake in any rituals/sacraments
• why is John the Baptist an important figure in Christianity?

  Jesus was baptised by him, baptised in River Jordan which was then made crucial for all christians
• what does infant baptism involve?

  catholics and orthodox believe infant baptism removes original sin for a baby

  
  

  child is welcomed into Church asap and parents able to thank God for their new baby and celebrate birth w fam and friends, godparents + parents promise to bring up child in Christian faith
• symbols used in infant baptism

  water, anointing the oil, dressing the child in white, making the sign of a cross on the baby's forehead, giving the parents a candle lit from the Pascal's candle
• what does believer's baptism involve?

  full immersion in a pool, symbolising the cleansing from sin and the rising up to new life with Christ; rites may vary but usually the minister talks about the importance of baptism and asks if the candidates are willing to change their lives, each person may read a Bible passage and give a brief testimony of their faith in Jesus as their personal saviour
• baptism quote


  I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
• what is Holy Communion?

  a service of thanksgiving in which the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus are celebrated using bread and wine; also called Eucharist Mass, the Lord's Supper
• what do catholics believe about the Holy Communion?

  the sacrifice of Jesus is made present again during the ritual and made real for believers.For the Churches that do not consider Holy Communion a sacrament it is still a significant ceremony
• what do most Christians believe about the Holy Communion?


  that it is the most important act of worship as it recalls the Last Supper of Jesus