practices

• worship is a way of showing respect to God and expressing gratitude for all that he has done for us
• 3 forms of worship: liturgical, non-liturgical and charasmatic
• liturgical - formalised service with set prayers and rituals
• charismatic - more informal and spontaneous form of worship where people are encouraged to speak in tongues or prophesy
• non-liturgical - less structured than liturgical but still follows the same basic format
• congregation - a group of christians meeting for worship
• in liturgical worship, the congregation respond to the peopl leading the service by reading set words from a service sheet or book - they are the same everytime
• roman catholid, orthodox and CofE use liturgical worship
• for some christians, in liturgical worship, the familiarity of the service and words help them reflect more deeply about the meaning and significance. it also connects the worshippers, creating a sense of belonging
• the symbolic use of colour is important in the church year, in the CofE and catholic church, as each o the colours represents a different part in jesus' life
• non liturgical is usually led by a minister but anyone in the congregation is invited to pray, choose a hymn or reading and preach the sermon - they reinforce the importance of the bible as an authorative word of god
• mainly protestant, non-conformist (baptists etc) use non liturgical worship
• non liturgical worship allows christians to not be stuck in the saame type of worship and say things without thinking about what they really mean (can be personal),
• glossolalia - speaking in tongues
• some christians believe it is possible to experience the same gifts of the holy spirit as the apostles experienced on the day of pentecost (acts 2), through charasmatic worship - they believe they recieve similar gifts of the holy spirit
• charasmatic worship does not follow a set pattern and includes dancing, clapping and singing - through this they seek to be open to the holy spirit and to be led to him during the service which means that a person in the congregation may be led to pray naturally
• charasmatic worship is usually found in penetcostal churches
• individual worship - worship that is done individually, such as prayer, meditation, and contemplation
• some christians will spend time in their day in private worship which helps them develop their relationship with god and they are able to study the bible to seek gods guidance
• "god is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the spirit" - john 4:24
• "for those who are led by the spirit of god are the children of god" - romans 8:14
• sacrament - an outward act with an inner spiritual meaning
• roman catholics believe there are 7 sacraments: eucharist, baptism, annoiting of the sick, reconciliation, marriage, confirmation, holy orders
• the protestant church and CofE recognise only 2 sacraments, called sacraments of the gospel, - baptism and eucharist, which were brought into existance by jesus himself
• eucharist: catholics believe in transubstantiation - the bread and wine are actually transformed into jesus' body and blood, which creates a sense of jesus' real presence. anglicans believe jesus is spirtitually present - consubstantiation
• eucharist is important as it reminds christians of jesus' sacrifice and the salvation they have recieved, it brings them closer to the other members of the community. as it is a ritual established by jesus himself, it means the beliver is obeying his command and is sharing something which crosses the centuries between them and the time of the last supper. because of eucharist, a christian may feel better prepared to deal with things that have happened or is happening
• baptism symbolises a persons admission into the christian chruch
• anglicans tend to wait until the person has reached maturity before getting baptised. this is because they want the individual to make a conscious decision about whether they wish to become part of the church rather than just following what their family does
• catholic baptisms can be done at any age but usually happen when the child is very young (infants) so parents can bring up their children within the faith. this also allows the infant to grow up knowing god from birth onwards. however some people choose not to get baptised until later in life, perhaps due to personal circumstances such as being away from home during childhood
• in both churches, the priest pours water over the head three times while saying 'i baptise you in the name of the father, son and holy spirit'. the water represents purification and washing away sin. the trinitarian formula shows how the believer will live under the guidance of all three parts of the trinity
• roman catholics, orthodox and CofE do infants baptism, also known as a christening - it allows the baby to recieve gods blessing and the parents make promises to raise the child as a christian.
• non-conformist christians (baptists, pentecostals), the emphasis is placed on the person making concious decisions to be baptised (as adults) - they believe the grace of god is recieved as the result of their expression of faith and therefore the baptist should be an adult and believer before being baptised
• being baptised as an adult or child means the way is opened up for them to be a full member of the christian community - some denominations, a person has to be baptised before they can share the eucharist or communion
• "Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." - matthew 26:26-28
• "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.' " - matthew 3:16-17
• prayer - a way of communicating with god
• prayer in congregational worship: the congregation prays together, usually in response to a leader's prayer e.g. 'amen' or 'lord hear our prayer'. these services also allow any member of the congregation to speak aloud in prayer or have silent reflections
• the lords prayer -> taught by jesus to his disciples. it included key things christians need to do in prayer e.g. confess, thank god, adoration of god, supplication
• supplication - asking god for help for themselves or others, in prayer
• christians may be aware of how god is acting in their lives, so some may prefer private/individual worship so they can thank god for this personally - they could also ask for guidance or encouragement for particular challenges in their life