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Historical Origins And Development Of Reconciliation In The West
Baptism is the primary means of reconciling sinners to God. But what happens when Christians fall into sin after baptism? In the sacramental traditions of Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, the Eucharist itself has been a means of restoring relationship …
The History Of Baptism
Baptism remains the point of entry into the Christian church. However, the form of baptism has developed through the centuries, as seen in the following entries. Catechism shifted from before baptism to after baptism in the medieval church as infant baptism be…
Sacred Actions Among The Contemporary Churches
Christians have always had diverse opinions on the sacred actions that take place in worship. Sacramental churches-Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and some mainline Protestant churches-regard the Lord's Supper, baptism, and sometimes other actions as special signs t…
Introduction To Lenten Worship
On Ash Wednesday, the church marks an important transition, beginning the great cycle of Easter that extends from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost. The season of Lent is not primarily a meditation on the suffering and cross of Christ; this is saved for Holy Week. Ra…
Charismatic Aspects of Worship
Worship in the Pentecostal and charismatic churches has been characterized by certain features that distinguish it from the worship of other Christian communities. These distinctive aspects of charismatic worship are, in greater or lesser degree, related to th…
Lutheran Worship
Luther's liturgical reform was guided by the principle that if the Scriptures did not expressly reject a particular practice, the church was free to keep it. Consequently, Lutheran worship retained much of the ceremonial practice of Catholic worship. There a…
Worship In The New Testament Era
Worship in the New Testament period was ordered around baptism and the Eucharist. Baptism marks the entrance of the believer into the worshiping community, while the Lord's Supper, together with the teaching of the Scriptures, forms the content of the worship …
An Introduction To The Paschal Vigil Service
The Paschal Vigil is the foundational service of all Christian worship. In this service the great theme of Christian salvation is enacted in recollection of the days of salvation. Inasmuch as the purpose of worship is to celebrate the death and resurrection …
An Introduction To Lent
The history of Lent reveals traditions rich with meaning. Lent deepened the experience of early Christian community as new believers were baptized and as the events of Christ's death and resurrection were celebrated. In the liturgical rites of most churches,…
Lectionary Texts For The Season After Epiphany Part I
The following are the texts for the season after Epiphany in the Revised Common Lectionary. Brief descriptions of each lesson are provided to aid in recalling the basic theme of each passage. The calendar during many years may not have eight Sundays after Epip…
An Introduction To The Primary Visual Arts In Worship
There are three primary liturgical furnishings for the setting of worship: the pulpit, the Table (or altar), and the baptismal font (or pool). The size, shape, and placement of these furnishings vary according to the setting in which worship takes place. The f…
Historical Origins And Development Of Footwashing
At the Last Supper Jesus gave special meaning to an ordinary custom of the Mediterranean world. Associated with the Lord's Supper and with baptismal rites in the early church, footwashing survived as part of the bishop's Maundy Thursday ritual, as a regular pr…
The Apostolic Tradition Of Hippolytus
Hippolytus was an important church leader in the Roman church in the last years of the second century and early years of the third century. In the following passage, his famous Apostolic Tradition is reconstructed and translated. According to most scholars, th…
Historical Origins And Development Of The Renewal Of The Baptismal Covenant
Baptism was understood as a pledge, vow, covenant, or contract early in the history of the Christian church. The very term sacrament meant an oath in Roman culture. When children of Christian parents were baptized, whether as part of the households mentioned i…
Historical Origins And Development Of Confirmation
Large dioceses in northern Europe during the early Middle Ages made it difficult for bishops to be present at the baptism of infants. Gradually a two-part initiation process emerged spanning the period from infancy to late childhood. With increased emphasis on…
An Eastern Orthodox Theology Of Baptism
In the Orthodox churches, baptism is understood principally by means of scriptural language: baptism marks an infant's or an adult's repentant turning away from Satan and toward Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. It begins the process of salvation and gro…
Baptism In The Early Church
From the very beginning of the Christian church, baptism was the path for entering the church, whether as adults, children, or infants. Although the precise origins of baptismal rituals are not entirely clear, the entire process involved extensive ritual actio…
Historical Origins And Development Of Ritual In Worship
Christian ritual grew out of Jewish ritual-whether the Jewish table rites that provided the setting for Jesus' announcement of his self-sacrifice in what became the Christian Eucharist, or the Jewish ritual of proselyte baptism. Graeco-Roman ritual contributed…
Adventist Churches
With roots in the radical Reformation, Adventists have not placed great emphasis on sacraments. Nevertheless, they traditionally have regarded Communion, baptism, and sometimes marriage as sacred acts. Footwashing, ordination, and anointing the sick are also p…
Theology Of Ministry To People With Disabilities
People with developmental disabilities are typically devalued by society. The Christian church, however, needs not only to reflect on what it means to be created in the image of God in relation to ministries and the developmentally disabled. In addition, it al…
Baptism In Scripture
Christian baptism has its origins in the various Jewish rites of ritual purification and in John's baptism of repentance. Christian baptism differs from its antecedents, however, in important respects. It is baptism in the name of Jesus, signifying a belonging…
Christological Psalms (Biblical)
Early Christian hymnody was influenced by the tradition of psalm singing in the temple. The hymns of the New Testament church served both a doxological and an apologetic function. Introduction In a useful series of essays titled "Modern Issues in Biblical …
Spirit Baptism In the New Testament
Foundational to many aspects of charismatic worship is the concept of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Even where prophecy and speaking or singing in tongues are not regularly practiced as part of worship, the expectancy and vitality of celebration are influenc…
Israelite Worship as Response to Salvation History
The worship of the Israelites is a response to God's saving acts on their behalf, particularly the Lord's action of deliverance in the Exodus event. Through such events God spoke, calling the people to faith and commitment. The history of salvation conventio…
Liturgy On The Occasion Of The Birth, Baptism, Or Dedication Of A Child Part Ii
The following liturgies may be used in small or large family celebrations or in gatherings of the larger worshiping community. Adapt to local needs and customs. Affirming the Covenant Leader:In the early church it was the custom for all people to reaffirm t…
A Western Theology Of Reconciliation
Sin estranges and alienates people from God and each other, but God reconciles the world to himself through Christ. Christians celebrate their reconciliation to God in Christ by means of baptism and the Eucharist. Yet, admission of guilt and genuine sorrow for…
A Theology Of Ordination In The West
The main distinction among Christians in the question of ordination remains the matter of apostolic succession of bishops, who in turn are responsible for ordination of other ministers. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and the Eastern Orthodox believe in a direct s…
Lectionary Texts For The Season After Epiphany Part Ii
The following are the texts for the season after Epiphany in the Revised Common Lectionary. Brief descriptions of each lesson are provided to aid in recalling the basic theme of each passage. The calendar during many years may not have eight Sundays after Epip…
Contemporary Theologies Of Water Baptism
In this section we find that in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions, baptism itself is a saving sacrament. For Eastern Orthodox churches, baptism begins the process of salvation and growth toward participation in the divine nature. In the Western tradit…
Theologies Of Worship Among The Churches
Christian churches experience both unity and diversity. For example, churches express the unity of their faith in the common confession of the Apostles' Creed, while their adherence to a particular confession, such as the Augsburg Confession, the Westminster C…
Worship In The Second And Third Centuries
Worship during the second and third centuries continued to follow the course set by New Testament liturgical traditions. Consequently, the discussion of worship during this period centered on the significance of baptism and of the Eucharist, understood in its …
Lectionary Texts For The Season After Epiphany Part Ii
The following are the texts for the season after Epiphany in the Revised Common Lectionary. Brief descriptions of each lesson are provided to aid in recalling the basic theme of each passage. The calendar during many years may not have eight Sundays after Epip…
The Shape Of The Service Of The Word
Broadly speaking, the form of the Service of the Word is similar in both traditional and contemporary churches: Scripture reading, sermon, and response to the Word. Scripture. Two or three Scriptures are usually read, often from the lectionary texts. When le…
A Theology Of Footwashing
Because of the ambiguity stemming from differences between the Johannine and synoptic accounts in the New Testament, the relationship between footwashing, the Lord's Supper, and baptism has been variously interpreted. The rite has been understood to symbolize …
The Prayer Of Thanksgiving
Scholars played an important role in rediscovering how central the eucharistic prayer was in the very earliest history of the church. Although the earliest texts of the eucharistic prayers often survive only in fragments embedded in later works, diligent compa…
A Theology For The Renewal Of The Baptismal Covenant
The separation of confirmation from baptism in the West has left an enduring legacy of unease among paedobaptist Christian theologians. If baptism is indeed the full and complete rite of initiation into the church, what is the role of confirmation, whether as …
The Eastern Orthodox Baptismal Liturgy
The following text is one example of a twentieth-century baptismal liturgy from the Eastern Orthodox tradition. It is based on an English translation of a Greek Orthodox liturgy found in An Orthodox Prayer Book, edited by Fr. N. M. Vaporis and translated by Fr…
A Theology Of Confirmation
A number of relatively clear theological assumptions under gird the liturgies of confirmation used by a variety of churches. Baptism must be regarded as complete Christian initiation; it is not the first part of a staged-out action. By it, one becomes a Chri…
Baptism In The Medieval West
As infant baptism became common, the process of catechizing shifted from before to after baptism. In the Western church, the baptismal anointing with oil (chrism) slowly developed into a separate sacrament called confirmation. First Communion was often delayed…
Sacred Actions In The Early Church
Understanding the sacred actions of the early church requires a short language lesson. Two words, the Greek word mysterion, and the Latin word sacramentum, are important to this discussion. This article describes the history of these terms in early Christian t…
Liturgical Essays & Blog (6)
The Use of Biblical Songs
Biblical songs for corporate singing are to be found throughout both the Old and New Testaments. The earliest recorded song is the Song of Moses Exodus 15:1–18 …
Read EssayAn Overview of Mennonite Worship
When I came to faith in Christ, I asked to be baptized into the Mennonite congregation in which I had grown up. In the preparation for church membership, we, th…
Read EssayThe Daily Office for September 25, 2012
Scripture Readings Old Testament Esther 5:1-14 Psalm Psalm 78:1-39 New Testament Acts 18:12-28 Gospel Luke 3:15-22 Reflection The baptis…
Read EssayThe Daily Office for February 14, 2012
Scriptures Psalm 97 Genesis 31:1-24 1 John 2:1-11 John 9:18-41 Reading (Psalm 97) Psalm 97 Reflection That the Lord reigns over all the earth is the…
Read EssayThe Daily Office for January 14, 2012
Scriptures Psalm 20 Genesis 6:9-22 Hebrews 4:1-13 John 2:13-22 Reading (John 2:13-22) John 2:13-22 Reflection The Law required every male Jew twelve…
Read EssayThe Daily Office for January 11, 2012
Scriptures Psalm 19:1-24 Genesis 4:1-16 Hebrews 2:11-18 John 1:29-42 Reading (Hebrews 2:11-18) Hebrews 2:11-18 Reflection Christ’s absolute identity…
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