Colin Christianity Practices Knowledge Sheet Flashcards
- Worship
. Worship is the way in which Christians show their love, reverence and respect for God.
. It allows Christians to thank God for his blessings, ask for forgiveness or seek help.
- Worship
Liturgical worship:
. Follows the same set pattern.
. Priest leads the congregation.
. Bible passages are ready out and there may be a sermon.
. Often will be music, hymns sung and sometimes chanting by the priest.
. People receive God’s forgiveness through the priest.
. People receive the living presence of Jesus in Communion.
. Bible readings follow the Christian calendar.
. A set order which is familiar to all even visitors.
. Has been passed down through generations giving a sense of tradition.
- Worship
Non-liturgical worship:
. Does not have to be a set order or ritual.
. May choose an order to suit the theme.
. The service is usually focussed on Bible readings and sermons.
. The basic structure may remain the same or the preacher may change it.
. Follows worship of some early Christians.
. Faith is expressed in a variety of ways.
. Christians can share personal interpretations of the Bible.
. People take an active part by praying out loud or talking without training.
. May have more of an emotional impact, with a feeling of a personal revelation from god.
- Worship
Private worship:
. Allows individuals to spend time with God.
. Can happen either alone or with close friends or family.
. May involve prayer, meditation or studying.
. Sometimes includes aids such as an icon or rosary.
- Worship
Informal worship:
. Depends of people’s spontaneous prayer or sharing of thoughts.
. Quaker worship is mainly silent.
. Some informal worship is ‘charismatic’ (led by the Spirit) and many involve dancing, singing and clapping.
. Some worshippers feel it is easier to experience God’s Holy Spirit in informal worship.
- Prayer
. Prayer is communicating with God in silence our aloud.
. You can use set prayers or informal prayers.
. People may pray kneeling down sometimes with hands together. Others pray standing up.
. Christians believe that prayer will be answered by God but not always in the way the person would like.
. Private prayer and meditations allows Christians to find peace and a sense of communion with God in their everyday life.
. The Lord’s prayer gives individual Christians a pattern for how to pray as it combines praising God and asking for their needs. This prayer is often said in Christian worship and tends to be said out loud by the whole congregation.
- Baptism
. For many Churches baptism is the initiation rite by which people become members of the Christian Church.
. The person if formally acknowledged as a child of God and receives God’s saving grace.
. Jesus’ baptism set an example for his followers to be baptised in order to receive the Holy Spirit and begin a new life in the Christian community.
‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’. Matthew 28:19
Infant baptism
. Catholic, Anglican and other churches practice infant baptism.
. These Churches believe infant baptism is necessary because of original sin.
. Everyone has a tendency to sin and needs salvation, even babies.
. Infant baptism removed original sin. The child is welcomed into the Church as soon as possible.
. Blessed water is poured over the baby’s head. God parents and parents promise to bring the child up in the faith.
. Other symbols are used to such as anointing with oil, the sign of the cross of the forehead and dressing the child in white.
Believer’s baptism:
. Some Christians thinking that a baby is too young to understand the meaning of baptism, so people should wait until they are old enough to make the decision.
. They believe baptism does not save a person; it is someone’s conversion to living a life dedicated to Jesus which is important.
. It involves full emersion in to a pool, symbolising the cleaning from sin and rising up to a new life with Jesus.
. The minister usually talks about the importance of baptism.
. Each person may read a Bible passage or give a testimony of their faith in Jesus.
. The minister will baptise them in the pool in a similar way to Jesus’ baptism.
- Holy communion
There is a similar pattern in which most churches celebrate Holy Communion:
- The ministry of the Word which focuses on God’s word in the Bible.
- The ministry of Holy Communion – offering, consecrating and sharing the bread and wine.
Read revision notes on how the churches celebrate communion
- Pilgrimage
. Pilgrimage is a journey made for religious reasons, alone or with other Christians, to a sacred place.
. They make a physical journey and a spiritual journey towards God.
- Pilgrimage
Importance of pilgrimage:
. Grow closer to God and strengthen faith.
. Expresses sorrow for sin and be forgiven.
. Reflect on their lives.
. Pray for something special or thank God for a blessing.
- Pilgrimage
Lourdes:
. In the south-west if France.
. Dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
. In 1858 a young girl had visions of Mary in a cave near the river.
. Mary told the girl to dig for a spring of water, which was discovered to have healing properties.
. Thousands of pilgrims visit to pray and the cave where she appeared and to bathe in the water where it is claimed that 67 miracles and over 6000 thousand other cures have taken place.
- Pilgrimage
Iona:
. An island off the west coast of Scotland.
. In the 6th century and Irish missionary who brought Christianity to Scotland established a small monastic community there.
. It is the home of the Iona Community and a place of Christian pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
. People believe it is a place where the veil between the spiritual place and physical place is thin.
. Many pilgrims feel like it’s a place where nature reveals God’s infinite power and presence.
. They hold daily services at the abbey, lead hikes and conduct workshops on Christian themes,
. Pilgrims help out with daily chores whilst they are there.
- Festivals
. Important role in helping Christians remember the major events in the religious and to plan public worship.
. The Christian calendar has two main seasons: Advent. Christmas and Epiphany; Lent, Easter and Pentecost.