Comments on: Ancient Christian Worship

By: Darrell Pursiful

Darrell Pursiful — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:43:38 +0000

Diana, What precisely am I discussing out of context? And where precisely have I said anything in the least bit disparaging of Orthodox Christianity—a tradition for which I have a great deal of respect, even though it is not one I wholeheartedly embrace?

By: Diana Orthoddox

Diana Orthoddox — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:38:36 +0000

+Please forgive me,I stumbled on your site researching Science discoveries. I am an Orthodox Christian and I must say there is so much you are discussing that is out of context. What we do as Orthodox is done out of love for our God, his son, and the holy spirit. Love is the key to all that we do. We Worship our God on a Sunday and not study him. The consecration of the Eucharist is a mystery that occurs when “heaven and earth are in union”. The kneeling, fasting, incense, recitation of the creed, singing, chanting, icons, praying, robes, churchs and language are a part of our practice and discipline.We do these things to engage all of our senses. Our sense of smell, sight, song, prayer,touch, taste, sound, intellect are all engaged for one purpose-the Glorification of God and His Holy Son. We ask for mercy and pray that we may stay focused and Holy enough that the Holy Spirit not only visits, but abides in us always. Our goal is Holiness and oneness with our Lord and Savior. To be the shining light of love and reflect all that Jesus asks us to do by working through us. The study of the saints and thier lives is a great blueprint of what is expected of us-how do we attain that? The Orthodox have been at this even before Constantine-the monastic records have examples of this. Please keep in mind all of this is done to Worship and Glorify our God, Lord and Savior. We live our lives not just in our church or community, but we start in our homes where we have alters placed in special areas and we pray on the “hours”. We take our message of love to our family and children,friends, neighbors, teachers, doctors, lawmakers,any one we encounter. A true practicing Orthodox Christian will be recognized first by thier love, and then by thier piety and commitment to exercise thier faith. These things mentioned earlier that seem like insignificant entrapments to those who have never really experienced this life are liberating to an Orthodox Christian. Having a path to follow and practice, places focus and discipline in our lives. Our flesh is weak, engaging it in Holy practice may not be a bad thing. I welcome everyone to learn more about this misunderstood faith and practice. If it is your path to participate than you will be welcome, if not than you will be welcomed as well. It is the Holy Spirit that works within us-not anything else. We are not here to criticize or proselytize but to love and share the message of Christ our Lord and his saving grace.
When I was teaching the young children in our Church School(Sunday School), they would always ask me why there are so many religions. I said to them, first God makes no mistakes only man, but he always turns things around to the benefit of His Holy purpose. I then would equate Christians to Olympians. I would explain to them that some of the runners would train in Russia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and of course the USA. Each team has thier own methods,practices,training, and even traditions they feel will get them to the finish line. Some will make it faster than others, some will stumble and try again another day and there are those who never try. It is the ones who are not trying that we need to encourage and build up. We all will make it just in different ways as God created us a unique individuals so will our paths be. May God Bless all those who read this and may the love and light of our Holy Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ consume your mind, body, and soul.
Please reference an award winning website: goarch.org if you are interested in more information.+

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:10:47 +0000

Five-Step Small Group Worship
By Steve Baney

When we gather for congregational worship, we usually spend most of our time staring at the backs of the heads of the people sitting in front of us. Singing this way feels safer, because it seems like no one is looking at us while we sing. But in a small group, we often face each other. Something changes when we’re invited to worship in a small group setting. Suddenly our safe, intimate time with our God becomes a spotlight on our off-key, sour-pitch performance.

When the environment of worship changes, our style of worship should change with it. Here’s my five-step reflection on leading small group worship in a way that minimizes the awkward “Don’t look at me” syndrome.

Choose to either (a) sing something familiar, or (b) provide lyrics of something familiar. Notice, in both instances, the songs selected are familiar to the group. Learning new music is awkward. And that queezy feeling multiplies when we’re in a small group setting. If I introduce new music to a small group, I try to keep it simple, make it short, and if at all possible, sing with an echo (I sing a line, then you repeat).

Read the next four steps on the TIPS page at http://www.ShapingWorship.com

By: SingingOwl

SingingOwl — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 04:21:04 +0000

Fascinating…and why is it so difficult for us, I wonder? Your last paragraph got me to thinking about a synagogue service I attended some time back at the request of my Jewish employer. It is true…they combined a certain pattern of worship with moments of humor and spontanaity. I hadn’t quite thought of it in that way before. I have to think some more about how to do this. It seems we tend to swing too far one way or the other, but if our Jewish friends can manage it, so can we.

By: D. P.

D. P. — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:11:17 +0000

Thanks, Kyle. As you may discern, this is something of a soapbox for me. We ought to think about why we do what we do when we worship.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 22:14:53 +0000

Cheers, man, well said.

By: D. P.

D. P. — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:38:14 +0000

Long-time readers will recognize this series as a reprint from my old blog, somewhat edited and updated. I first ran this material over a year ago, but I’m itching to either take Disert Paths down or do something different with it, so I’ll be moving some oldies but goodies over here in the next few months.