I.   The Core Focus of the Gathered Believing Community

A.   What's in the center?

1.   Preaching?

2.   Worship?

3.   Communion/Alter?

B.   What stems out of that?

1.   Word

2.   Prayer

3.   Praise

4.   Sacrament

5.   Fellowship

6.   Witness

II.   Worship & Celebration

A.   Worship is ascribing worth to God through various person expressions

B.   Celebration is rejoicing over what He has done for me and mine

C.   Benefits

1.   Allows ever-present God to manifest Himself to us

2.   Celebration keeps us from being dried up or mean

D.   Study

1.   Psalm 16:8

2.   Romans 15:3

3.   John 6

4.   Deuteronomy 14:22-29

5.   Psalm 143:5-6

E.   Practice

1.   Continually individually an corporately on Sabbath mornings and evenings and in other worship gatherings

2.   Praise

3.   Prayer

4.   Word

5.   Receiving the Lord's Supper - the Eucharist

III.   Planning & Leading Worship

A.   Bringing people to their peak points of awareness and evoking anticipation without making them anxious and/or resistant

B.   Creating a distraction-free environment that allows the freedom of the Holy Spirit

C.   Facilitating an engaging, meaningful, participatory liturgy

IV.   Liturgy

A.   Late Latin: liturgia

B.   Greek: leitourgia - a public service from the words for people' and a public building'

C.   Meaning

1.   A Eucharistic rite, a rite

2.   Body of rites prescribed for public worship (most common reference to worship)

3.   A customary repertoire of ideas, phrases, or observances

D.   Liturgical leadership

1.   It is God whom we worship

2.   Worship requires some outward order to be accountable to its inner reality

3.   The fine line

4.   Christian worship requires community

5.   Christian worship cannot do without silence, but neither can it do without words

6.   Music is especially capable of expressing a significant part of what happens in worship

V.   Public worship phases

A.   1^st Phase

1.   Awe

2.   Invocation (prayer)

3.   Adoration

4.   Thanksgiving

B.   2^nd Phase

1.   Confession

2.   Repentance

3.   Affirmation of Faith

4.   Witness

C.   3^rd Phase

1.   Grateful Response

2.   Dedication

3.   Commitment to Christian Life

VI.   Birthing a Sermon

A.   When a theme of a proposed sermon is thrown against a problem, a sermonic idea may be born. When a problem is pushed against the gospel, the interaction may give birth to a sermonÉThe felt bind between need and theme is central to sermonic formÉ"

VII.   Sacraments and Rituals

A.   The Baptism of Believers

1.   The sign and seal of the new covenant of grace

2.   Romans 6:3-5

3.   Apostles' Creed

4.   Witness/Declaration of Faith

5.   Anointing w/Oil

6.   Prayer

7.   Sprinkling, pouring or immersion: "[Full Name], I baptize you in the in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

B.   The Baptism of Infants or Young Children

1.   Sing and seal of the new covenant

2.   Signified God's gracious acceptance and prevenient grace in Christ

3.   Points toward personal appropriation of the benefits of Atonement when reaching the age of moral accountability and conscious saving faith in Christ Jesus

4.   Challenge the parents and church community to fulfill the desire of God for the infants life

5.   Response/Scripture from Parents

6.   Baptism prayer and prayer of blessing

C.   The Dedication of Young Infants or Children

1.   Matthew 19:13-14

2.   Parents' declaration of faith

3.   Challenge to parents and church community

4.   Commitment by all

5.   Scripture from parents

6.   Pastoral prayer: "Our loving Heavenly Father, we do here and now dedicate [Full Name] in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

7.   Prayer of blessing

D.   The Lord's Supper

1.   Sermon, homily, worship

2.   1Corinthians 11:23-29; Luke 22:14-20

3.   "The Lord ordained this holy sacramentÉ"

4.   Clarity about who receives the Supper

5.   Prayers of confession and consecration

6.   "[Name] this is the body o four Lord Jesus Christ, which was broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Take and eat this, in remembrance that Christ died for you."

7.   "[Name] this is the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for you, preserve you blameless into everlasting life. Drink this, in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for you, and be thankful."

8.   Prayers of thanksgiving and commitment

E.   Imposition of Ashes (Ash Wednesday)

1.   Ashes used from palm fronds (from previous Palm Sunday)

2.   Meditation/homily

3.   Symbolism of mark and timing

4.   Traditional: "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return"

5.   Contemporary options such as: "[Name], remember who you are and Whose you are"

6.   Exit in silence or worship

F.   Confession

1.   Formally in prayers, readings, and/or songs

2.   Can mean expressions of what is believed

3.   "Look at the face of Christ, then look at yourself, and confess the difference"

4.   Informally one-on-one during public service

5.   Clarity about priestly relationship with the confessor

6.   Briefly hearing the confession

7.   Anointing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

8.   Prayer of grace and forgiveness

9.   Follow-up is sometimes appropriate (or necessary)

G.    Preparation for Marriage

1.   Anybody who falls into love, will fall out of love and that is where the commitment takes over

2.   Premarital testing

3.   Premarital counseling

4.   Checking state laws for those officiating

5.   Checking church wedding policy

6.   Calendaring wedding and all related events