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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 and the last song is found in the book of Revelation....



Engaging Children in Worship

Any program of worship education will need to have several areas of focus. The content of worship can be taught to children in some manner regardless of age. The preschooler experiencing the season of Advent, for instance, can feel the sense of expectation, sing some of the songs, and learn the names of the major characters in the Advent drama. Each time Advent is approached thereafter, new layers of understanding and participation can be added. We as Christians never outgrow our potential for perceiving new meaning during the Advent/Christmas season. The same is true for other worship concepts....



Ushering and the Art of Hospitality

Every art requires a special skill that gives it particular form and beauty, including the artistry called forth in the ministry of hospitality. All who come together in worship are invited to enhance the sense of belonging, but ushers have the unique ministry of creating a sense of a caring people who gather to pray. Ushers are usually the first ministers that the people meet as they enter into the sacred space to celebrate Eucharist....



The Rise of the New Pietism

What we identify as “celebration” today may be partly a reaction to the traditional movements of yesterday. Laypersons who are expected to take a larger part in worship may well insist that it should consist of activities they enjoy. For this reason we may call the contemporary style “the new pietism” (the emphasis is on religious experience)....



An Overview of Worship in the Church of the Nazarene

Although rooted in the Holiness tradition, Nazarene worship has been influenced in its historical development by the revivalistic approach to worship. Revivalism has been directed toward both initial salvation and complete sanctification. Recently Nazarene worship has been moving in two directions: one segment of the church is seeking to redeem its Wesleyan and Anglican roots while another segment is striving to displace the revivalistic form with a praise-and-worship style....



What Was the Style of Ancient Israelite Music?

It is difficult to determine the style of biblical music. Recent studies and discoveries, however, are resulting in an improved picture and expanded understanding of music in ancient Israel....



The Seven Styles of Morning Worship

Broadly speaking, the contemporary renewal of worship in the Western world can be classified as follows: (1) liturgical; (2) traditional Protestant; (3) creative; (4) charismatic; (5) praise-and-worship tradition; (6) convergence; (7) the seekers’ service/believers’ worship pattern....



Ministry to the Sick

Offering care and solace for those who are sick are essential ministries of every Christian pastor and of the whole Christian community. The sick need the healing news of Christ and the power of the Spirit to both fight against disease and to find comfort and hope. The Christian community, likewise, needs the sick to teach what is most important in life and to witness to the power of the gospel....



An Overview of Worship in the Southern Baptist Convention

The traditional hallmarks of Baptist worship have been the centrality of preaching, fervent singing, and extemporaneous prayer. Worship renewal in the Southern Baptist Convention is moving in divergent directions. Those influenced by the more formal British tradition seek renewal along the lines of the ecumenical consensus. Those more influenced by the revivalist tradition draw on the praise-and-worship style and the church growth movement....



Unity Through Worship

The community of faith is a place of worship. In worship, unity and healing recur as the church remembers that the community was born of a divine act of deliverance. As the church experiences community, it is renewed by that same gracious act....

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