Pastor Toby Sumpter on “How Worship Trains Us for War & Life”–good thoughts on the importance of worship, as well as the power of corporate, liturgical worship.
Category Archives: General Liturgics
Posture in Prayer
Christian Book Sale!!!
On the “road to Rome”?
Contributor Rev. John Allen Bankson (PCA) has started a new series at his personal blog which is highly relevant to the issues we are sorting through:
Liturgical Notes 1
Here’s the first installment of what will (Lord willing) be a regular feature of this web-site. I’m writing little tidbits on liturgy and music in order to help educate our local congregation as we grow in our use and understanding of liturgical music. Since we use the Cantus Christi , most of the material will be drawn from there.
Hickory White Presbyterian Church
Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church has been added to our Churches page. To clarify, this list is not an “official” list by any sretch. Nor is it a secret club of wanna-be-high-church-presbys. I’m thrilled that we have such a wide diversity of denominations represented! It is simply a list of churches that are moving in more or less the same direction in their desire to worship in a certain way. I intend it to be a resource for pastors and church leaders, primarily, not fodder for polemics or heresy-hunters. I hope that pastors can compare notes with other churches and be encouraged in what can sometimes be a lonely road to travel. The list is completely open to all who would care to be included.
The Company of the Fathers
The Company of the Fathers is starting up again! We are reading Tertullian’s Apology right now, and it is startling to realize that the Church has weathered all the same problems, hundreds of years ago. Our economy may be in the tank, but the Church has been through all this many times before. We suffer from a lack of perspective, and one of the best ways to gain a more balanced view of history (and our place in it) is to read the Church Fathers. Join us!
The place of the Agnus Dei
I am glad to have the opportunity to join the discussion here at the RLI. My name is Aaron Cummings and I am an interested lay person. Thanks much.
In most traditional liturgies which have survived to this day, the Agnus Dei is said immediately after Consecration of the element, and the declaration: “The Peace of the Lord be with you always.” In some churches, the minister goes so far as to say while elevating the host: “Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him that taketh away the sins of the world.” The words of the Agnus Dei are:
“O Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, grant us thy peace.”
These words are nice enough as it is. They are well-worth singing in the service, for our Lord is the Lamb of God who does take away the sins of the world. We should beg his mercy and peace.
What follows is merely a suggestion and I would welcome any feedback.
1) These words coming at this point in the service suggest that now Christ is here in a special way in the newly consecrated elements, here, that is, in such a way that we could pray to the elements.
2) If you quote John in pointing to the elements as Christ, then are you more pointedly asking the congregants to pray to the elements?
3) Would these words work better as a hymn of confession at the start of service? Consider that male lambs (rams in particular) were sacrificed as the trespass offering, the first of the sacrifices in the Levitical service. The Trespass was the sacrifice for the heavy, high-handed sins (Lev. 5:14-6:7). That Christ is our “lamb” specially identifies him specifically as the trespass offering, for when offering the other sacrifices (burnt, grain, peace, and sin), the sacrificing saint could offer goats, bulls, doves, pigeons and even bread. Christ certainly fulfills the other sacrifices, but John didn’t say, “Behold the goat of God”, or “Behold the bread of God”. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God,” highlighting the trespass sacrifice. The Agnus Dei seems to work very well as a hymn of confession rather than a hymn of joy at the Lord’s table. What about praying the Agnus and then the Kyrie as sister hymns of confession?
Heart and Voice–Resources for Congregational Singing
As we seek to recover the richness of congregational singing (without the artificial props of amps and electric guitars), the biggest hurdle can be our culture’s general ignorance of music. Though some folks were forced to take piano lessons as children, even fewer members of our congregations have been taught how to sing. Someone is finally trying to fix this problem! Heart and Voice has an exciting project going. Check it out!
(Note: our pages of books and on-line resources have been updated, and many new churches have been added to our “Churches” page. There you can see examples of Reformed liturgies from churches from diverse denominations throughout the US, and even the world.)
Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism
As a follow-up to the last post, I just learned that The Society for the Study of Eastern Orthodoxy and Evangelicalism is starting up again. Anyone interested in being on the mailing list should contact Brock Bingaman at Loyola University Chicago: BBINGAM@LUC.EDU
