Indiana
Area Extension Course of Study School
The United
Methodist Church
Meeting at the University of Indianapolis
Spring
2013—February 8—9, March 9, April 13
COS
413 Worship and the Sacraments The
Rev. Timothy Burchill, Instructor
Required Resources
1. The United
Methodist Church, The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992) ISBN:
0687431328
2. The United
Methodist Church, The United Methodist Hymnal, (1989) ISBN: 0687431344
3.
James R. White—Introduction to Christian Worship, (3rd Edition) ISBN
0687091098
4. Gary Thomas—Sacred Pathways: Discover Your Soul’s Path
to God (2000) ISBN 0310230926
5. William
Willimon—Remember Who You Are: Baptism, a
Model for Christian Life (1980) ISBN 0835803996
6. Gayle Felton—This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist
Understanding of Holy Communion, (2005) ISBN
088177457X
7. Lawerence
Stookey—Let the Whole Church Say Amen!: A
Guide for Those Who Pray in Public (2001)
ISBN 0687090776
8. Robert
Schnase, Five Practices of Fruitful
Congregations, Chapter Two: The Practice of Passionate Worship, pp.
33-58, (2007) ISBN 0687645409 (Available via email from Instructor)
9. Hoyt Hickman,
Worshiping With United Methodists,
(2007) ISBN 06873335268, Chapter Four:
The Basic Pattern as
a United Methodist Heritage, pp. 35-66. (Available via email from
Instructor)
Free Web Based Materials
1. Wesley’s
Treatise on Baptism:
2. Sermon on
Communion http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/101/
3. This Holy Mystery, GBOD—PDF on
the Web
4. By Water and the Spirit, GBOD—PDF on
the Web
5. Optional: Lots of
excellent resources on worship as well as sacraments are available on the GBOD
website under worship: http://www.gbod.org/site/c.nhLRJ2PMKsG/b.3784805/k.D1A1/Worship.htm
Grades & Evaluation
Letter
grades will be given to papers, in-class quizzes. Class participation will also
be factored into each student’s final grade.
I hope that each written assignment will be
completed in the style of a sermon.
My reasoning is to give you something helpful from your studies that you
will be able to adapt and use in your local church. Yet this is probably going
to be in a form that is very different from how you usually preach. It needs to
be highly organized with a thesis statement, sprinkled with supporting
citations and illustrations from your readings, written with a level of
academic thoughtfulness that would resemble a formal essay nearly as much as a
sermon that you might share from your pulpit.
Think of your writing assignments as a sermon
delivered to a congregation of first year seminary students who want to be
inspired even as they grow in their knowledge of worship. Think of it as an
essay that could be easily turned into a Sunday morning sermon in about 20
minutes at your computer. It should be able to fly as a preaching moment
without adding additional content, but simply reworking the wording, etc. This
is not an opportunity to “dumb down” your writing assignments. Rather this is a
chance to take what you learn and integrate into your life in a useful,
relevant way.
There will be a variety of extra credit
opportunities in class that I would encourage you to take advantage of if your
grade in the class is important to you. Many of them require you to express
interest during the session that precedes it.
Instructor Contact: The Rev. Tim Burchill (765)
497-7755 tim@andrew-umc.org
St.
Andrew UMC 4703
N. 50 W. West
Lafayette, IN 47906 http://cos413.blogspot.com
The First Assignment
Due Two Weeks
Before our First Class Session—due January 25
This
will be graded but you may drop this grade later, if you don’t think it will
help your overall performance in the class. My hope is to help you understand
what I am looking for, and how I will evaluate your assignments BEFORE we get
any further in the class. This is
also useful information for me in the process of getting to know you.
1.
Mail me a brief worship
autobiography.
I need you to mail it two weeks before class. If I do not get it prior to the
class, I will not be able to offer feedback on it during the first class. In
this essay share with me the following:
o A high
moment in worship for you
o A high
moment of worship in the Bible that inspires you
o Your hope
for high moments of worship in your local church and what it might take to get
there
o What
spiritual or denominational background you came out of and how their worship
style has shaped and formed your worship style.
o What you
read or what you attend or who you listen to in order to deepen your ability to
appreciate and lead dynamic worship.
2. Brief responses (2-3 sentences) to these questions:
o How many
funerals, weddings, baptisms (adult, youth, and child) do you officiate in a
given year and/or over the duration of your ministry?
o How often do
you observe communion, and confirmation/new member experiences in the
appointment where you worship now?
o What are
the expectations in your church for the sermon (length, structure, spontaneity,
etc.)? How do they see the sermon in relationship to the overall worship
service?
o What kind
of worship experiences do the people in your current appointment most enjoy and
readily participate in?
o What one
change could you make in worship that would cause the biggest uproar/conflict
in your current appointment?
3. A comment or two about what you would most like to learn in the
context of this class that would assist you in your ministry.
First Session,
February 8-9
James R. White—Introduction
to Christian Worship, (3rd Edition) Chapters 1-2, 6-10
Gary Thomas—Sacred Pathways:
Discover Your Soul’s Path to God (2000) whole book
Scripture Resources
(Attached)
Book of Worship, pp.1-39, 81-94, 115-133, 139-161
Hickman—Chapter
can be emailed to you upon request.
There will be an in-class quiz on White & Hickman
chapters and Book of Worship readings.
Assignment
due at the first session:
1.
Sermon-like essay—What is worship, why is
it important, and how does it shape our faith in Christ? (show use of White, scripture, local
church & personal experience, as well as Book of Worship)
Possible approaches (pick one or use your own):
a) Great moments in Biblical worship and what
they tell us about our attitude in the presence of God and how that can inspire
us in our daily lives and/or lead to deeper worship together. (Be
careful to really hone in on one of those great moments—don’t try to do too
much.)
b)
The moments
in Jesus’ life when he was worshipped or how important worship was for the
early church as seen in Acts and Paul’s Letters. (Again,
focus in on a particular moment or particular situation in the early church. Try
to cover too much and you cover nothing well.)
c)
Someone
comes to you and tells you that they love Jesus, practice prayer and Bible
study, and offer kindness to others, but they have no use for the church. They can worship God out of doors; the
worship of the church is outdated and irrelevant; they can feel just as close
to God by themselves as they ever could in corporate worship. She and a group
of other like-minded folks in your community are open-minded enough that they would
like to hear about this from a pastor’s perspective. What ‘sermon’ would you
preach to this group that would support the importance of corporate worship?
2.
Put in your
own words the pattern of worship described in the Book of Worship for a service of word
and table. Briefly relate how this pattern came about and why this
pattern is important to keep in mind as you plan and lead worship in your
church today. Make sure you include descriptions of the physical movements
that are described in the rubrics, i.e. the pastor’s hands during communion,
choir, liturgist, etc. (Feel free to pull
on White and Hickman as well)
3.
Self-exploration
exercise #1—take the Thomas Pathways Test
at:
What is your
dominant pathway to God, how does that express itself in worship? What would be the collective dominant pathway
for your congregation? This is designed
to identify your strengths and help you better lead worship. This will not be a part of
determining your grade in the class.
4.
Scripture
resources—if time allows, read and pray through—see attached. These will be useful in
preaching/teaching about worship in the future. (Add additional references
for extra credit)
Extra Credit
There
will be a class debate dealing with the question: What is worship is
about: Getting Battery Charged vs. Giving God God’s Due (Let me know, via
email, ahead of time if you’d like to participate and which side you’d like to
take. First come, first served).
Come
to class with four questions you have about leading worship in
regard to Weddings and Funerals.
We will use these to determine what of these important rites and service
we will address in class.
Session One:
Worship
Scriptures (with brief comment)
First
Testament Genesis 15:1-21"God's Covenant with Abram"
This
worship includes God's reassurance of "who He is," of what God has
already done in history and of God's call on Abram's (Abraham's) life. There is
worship imagery: the smoking fire post and flaming torch also used in the
'covenant ceremony".
Worship aspects: God blesses our lives, we in turn are to honor God
through our praise, thanks, obedience and trust.
Exodus 3 "Moses at
the burning bush"
The
aspect of being in the presence of God as being 'holy ground' is a reminder
that the space in which we choose to worship should be considered a holy or
sacred space (not to be taken lightly.) The image of God in the fire that was
not consuming the bush (God will use unique ways to get our attention when we
are present and looking for God.) This worship incident also reminds us that
there is an expectation from God that we will be obedient to the revelation of
God's plans in our lives.
Exodus chapters 25-31
"Instructions for the building of the tabernacle"
These
explicit instructions for the 'place and ceremony' surrounding our worship of
God give us a glimpse of heavenly worship (check out Revelation). Important to
notice, we serve a God with attention to detail and ceremony. These are
reminders also that the space is sacred, costly and that we bring our very
finest to it. There are a couple of worship movements today. One is to create a
'casual environment' where everyone will feel 'relaxed and welcome', another is
the whole "excellence in all we do" movement. Both of these can have
positive and negative implications. Good discussion: What makes our worship
pleasing to God? What does God desire of us?
Psalms (or songs) of
Ascent (Psalms 120-134)
Psalms
that were sung or chanted as the 'assembly' traveled up to the temple to
worship. These are good to read through and consider, "What is our
attitude 'on our way', as we prepare to worship the God of all creation?"
Isaiah Chapter 6
"Isaiah's commission"
Isaiah
has a 'vision of heavenly worship' a he is 'commissioned' into service as a
prophet of God. His commission: To remind the people of what true worship of
God consists of, and how the people of God have fallen short in this area.
Question:
How do, or how might we fall short of what God expects from us in our worship?
The image of the coal on the lips of Isaiah and the 'blotting out' of guilt is
a great reminder of how we are to come to worship - with a desire to be
cleansed, seeking a 'clean heart'. This is something from my Episcopal
upbringing that I miss in the Methodist tradition. For me worship begins on my
knees, seeking repentance first. Even if it's a simple "forgive me
Lord" and reciting 1 John 1:9.
Daniel Chapter 6
"The plot against Daniel"
Daniel
reminds us of the importance of determination and fortitude in our worship of
the One True God. He continues to openly pray and praise God, despite the 'law
of man' issued that all shall pray only to "King Darius".
2 Samuel 22
"David's Song of Thanksgiving"
When
David is delivered from Saul's clutches, his first response is this beautiful
Song of Thanksgiving. This is true worship, when we just launch into heartfelt
thanks and praise. Another of my personal favorites is 2 Samuel 6, as David
brings back the Ark of the covenant. I love the dance and the extravagance of
this worship. Sometimes you just have to loosen all abandon and shout and dance
your heart out (we'd do it at a football game, why not as an expression of
praise to our maker!?)
1 Kings 3 "Solomon prays for
wisdom"
As
Solomon offers this prayer we see the essence of true worship in his expression
of the meaningful relationship between he and his God. Solomon in turn is
blessed by God, his response to God's blessing...bringing his 'offering' before
God. Worship focus: expressions of
our relationship with God, our heartfelt thanks, and a meaningful
'offering'.
Second
Testament
Matthew 4:23 (and
others) "Jesus teaches in the synagogue"
Jesus
follows the pattern of other religious leaders to emphasize: God's word is to
be read aloud and expounded upon in our time of worship. Key: The message of salvation is
CENTRAL to worship. The proclamation of the Good News, 'The kingdom of God'; God's salvation, is at hand. The curing
of disease and sickness (a healing ministry, of body, mind and soul) is part of
the worship ministry as well.
Matthew 21:12 "My
house shall be called a house of prayer"
Question:
What 'things' do we bring into worship sometimes that detract from the true
meaningfulness of our worship time with God? Worship is not about us being
"entertained", What is true worship 'about'?
Matthew 28:16-21
"The Great Commission"
Our
worship time includes our reflection and response to the Lord's 'commission' to
us. We shouldn't just casually come to worship and go home to 'life as
usual'. I am reminded of the words
in 1 Peter 2:9, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God's own people.." Paul also gives an excellent reminder in Romans 12, we
are a living sacrifice of worship and praise to God, and that begins with our
humility and sacrifice. Again: How
do we 'come' to worship? Jesus sets the perfect example as he takes that time
alone to get away for his 'personal time' with God. (eg. Mark 1:35 and others)
Luke 1:8-10 "Temple
practice"
When
Zechariah (the priest) enters the inner sanctuary to offer incense to the Lord,
the whole assembly of the people is praying outside. (more preparation stuff),
But I find it very meaningful and appropriate when the minister and perhaps
some of the worship leaders pray together before the worship service in the
eyes of the congregation. It sets the tone for worship. The congregation can be
invited to still themselves and pray for the worship as well during this time.
Luke 2:46 "Jesus as
a boy"
Jesus
sat among the elders of the temple, listening to them and asking questions. An
element of personal spiritual growth consists of listening and asking
questions. One purpose of our worship should be "personal growth" in
our walk of faith. How do we allow this to take place? (One of the reasons
'small groups' are so important, especially when they include a 'worship'
component, is that this element of learning cannot always be fostered within
the 'congregational' worship setting.)
Luke 11:1-13
Jesus
teaches about prayer and seeking God through the Holy Spirit (key points of our
worship time.)
John 13:12-17
Worship
emphasis: the importance of a 'servant attitude', serving even the least of
these.
1 Corinthians 3
Paul
teaches on divisions in the church. We are human, and understanding that
division is inevitable at times is important. More important is 'how' God
expects us to respond in these situations. Our 'squabbles' are certainly NOT
what worship is about. How do we address them as a church to avoid their
destruction of our 'holy worship' time? (Joint confession pre worship comes to
mind, my Episcopal upbringing rearing its head again...)
Hebrews 4:14-16 Jesus,
the great high priest"
Importance...we
can approach the 'throne of grace' with confidence in our time of worship, that
we may we receive the mercy of our Lord.
Revelation 21:1-7
The
new heaven and the new earth to come creates a glimpse of the most holy and
precious worship to come, as we stand in the presence of our God and worship
forever his faithfulness to us! Amen!
Worship
scriptures selected with commentary provided by Reverend Renee Perkins.
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