It is hoped the present work will be found to supply a want in our theological literature. Without this general survey of the field, there can hardly be a thoroughly intelligent discussion of liturgical questions. The work is arranged as to make, in convenient, summary form, a history of worship. Partial Contents: Worship in the apostolic church, eastern church, western church, Roman Catholic Church; Lutheran renovation of worship; Luther's liturgical writings; Morning and evening services; Worship in the reformed churches; Recent liturgical movements; Ministry in relation to worship.

Assist Our Song combines accessible teaching about the theology and shape of worship with essential information about the forms of music used, including congregational hymns, songs, canticles and psalm chant, and music performed by choirs and musicians. It explores the range of resources available, how to extend repertoire, blending the old with the new, changing patterns of church life, and other practical issues. Its aims are the heightening of the profile of music within the church, increasing the skills and understanding on the part of musicians and choirs, assisting leaders of worship and empowering congregations to see themselves also as 'ministers of music' It offers practical assistance for the 'delivery' of music - choosing music, making the most of choirs and working with musicians. It will be welcomed by all who lead, provide or curate music in worship, as well as clergy and ordinands who lack musical expertise or confidence.

Timeless words from the pen of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen inspire the heart and imagination as readers embark on a Lenten journey toward a better understanding of their spiritual selves. Covering the traditional themes of Lent--sin and salvation, death and Resurrection, sorrow and hope, ashes and lilies--these 50 passages and accompanying mini-prayers offer readers a practical spiritual program as a retreat from the cares and concerns of a secular world view.
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This resource is designed to help those in the parish who direct church choirs but have no formal training directing.

Are you looking for fresh, thoughtful material for your congregation's Lenten journey that prepares them to experience the marvelous joy of the risen Christ? Here's an anthology of ready-to-use resources that you can build on to create memorable Ash Wednesday and Holy Week services. Included are:
* "A Season In Purgatory," an Ash Wednesday service with a sermon examining the concept of purgatory and how we atone for our sin.
* "Why I Am An Optimist," a service and message for Passion/Palm Sunday that reminds us why it is important to empty ourselves and experience the pain and despair of Holy Week. It is because only then can we truly participate in the optimism of God's ultimate victory, which we celebrate on Easter morning.
* "As I Have Loved You," a moving Maundy Thursday program that recalls the scene in the Upper Room by combining the food and symbolism of a traditional Passover meal with elements of a tenebrae service. As the meal progresses, scripture passages are read and candles are extinguished, until as the service ends only one candle remains lit, reminding us that Christ is the light of the world.
* "Through The Eyes Of Jesus," a Good Friday service that intersperses hymns, prayers, and scripture readings with brief meditations depicting the various groups of people Jesus saw at the crucifixion.
* "Behold, I Show You A Mystery," a set of three choral readings that are especially appropriate for Easter sunrise services, but could be profitably used any time during the Easter season.

The Akathistos Hymn, the most famous work of Byzantine hymnography, has been enshrined in the Orthodox liturgy since the year 626, and its image of the Virgin Mary has exerted a strong influence upon Marian poetry and literature. Anonymous, undated and highly rhetorical, the hymn has presented a challenge to scholars over the years.
This study has been undertaken by an innovative method. The approach brings new insights to the era which brought forth the hymn, and the metaphorical image of the Virgin becomes conceptually accessible to the modern-day reader. The investigation leads to the conclusion that the Council of Ephesus (431) constitutes the most likely historical context for the hymn's composition.
The book will be of value to all scholars of early Byzantine and Marian studies.

Saiva liturgy is performed in a world that oscillates: a world permeated by the presence of Siva, where humans live in a condition of bondage and where the highest aim of the soul is to attain liberation from its fetters. In this account of Indian temple ritual, Richard Davis uses medieval Hindu texts to describe the world as it is envisioned by Saiva siddhanta and the way daily worship reflects and acts within that world. He argues that this worship is not simply a set of ritualized gestures, but rather a daily catechism in which the worshiper puts into action all the major themes of Saiva philosophy: the cyclic pattern of cosmic emission and reabsorption, the human path of attaining liberation, the manifestation of divinity in the world, and the proper interrelationship of humanity and god. In re-creating the convictions and intentions of a well-versed worshiper of the twelfth century, Davis moves back and forth between philosophical and ritual texts, demonstrating the fundamental Saiva belief that the capacities of humans to know about the world and to act within it are two inter-related modalities of the unitary power of consciousness.

Originally published in 1991.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

What is the nature of true worship? What are we actaully doing when we meet together for 'church' on Sundays? And how does that connect with what we do the rest of the week? Vaughan Roberts answers these questions and more, as he brings readers back to the Bible in order to define what worship is and isn't, and what it should and shouldn't be. While we may struggle to define worship by arguing about singing hymns with the organ, versus modern songs with guitars and drums, or about the place of certain spiritual gifts, Roberts suggests we are asking the wrong questions. For true worship is more than this - it is to encompass the whole of life. This book challenges us to worship God every day of the week, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.

In this addition to the Reformation Anglicanism Essential Library, Michael P. Jensen examines how the reading and preaching of the Scriptures, the Sacraments, prayer, and singing all inform not only worship in Anglicanism, but worship as it is prescribed in the Bible.

The Blood Covenant is one of the least understood, and yet most relevant covenants for our understanding of God's dealings with man throughout the Bible. This covenant of life and death spans the entire sacrifical system of the Old Testament, to the Act of Communion in the New Testament. Learn more about the primitive rite of the Blood Covenant, perversions of this rite, indications of this rite in the Bible (Circumcision, Passover, at Mt. Sinai, Mosaic Ritual, in the Gospels). Includes an Appendix of useful information on the role of blood in life.

The original source book for information about covenanting in salt and its significance. Draws from the scriptural uses of covenants of salt and blood in the Bible. Why is Salt a substitute for Blood in making covenants? Why did Lot's wife become a pillar of Salt? Why does Jesus refer to his followers as 'Salt of the Earth'? Why did God give the kingdom to David and his sons forever by a Covenant of Salt? Find out, in a book by the author of the best selling Blood Covenant.

Chapters Include: The Characteristics of a Covenant, Covenanting in Salt, Bible References To The Rite, The Relationship Between Bread & Salt, Salt Representing Blood, Salt Representing Life, Salt & Sun as Life & Light, Salt in Sacrifices, Traces of the Rite, Life or Death, and more!

Charles Spurgeon remains history's most widely read preacher. The subject matter of these books has been carefully researched and compiled from his legacy of 3,561 sermons. This series offers an intimate view into the life of Christ and what specific areas of His life mean for us.

A call to a renewed hunger and thirst for the Lord's Supper, this book unfolds a historic Reformed understanding in contrast to other views. Building on careful biblical analysis, Robert Letham explains why we have the Supper, how we partake of Christ in it, who should take communion, and related matters.

This handy worship tool in the classic, easy-to-use CSS format provides pastors and worship planners with a worship theme, call to worship, collect, prayer of confession, and suggested hymns for all three lectionary scripture texts for each Sunday and major observance in Cycle C. An index lists hymn tunes, hymn titles, and the worship hymnals they are drawn from.

Anyone who has used Cynthia Cowen's resources knows that they have the following characteristics:
They are complete -- everything you need is here.
They require little preparation, rehearsal, or props.
They are theologically sound and spiritually uplifting.
Many churches have discovered recently that families wish to include worship in the festivities of their Christmas day. This is the perfect way to do it without requiring a lot of work.
It's all here: call to worship, Christmas carols, litanies, meditations, scripture readings, and more
Cynthia E. Cowen is a Christian resource writer and liturgical evangelist. She has written and published numerous programs for women, youth, and special congregational events. She holds a B.A. degree in education from Northern Michigan University and has completed requirements for certification as an Associate in Ministry in the ELCA. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the ELCA Board of Publications and is president of the Northern Great Lakes Synodical Women's Organization Executive Board.

An exploration of the spirituality of the Welsh people through the ages by means of a study of the spiritual pilgrimages of seven Welsh men and women, namely Meilyr Brydydd, Guto'r Glyn, William Williams, Pantycelyn, Mary Jones, Ann Griffiths, Ruth Evans, Waldo Williams and D. Gwenallt Jones.

Originally written in 1918, this profound reflection on the nature of liturgical worship still stands as a guiding light for today's renewel or worship and prayer. In limpid, even poetic terms, it clarifies the underlying principles and existential implications of the belief that when Christians join in the Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations, they do so not as discrete individuals but as interconnected members of the one People of God.

Ritual has emerged as a major focus of academic interest. As a concept, the idea of ritual integrates the study of behavior both within and beyond the domain of religion. Ritual can be both secular and religious in character. There is renewed interest in questions such as: Why do rituals exist at all? What has been, and continues to be, their place in society? How do they change over time? Such questions exist against a backdrop of assumptions about development, modernization, and disenchantment of the world.Written with the specific needs of students of religious studies in mind, "Ritual: Key Concepts in Religion" surveys the field of ritual studies, looking at it both historically within anthropology and in terms of its contemporary relevance to world events.

Presents the late Cardinal's personal reflections on themes such as prayer, solitude, and living the Christian life today. A beautiful book with full colour photographs.

We take it for granted that aspects of monastic life can sustain our daily lives in the world, but we owe this understanding to John Main, a Benedictine monk who pioneered the idea that the desert tradition of meditative or contemplative prayer, which had largely been forgotten in the West, was for all Christians. At his monastery in London, he started teaching this way of prayer to lay groups and a network of meditation groups came into being, quickly spreading throughout the world and renewing a sense of the Church as a fellowship rooted in prayer and contemplative action. Bestselling books soon grew out of his talks. This simple, practical guide to 'pure prayer' teaches that by ceasing to struggle to find words and images by which we all too easily try to control God, we give God freedom to be himself in our hearts and we begin to pray with 'the mind of Christ', as St Paul teaches. In a nervous world saturated with image and endless self-commentary, this is a nourishing, life-giving stream of hope and refreshment.

Behind the universe with its multitude of suns and worlds and underlying all the cosmic activities, guiding the evolution of life itself, is a Power, Force or Mind which is recognized as First Cause. This Supreme Being is spoken of as God. Yet theology teaches that if one will pray, entreat, solicit or beg to this God vigorously enough and with sufficient faith, He may be persuaded to grant one's requests, irrespective of their merits. Dr. Kuhn makes it clear that the assumption that prayers are heard and answered by a Cosmic Divine Power is entirely groundless and should be abandoned for a saner hypothesis. He provides us a clue to such hypothesis.

Robert Frykenberg's insightful study explores and enhances historical understandings of Christian communities, cultures, and institutions within the Indian world from their beginnings down to the present. As one out of several manifestations of a newly emerging World Christianity, in which Christians of a Post-Christian West are a minority, it has focused upon those trans-cultural interactions within Hindu and Muslim environments which have made Christians in this part of the world distinctive. It seeks to uncover various complexities in the proliferation of Christianity in its many forms and to examine processes by which Christian elements intermingled with indigenous cultures and which resulted in multiple identities, and also left imprints upon various cultures of India.
Thomas Christians believe that the Apostle Thomas came to India in 52 A.D./C.E., and that he left seven congregations to carry on the Mission of bringing the Gospel to India. In our day the impulse of this Mission is more alive than ever. Catholics, in three hierarchies, have become most numerous; and various Evangelicals/Protestant communities constitute the third great tradition. With the rise of Pentecostalism, a fourth great wave of Christian expansion in India has occurred. Starting with movements that began a century ago, there are now ten to fifteen times more missionaries than ever before, virtually all of them Indian. Needless to say, Christianity in India is profoundly Indian and Frykenberg provides a fascinating guide to its unique history and practice.

Best-selling Catholic author Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle encourages Catholic families to reclaim a significant tradition: setting apart Sundays as a day of worship, true rest, teaching, and simply spending precious time together. In fifty-two creative chapters Donna-Marie presents fun and meaningful ideas for all fifty-two weeks of the year inspired by the seasons (both natural and liturgical), holidays, Saints days, and holy Scripture, to help keep Sundays holy, just as God said we should!