June 28, 2009
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Liturgy - a Study Guide
In the early 90s, the Dutch young people bible study society published a new book called "Om U te dienen" (To serve You). This study guide was to help us study the aspects of liturgy in five chapters:
- What does Liturgy mean
- God speaks to his congregation
- The congregations response to God
- Orders of worship
- How does is work
The church services in our sister churches in the Netherlands have gone through a phase of significant change in the last 10-15 years, not only practically (what happens on Sundays), but also in people's mind (how and what people think about the worship service). There are some aspects of this study guide that "open the door" for the change that I have noticed, but there are many good points that will make you think about the church services more. Often the worship service is considered traditional, and we don't think about it too much. But we should be very aware of the worship service and what happens there, every Sunday again.
I would like to share with you the first Module or Lesson. I am not planning on translating all modules, unless there is a request for it.
Module 1 – What does Liturgy mean?
This module deals with:
What does liturgy mean for you?
How do you prepare for the Sunday?
The purpose of this module is to think about
- Why am I going to church?
- How am I going to church?
- What about before I go to church?
- Do I feel part of the worship service?
- What is Liturgy?
PREPARATION
When you go to a party, you prepare yourself. You think about what you are wearing. When you worked hard during the day, you probably take a quick shower. The ladies probably spend some amount of time in front of the mirror. You have thought about a gift and have probably something to give, and on your way; you might pick up some other people as well.
Activity 1 (Setting: individually; Tools: Pen and paper; Time: 10 – 15 minutes)
Answer the following questions personally in writing.
- How do you prepare yourself for worship/the worship service?
- Do you think that this is a good preparation? Why?
- Would God be pleased with your preparation?
- What would be a good preparation be? (For example: consider releasing the scripture reading and text in advance, selection of songs and their relevancy, prayer requests, etc.)
Activity 2 (Setting: 2 people groups; Tools: answers of Activity 1; Time: 10 – 15 minutes)
Exchange your answers with the person next to you and discuss the answers.
Activity 3 (Setting: individually; Tools: Pen and paper; Time: 5 minutes)
- Remember the last party you went to
– What made this a party?
– Were you looking forward to this party?
– Why did you not stay home?
– Did you like the party or not?
Write your answers down. - The worship service is a celebration. Think about the last worship service you attended.
– Were you looking forward to this service?
– What was the service all about?
– Was the celebration a positive or negative experience?
Write your answers down.
Activity 4 (Setting: groups of four people; Tools: Answers of Activity 3; Time: 10 minutes)
Create groups of four people and discuss the answers of Activity 3 a. and b. Try to discover any overlaps between the answers.
By the way, is it correct to compare the types of events (party/celebration/worship service)?
Activity 5 (Setting: groups of 6-8 people; Tools: Pen and paper; Time: 15 minutes)
Imagine you are asked to prepare the liturgy for next Sunday’s worship services. How would you do this? Would you like to make some changes? Write down how you would like the liturgy to be.
Write also down what “liturgy” means for you.
Collect all written responses in a jar and have someone read these. Listen carefully and make notes if that helps you remember. After this create a description of liturgy together as a group.
Activity 6 (Setting: groups of 6-8 people; Tools: Bible; Time: 20 minutes)
Read together the following passages:
- The headings of Leviticus 1 through 7 and Leviticus 23
- Joel 2: 32
- Acts 2: 21
- Romans 10: 13
- Ephesus 5: 18 – 19
- Colossians 3: 16
Question: if this is written for you too, what are you doing with it?
Discuss a worship service keeping these passages in mind. What comes to mind?
If there is anyone who attended evangelical worship services, maybe that person can describe what happened there. What are some of the differences?
Activity 7 (Setting: everyone; tape, pen, paper; Time: 15 minutes)
What is your opinion about this statement:
Preparation for the Lords Day (Sunday) starts on Monday.
Draw a line on the floor and consider one end total agreement with the statement and the other end total disagreement. Write your name on a piece of paper, and place it on the line, where your opinion would be. Having no opinion would be in the middle.
Ask each other questions, such as “why is your paper there?”
Activity 8
Answer the multiple choice question, selecting the one that you feel the most strong about.
When I go to church on Sunday…
- It does not matter which minister is preaching
- I am generally not in the mood, but I value the social contacts
- I don’t expect anything and often that is what I get out of it
- I don’t experience the fellowship with God
- I don’t have the idea that God speaks to me at all.
Form groups of people that have the same answers (i.e. all A’s in one group, all B’s in one group, etc.) Then one group starts the discussion: e.g. one person in group A asks another group (C) about their choir. Make sure that people can finish what they want to say.
CLOSING
1. Finish the following statement positively: “When I go to church on Sunday…”
2. Conclude what Liturgy means for all of you.
- What did you learn from this Module 1?
- Who are involved in the liturgy
- Is the church secretary, the caretaker or the organist more involved than the rest of the congregation?
- Can we pray for a good liturgy, worship service?
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