One of the positive things about Prayer Book (PB) worship (not perhaps appreciated by some who use a PB) is the way it keeps a congregation and leader 'on track'. Believe it or not, we are prone to wander, to lose direction and to find ourselves headed for the quicksands of heresy (Acts 20.29f; 2Pet2.1).
When I first attended Anglican church PB services in the '80s much about the services was foreign to me. I had been brought up in 'non-conformist' (without knowing it) Pentecostal worship1 (following some of the practices of the Churches of Christ and Baptists, plus the expression of the charisms of the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor 12.8-10).
The solemn reading of the Scriptures was arresting because, as I later learned, Anglicans regarded the reading of Scripture in church as a ministry of God to his gathered people. We heard from the Old Testament, the New Testament epistles and finally from the Gospel. They also sang (chanted) the set Psalm for the day as found in the Lectionary. (Not quite as beautifully as the example attached below but you'll get the idea. Sadly, the practice is dying out.)
The PB liturgy itself made a deep impression. As a Pentecostal with a Brethren Sunday School background I could hear the echoes of many, many passages of the Scriptures all through it as the great drama recorded in Scripture was unfolded.
Whereas, I had been used to praying extempore,(prayers made up on the spot), Anglicans had printed shorter prayers which they prayed together and knew the major ones by heart. All these shorter prayers or 'Collects'2 were originally said by the Anglican priest but now more usually are said by the whole congregation.
This famous prayer, sometimes called The Collect of Preparation and sometimes The Collect of Purity, is prayed at the beginning of the service:
The first four lines describe an aspect of God's revealed character: His complete knowledge of us through and through, to the very core of our beings (Jer 17.10).
In the light of His knowledge of us, we ask him to cleanse 'the thoughts of our hearts' because we fail to know ourselves and our wicked hearts lead us astray (Jer 17.9).
But notice that acknowledging God's status as searcher of the heart and our petition to be cleansed of what is wicked within is for a divine purpose.
THAT we may love and magnify Almighty God through Christ our Lord.
Loving God and magnifying His Name (i.e., God himself) is the point of our existence. And we do that through the mediation of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Isn't this just orthodox teaching? Yes but in some places, sad to relate, church has become a place of entertainment or pop motivational therapy. This Collect properly said and believed in truth brings us back to orthodox doctrine and experience about God and our place before Him.
In short, Church worship is not centrally about the congregants. It ought to be centred on Almighty God, (a title that has almost fallen out of use today). Church worship ought to be God-centred but our tendency to want to be centre stage thwarts God's ultimate intention for us to put Him first. After all, He is the Creator, we are not only creatures but those 'bent' away from God's design for us.
Of course, just because a church has sound words in its preaching, or liturgy in general, means little unless its heart orientation matches its words (Isa 29.13, Matt 15.8-9).
1. I don't mean to suggest that my description of 'Pentecostal worship' is complete because its worship exhibited wide variation even within each Pentecostal denomination during the '70s when I left and moreover, had a unique character different from all other non-conformist groups.
2. This collect -so named as it sums up the intentions of the congregation gathered-- can be used in one's own devotional times and as an 'arrow' prayer as well.
3. From The Holy Communion FIRST ORDER THE WORD AND THE PRAYERS (An Australian Prayer Book 1978 [Anglican]).
When I first attended Anglican church PB services in the '80s much about the services was foreign to me. I had been brought up in 'non-conformist' (without knowing it) Pentecostal worship1 (following some of the practices of the Churches of Christ and Baptists, plus the expression of the charisms of the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor 12.8-10).
The solemn reading of the Scriptures was arresting because, as I later learned, Anglicans regarded the reading of Scripture in church as a ministry of God to his gathered people. We heard from the Old Testament, the New Testament epistles and finally from the Gospel. They also sang (chanted) the set Psalm for the day as found in the Lectionary. (Not quite as beautifully as the example attached below but you'll get the idea. Sadly, the practice is dying out.)
The PB liturgy itself made a deep impression. As a Pentecostal with a Brethren Sunday School background I could hear the echoes of many, many passages of the Scriptures all through it as the great drama recorded in Scripture was unfolded.
Whereas, I had been used to praying extempore,(prayers made up on the spot), Anglicans had printed shorter prayers which they prayed together and knew the major ones by heart. All these shorter prayers or 'Collects'2 were originally said by the Anglican priest but now more usually are said by the whole congregation.
This famous prayer, sometimes called The Collect of Preparation and sometimes The Collect of Purity, is prayed at the beginning of the service:
'Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name,
through Christ our Lord. Amen'3
The first four lines describe an aspect of God's revealed character: His complete knowledge of us through and through, to the very core of our beings (Jer 17.10).
In the light of His knowledge of us, we ask him to cleanse 'the thoughts of our hearts' because we fail to know ourselves and our wicked hearts lead us astray (Jer 17.9).
But notice that acknowledging God's status as searcher of the heart and our petition to be cleansed of what is wicked within is for a divine purpose.
THAT we may love and magnify Almighty God through Christ our Lord.
Loving God and magnifying His Name (i.e., God himself) is the point of our existence. And we do that through the mediation of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Isn't this just orthodox teaching? Yes but in some places, sad to relate, church has become a place of entertainment or pop motivational therapy. This Collect properly said and believed in truth brings us back to orthodox doctrine and experience about God and our place before Him.
In short, Church worship is not centrally about the congregants. It ought to be centred on Almighty God, (a title that has almost fallen out of use today). Church worship ought to be God-centred but our tendency to want to be centre stage thwarts God's ultimate intention for us to put Him first. After all, He is the Creator, we are not only creatures but those 'bent' away from God's design for us.
Of course, just because a church has sound words in its preaching, or liturgy in general, means little unless its heart orientation matches its words (Isa 29.13, Matt 15.8-9).
1. I don't mean to suggest that my description of 'Pentecostal worship' is complete because its worship exhibited wide variation even within each Pentecostal denomination during the '70s when I left and moreover, had a unique character different from all other non-conformist groups.
2. This collect -so named as it sums up the intentions of the congregation gathered-- can be used in one's own devotional times and as an 'arrow' prayer as well.
3. From The Holy Communion FIRST ORDER THE WORD AND THE PRAYERS (An Australian Prayer Book 1978 [Anglican]).
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