Christian Practices

2.1 Worship

Essential Info: Worship is the act of religious praise, devotion or honour to God. It can take different forms such as liturgical or non-liturgical and Private worship is when believers praise or honour God in their own home.

Why do Christians Worship?

• thanks
• forgiveness
• to seek help
• deepen relationship with God
• strengthen faith

Liturgical Worship - Church services that follow a set structure. Includes sermons, Bible passages, formal prayers with set responses, music and hymns. For example the Eucharist for Catholic churches.

Non-Liturgical Worship - Services that do not follow any structure. They are often focused on Bible readings and a sermon. May also include prayers and hymns but there is no set number and the type can change from week to week. For example services in non-conformist churches such as Baptist or Methodist.

Informal Worship - Non-Liturgical Worship that is often spontaneous or charismatic. Community or house churches meet in private homes and share food. Quaker worship is mainly silent. Charismatic worship sometimes involves dancing, clapping, calling out and speaking in tongues. For example worship undertaken by Quakers or the pentecostal church.

2.2 Prayer

Essential Info: Prayer is communication with God. Christians may use set prayers such as the Lord's Prayer. Christians sometimes use informal prayers to express their needs to God in their own words.

Importance of Prayer:

• encourages reflection
• enables communication with God
• gives strength
• sense of peace
• close relationship with God

The Lord's Prayer:

How Jesus instructed his disciples how to pray. Christians see it as a model of a good prayer. It reminds Christians to forgive others to be forgiven, and that God is the Father of the whole Christian community. The Lord's Prayer is often used in worship for things like baptism or the Eucharist.

2.3 The Sacraments: Baptism

Essential Info: Baptism is a ritual through which a person becomes a member of the church, using the water to symbolise washing away the sin. Infant baptism is for babies and young children whilst believers' baptism is for people who are old enough to understand the significance.

People who are Baptised...

• become a member of the church
• imitate Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist
• become a child of God and are cleansed of Sin
• recieve God's grace and become part of the Christian community

Infant Baptism - Removes original sin, allows the child to be welcomed to the church as soon as possible, parents can thank God. Priest or Minister pours water over the baby's head, God parents and parents promise to bring up the child as a Christian, and the child is welcomed into the community.

Believers' Baptism - People are old enough to make decision about their faith. The decision of a life dedicated to Jesus what saves a person, not Baptism itself. Person is fully immersed in the pool to symbolise new life in Christ. They give a brief testimony of their faith in Jesus.

2.4 The Sacraments: Holy Communion

Essential Info: The sacrament uses bread and wine to symbolise…