With All the Company of Heaven

Why devote eleven weeks to the study of worship? In this introductory session, we explore why worship is worth our time and attention. In fact, we cannot avoid worship, for we are made to worship, and God uses worship to forms us.

Instead of gathering for church on Sundays, why not stay home? Listen to a great sermon, read an inspiring devotional, spend time in prayer by yourself. Millions of contemporary American Christians do just that, and in this session, we ask whether gathering for public worship is actually important, and if so, why?

Nothing is more necessary or profitable for Christians than knowing, hearing, reading, and studying God’s word. And, likewise, nothing is more central to our worship gatherings. In this session, we discuss what is it about the Bible that makes it so essential for us and for our worship.

Every Sunday, Anglicans confess their faith with the words of the Nicene Creed, and likewise, many Christians around the world continue this ancient practice in their weekly worship. Yet why? In this session, we discuss why creeds are so important to worship.

Prayer is not just something Christians do, but something all religious people do. To be religious is to pray, yet what makes Christian prayer unique and how do we pray well? In this session, we discuss the foundational aspects of prayer and its role in Christian worship.

Why do we always ask for forgiveness? Why are prayers of confession in every worship service? Some worry that regular reflection on sin is an unhealthy spiritual practice, but in this session, we explore why it is, in fact, vital to our relationship to God and one another.

Rarely do we reflect on these two acts of Anglican worship. Is passing the peace merely an overly spiritualized way of saying “hi” on a Sunday morning? Is giving a tithe merely old-fashioned fundraising? In this session, we examine the deep meaning behind these means of worship.

The Lord’s Supper, though distinctive and central to Christian worship, is frequently a subject of Christian debate. Is it a memorial of Jesus’ past death, or a present reception of the risen Christ, or an anticipation of something yet to come? In this session, we discuss why all three of these meanings are essential to understanding the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

All of life, and all of new life in Christ, is a gift. And Christian worship is a response to that grace. For this reason, gratitude lies at the heart of worship and pervades our prayers and praises. In this session, we explore the role of thanksgiving in worship, both in church and at home.

Worship does not end when the Sunday service concludes. As Archbishop William Temple once said, how you conduct your life during the week is the true test of genuine worship. In this session, we look at what Scripture says about worship in life and why God cares so much about how we go forth into the world.