Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Christian Rituals & Practice - General

This well-written and engaging book explores the effects of the rush to adopt new, "contemporary" styles of worship by many Protestant congregations. As churches try to reach the unchurched and draw new members, they often adapt their worship until it becomes nothing more than a Spirit-less reflection of popular culture, A. Daniel Frankforter argues. The book discusses some of the different programs for "marketing" worship, explores the implications for the integrity of a church's mission and spiritual life, and proposes some alternative means for rejuvenating worship.

Concerned that the celebration of the Lord's Supper had become a "ritual rather than a reality," WIlliam Barclay set forth his ideas on the biblical foundation of the sacrament, the history of its form and interpretation in the church, and its meaning for today. This reissue of an older Westminster John Knox Press title makes a welcome addition to the highly popular William Barclay Library series.

The William Barclay Library is a collection of books addressing the great issues of the Christian faith. As one of the world's most widely read interpreters of the Bible and its meaning,...

Exploring fundamental ways in which verbal expression in worship relates to aesthetic expression, Clayton Schmit provides a vitally important book for all homiletics students and scholars. Schmit explains that worship isn't just a sequence of "holy" words, and he reflects theologically on the relationship between verbal and aesthetic expression, demonstrating the aesthetic significance of verbal liturgical expression and the aesthetic responsibility of those who preach, pray, and lead in public worship.

Are you looking for a new way to renew your worship, respond to the needs of the church and community, and connect with people in their passage of life--both chronological and crisis? This book offers a rich resource to you, both as a tool for worship and also devotionally as you face the deepest questions of life. Here you will find one way that the church can renew and rediscover its healing ministry. Abigail Evans, a leading specialist in bioethics and health ministries, explores how God's gift of healing is available during all seasons of a person's life and how the power of hope and...

The addition of simple drama to sermons is effective in bringing Bible passages alive and involving a variety of church members in preaching. In this book, James Chatham invites clergy to develop a use of drama to proclaim the gospel. Chatham writes that the Bible is comprised primarily of stories--stories of the relationship between God and God's people spanning over more than a thousand years--many of which are so good that they need little explanation. There is no more engaging way to tell these stories, he says, than through effective sermon drama.

Singing the Lord's Song in a New Land is one of the first books to address ministry in Korean American contexts and the first from the highly regarded Valparaiso Project to explore how faith practices work differently in a racial ethnic community. The groundbreaking work identifies eight key practices of the Korean American culture: keeping the Sabbath, singing, fervent prayer, resourcing the life cycle, bearing wisdom, living as an oppressed minority, fasting, and nurturing.

An ongoing issue for clergy as well as Christians in general is how to approach New Testament narratives about the crucifixion of Jesus in relation to Jews, Judaism, and the horrific events of the Holocaust. The events of Holy Week pose particular challenges for clergy and congregations. In this book Henry Knight helps us deal with Holy Week texts in light of our post-Holocaust world and provides practical examples of prayers, liturgies, and resource material to help pastors prepare for and lead worship and teach during this important time in the life of a congregation.

Ruth Duck provides a much-needed how-to book for creating unique and creative worship resources, including prayers, hymns, and sermons. She presents methods and models for creating these new resources while remaining scripturally relevant and mindful of inclusive-language concerns. This is an invaluable guide for those involved in writing or evaluating worship services.

When We Gather is an essential resource for pastors, worship committees, and others who plan weekly congregational worship. For every Sunday in the church year, James Kirk provides contemporary, theologically solid prayers and other elements for use in worship. Included are prayers of praise and adoration, confession and pardon, dedication, thanksgiving and petition, as well as concise comments on the lectionary Scripture readings for each Sunday. Now expanded and updated to conform to the Revised Common Lectionary, this revised edition of When We Gather combines the original...

Writing from the perspective of the parish pastor, Presbyterian pastor J. Dudley Weaver Jr. presents a complete and accessible overview of Reformed worship. Weaver moves from the history and theology behind Reformed worship to practical information for clergy, including help for planning worship, celebrating the dates of the church year, and working with others in the congregation to plan the liturgy. This concise handbook is ideal for all clergy in Presbyterian and Reformed churches.

Movingly rendered, The Book of the Vision Quest is for all who long for renewal and personal transformation. In this revised edition--with two new chapters and added tales from vision questers--Steven Foster recounts his experiences guiding contemporary seekers. He recreates an ancient rite of passage--that of "dying," "passing through," and "being reborn"--known as a vision quest. A sacred ceremony that culminates in...

Sacrifice--ranging from the sacrifice of virgins to circumcision to giving up what is most valued--is essential to all religions. Could there be a natural, even biological, reason for these practices? Something that might explain why religions of so many different cultures share so many rituals and concepts? In this extraordinary book, one of the world's leading authorities on ancient religions explores the possibility of natural religion--a religious sense and practice naturally proceeding from biological imperatives.

Because they lack later refinements, the earliest religions from...

Henry H. Mitchell has completely revised and integrated his popular books The Recovery of Preaching and Black Preaching for seminarians and pastors--both Black and White--who are seeking to add power and vision to their sermons.

Mitchell persuasively demonstrates that Black culture and preaching style are vital for the empowerment of Black congregations and have much to offer the preaching method of all preachers. By focusing on the use of storytelling, imagination, and style of preaching rooted in African-American culture, Mitchell spotlights effective...

- The exercises highlight sensory sermons and give speakers a new method of connecting the children with the message

- Sermon/worship preparation is made easier

- Children are introduced to lectionary texts through language and activities they can easily understand

- A sermon for each Sunday in the lectionary year