Can we really bring heaven down to earth? The Eastern Orthodox Church try their best to do just that in their worship. Robert Webber explains what we can learn from them.
I grew up in the free church tradition of worship, which traces its roots to the Puritans. While most free church communities no longer worship as their Puritan Fathers and mothers did, they retain some of the convictions of Puritan worship.
One primary conviction of Puritan worship is that Christians are to be plain in their worship. This concept of being 'plain' extends to every aspect of worship - including plain and direct speech, plain dress (as opposed to vestment), plain and simple music, and a plain setting for worship.
Weiterlesen: What We Can Learn From Worship Within The Orthodox Church
Christianity is God-centred, and God is the Trinity. So it follows that Christianity must be Trinity-centred. The same must be said about our worship and prayer. Robin Parry starts to untangle the knots.
Worship is God-centred, and because God is the Trinity, our prayer and worship should be Trinity-centred. Worship is the face-to-face encounter of the Church with God—with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
So central is the Trinity that every other Christian belief connects to it. The Trinity is the hub of the wheel called Christianity, in which all its spokes connect. Every aspect of Christian belief has the Trinity at the centre: the creation of the world and everything in it; humanity in the image of (the triune) God; the providence of God; God’s redemption of the world through Christ (incarnation, ministry, cross, resurrection, ascension); the future of the world; the mission of the Church; prayer; worship; the Kingdom of God. (...)
Das Buch "Anbetung konkret" von Guido Baltes (Aussaat Verlag 1993) ist leider vergriffen und im Handel nicht mehr erhältlich. Hier kann der Volltext als PDF heruntergeladen werden:
Anbetung konkret. Ermutigung zu einem lebendigen Lobpreis.(Aussaat Verlag 1993)
Erschienen in: Popularmusik und Kirche
(Hg. von Wolfgang Kabus)
Ist es Liebe? Das Verhältnis von Wort und Ton Friedensauer
Schriftenreihe Reihe C Band 9
S. 99-120