Introduction to Christian Worship

The premise of this book is just that. There is a basic grammar to

worship, and grammar tells a story. It is a story of God's people seeking

God and of God descending to God's people. «Draw near to God,

and he will draw near to you» (James 4:8). These are the key movements

in worship that the four elements from Acts 2:42 enable. This

story is retold each time the people of God gather for worship. It can

take different forms: prayer and Scripture to elevate the people to

heavenly places, and the Eucharist, where heaven descends to earth;

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sermon exposition to draw people heavenward in thought and conversion

as a result when Christ condescends to abide with the contrite

of heart; people lost in wonder, love, and praise and the power of the

Holy Spirit poured out on the Body. It is the same story of people being

lifted to the heavenly realms and God coming to meet them together.

In addition, a basic grammar for worship needs the requisite parts

of speech. This book will use this model to give a basic understanding

of Christian worship. It will look at the nouns and verbs of worship.

Who are the people? What are the places, the things, the ideas?

What are the actions of worship? And how do they tell the same

story with different vocabulary? At the end of the book, this will be

an answer to the question, What is Christian worship? While this is a

broad Protestant introduction to worship, it will draw from a Wesleyan/

Methodist perspective.