Browsing Tag

liturgical

Pentecost

Great Pentecost Resources

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Looking for some great Pentecost resources? The folks over at http://bluetruckpublishing.com got you covered.

“Anything but Ordinary – readings for worship during Ordinary Time (Pentecost to Last Sunday of June)”

This collection of liturgical helps is the second worship resource from Don Durham. Each of the pieces are tied to the lectionary readings for the day and every Sunday includes:

Invocation/Call to Worship Responsive Reading Benediction

There is also a free stock image included inthe purchased download. You can preview a sample of this product for free on the Blue Truck blog here. Don also wrote “Lenten Liturgies” and it received 5 stars and this review from a worship pastor: “A well written RCLliturgy resource. A steal at 99 cents even if you don’t use all of the resources. The Palm/Passion Sunday resources include both thematic elements to allow for Holy Week flexibility.

Download here.

Ash Wednesday, Lent

Ashy Baptists

Ash Wednesday is an occasion to mark the beginning of Lent and be marked by ashes. To receive ashes on our forehead and hear the words, ‘You are dust and to dust you shall return’ can be a powerful reminder of our life and hope in Jesus Christ.

Baptists have traditionally have a rejectionist approach to anything in church life that is not found in the Bible. Ashes on foreheads, responsive prayers, a liturgical calendar, and the like are things not prescribed in the Bible. Thus, Baptists often choose to make worship much more about a conversion event rather than expressions of lament, sadness, contemplation, reconciliation and forgiveness.

For those of us Baptists who do participate in the more liturgical practice of imposition of ashes, I shall deem us “Ashy Baptists”. Some Baptists may think ashes and Lent are more Catholic things, but they are not. However, the marking of ashes are Biblical, as a sign of mourning and repentance.  There is nothing magical about the ashes.  We are not more holy for participating in Ash Wednesday, but it is  another way to experience the presence of God in our lives in a symbolic way.

Christians from many denominations have rediscovered the value that Lent and Ash Wednesday can provide.  The liturgical worship movement is a movement of compassion, experiential and participatory worship, image based, and connective community.   Every church has a liturgy, no matter “high” or “low” the church is.  A liturgy is a set order or worship, whether printed or spoken.

For us “Ashy Baptists” we find company in the likes of Christians who want to make a public statement about their belief and comfort and Jesus Christ. But, ashes on our foreheads go beyond being public about our convictions. The symbolic nature of being marked by ashes serves as a tangible expression of one’s commitment and acceptance in the Kingdom of God.

In a world were many churches offer an over load of visually and auditory stimulation,  we need more physically experiential expressions of our faith.  Ashes on Ash Wednesday, for Baptist, can be a meaningful expression and opportunity.

 

Ash Wednesday

A Baptist Who Celebrates Ash Wednesday?

Huh? A Baptist who celebrates Ash Wednesday?  That’s like an American celebrating Boxing Day.  The two just don’t go together.

Despite the misnomer, Baptists do celebrate Ash Wednesday and Lent, especially this Baptist.  Two of the classic Baptist distinctives is local autonomy and soul liberty.   Each Baptist church has the freedom to worship however the church sees fit.  Since we Baptists do not have a book of worship or order, like other denominations, Baptists are free to worship as they feel led.  This, of course, does not happen in a vacuum.  I have always believed that Baptists must be led by scripture, reason, tradition, and experience (the Wesleyan Quadrilateral) with scripture being the final authority.

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent.   The goal of Ash Wednesday is to reflect upon our humanness, our need for forgiveness, and our connection to Christ’s last days.  These themes are symbolized by the imposition of ashes on the forehead, with the words, “You are dust and to dust you shall return…” during the worship service.  In the Old Testament, ashes were a sign of penitence and mourning.  Job was known for placing ashes upon his head to mourn the loss of his family.

Sure, Catholics do it, but that does not mean that we become Catholic if we receive ashes.  We are merely participating in the greater historical liturgical practices of Christians.  There is nothing magical about the ashes.  You are not any more holy for participating in Ash Wednesday, but it is just another way to experience the presence of God in our lives in a symbolic way.

But, where did this act of worship and repentance on Ash Wednesday come from?  Christianity Today provides some insight:

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