主日敬拜禮儀
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| asrpci_敬拜禮_liturgies.pdf |
我們的敬拜禮儀唐興 譯
從一開始，基督徒就在主日舉行莊嚴和以神為中心的敬拜。幾世紀以來，某些元素就成為合宜的敬拜神所不可缺少的。這些元素被編為法典 (codify) 成為所謂的「敬拜禮儀」(liturgy)。您在聖徒改革者長老會所經歷的，乃是16世紀改教運動者們所推行的，與早期教會相同的慣例。
「敬拜禮儀」幫助我們把焦點放在基督和祂的榮耀上；把豐富的聖經經文放在敬拜者的面前，使他們的心思離開人。藉著這樣的「敬拜禮」，基督徒參與在對神的敬拜之中，在神的話中聽到神並且回應神，而非僅是一個旁觀者；並且轉移我們對這個世界的專注，使我們盼望來世。「敬拜禮儀」把新約和舊約的經文連結在一起，把舊約中的應許和新約中的應驗展現出來。 「敬拜禮儀」使信徒得安慰：
借鑑於基督教教會歷史豐富的傳統，證明了改革宗的敬拜具有下列的特質： －以神為中心－ 敬拜最重要的就是：以神為中心。改革宗的敬拜的目的是要把三一神的榮耀和其為罪人所施的救贖之工的偉大放在敬拜中央和前面的位置。 －具對話性的－ 改革宗的敬拜是神與其的子民之間的奇妙對話。改革宗的敬拜過程開啟了一個對談：神藉著誦讀律法和福音向我們說話；我們用讚美和感謝、悔改認罪和禱告來回應神。 －正式恭敬的－ 以色列的聖者，權能的神是威嚴和榮耀的，我們在祂的同在中的喜樂是帶著戰競的。我們認為促進對神的這種認識，最好就是藉著一種具恭謹的形式和莊嚴的喜樂。當我們冒著有人會認為「不夠活潑」，不能滿足其味口的危險之時，我們相信每週重複的如此敬拜，會提升聖經所啟示的神的宏大特質。 －具客觀性的－ 因為敬拜主要的目的是要歸榮耀給神，我們的敬拜就沒有把人的需要、感覺，或心願放在主要位置。一個通常犯的錯誤就是純粹用主觀的印象和感覺來評估敬拜。因此，許多人都認為只要是令人感覺好的，就是好的敬拜。當然，不是要為主觀的回應打折扣－我們的確要在主觀上進入敬拜－我們認為敬拜首先和最主要的是一個活動，而非是一種情感。「你在做些什麼？」要比「你感覺到什麼？」還要重要得多。 轉譯自: allsintsreformed.org |
our liturgyRev. John Sawtelle
Since the beginning, Christians have conducted dignified and God-centered worship on the Lord’s Day. Over the centuries, certain elements were found to be indispensable to properly worship God. These elements were codified in what became known as “liturgy.” What you will experience at All Saints is in line with the custom of the ancient Church, as practiced by the Reformers of the 16th century.
Liturgy helps us focus on Christ and His glory. It places an abundance of Scripture before the worshiper, taking his mind off man. By having a liturgy, the Christian becomes a participant in the worship of God, hearing and responding to Him, instead of being a mere observer. It gets our focus off this world and gives us hope for the next. It ties the Old and New Testament texts together, showing the promises in the Old, and their fulfillment in the New. Liturgy comforts believers by
Drawing upon the rich traditions of the historic Christian Church, we attest that Reformed worship is characterized in the following ways: GOD-CENTERED The most important thing that we could say about our worship is that it is God-centered. Reformed worship aims to place the radiant and glorious character of the Triune God and the greatness of his redemptive work on behalf of sinners front and center. DIALOGICAL Reformed worship is a marvelous dialogue between God and his people. The course of Reformed worship unfolds in the form of a conversation which alternates between God speaking to us through the proclamation of the law and the gospel and our responding to God in praise and thanksgiving, penitence (confession of sin) and prayer. FORMAL AND REVERENT The Holy One of Israel, the Sovereign God is majestic and glorious, and we are to rejoice with trembling in his presence. We believe that such a view of God is best encouraged by a service characterized by form, reverence, and solemn joy. While we thus run the risk of not being “upbeat” enough for some people’s tastes, we believe that we are, week in and week out, promoting a view of God which is consistent with the magnificence of his character revealed in Scripture. OBJECTIVE Since the primary purpose of worship is to give glory to God, our worship is not preoccupied with mans needs, feelings, or aspirations. A common mistake is to evaluate worship purely in terms of our subjective impressions and feelings. Thus, for many people, worship is good only insofar as it makes them feel good. While not wishing to discount the importance of our subjective response—indeed it is our hope that we will be subjectively engaged in worship—we would suggest that worship is first and foremost an activity, not a feeling. “What are we doing?” is thus a more important question than “How do we feel?” |