Theology of the Church, Mentor's Guide, MG03

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T H E O L O G Y O F T H E C H U R C H

The Church at Worship

Welcome to the Mentor’s Guide for Lesson 2, The Church at Worship . The goal of this lesson is to help students understand the Church as a community of people who have experienced the grace of God and who respond to this grace by engaging in worship as their duty and their delight. The first segment will focus on the fact that salvation is all by grace since this is the starting point for a response of worship. It will also talk about the Lord’s Supper and baptism as two of the most significant ways that the Church acknowledges, experiences, and responds to the grace of God. Since there are legitimate differences about the nature of the Lord’s Supper and baptism among evangelical believers, please be prepared for disagreements among your students about what the Bible teaches and be ready to lead a discussion that is fair-minded and which helps students to develop their own convictions in light of Scripture and their denominations’ theology. The second segment will focus on the theology of Christian worship and the key elements that should be included in the worship of the Church. The central idea is the worthiness of God and the resulting idea that the Church is the people called to give him the glory he deserves. Ironically, the focus on the Church at worship is not upon the Church itself. In its worship of God, the Church focuses on the person and works of God. The Church worships and adores God because of the inherent majesty of his nature. We glorify God because of his solitary holiness, his infinite beauty, his incomparable glory and his matchless works. As the one, true, and living Triune God, the Church worships God through Jesus Christ. No one can approach God except through faith in the person of Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, the Church gives its worship offerings to God through its praise and thanksgiving and through it practice of its worship schedule (i.e., liturgy), which emphasizes the preaching of the Word and the sacraments. In one sense, all that we do as believers is a form of worship to God, and so we may also glorify God through our obedience and lifestyle as a covenant community. Since the focus of this lesson is on worship, be sure that you cultivate “warm hearts” as well as “clear minds” on these issues. Students should be led to active thanksgiving and praise during these lessons as well as reflection on the theological issues involved. Please read the following objectives carefully. The more you can highlight

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