Liturgy and Life
Session Four
The Holy Eucharist
The Holy Eucharist
“The Lord’s service for the Lord’s People on the Lord’s
Day”: the Risen Christ gathers his people to celebrate and
receive His grace
The Sunday Eucharist is the Church’s central act
of worship
• Original and consistent practice
• Gathers all forms of prayer
• Proclaims God’s Word in its fullness
• Climax of the Church’s sacramental life
• Expresses all aspects of Christian discipleship
Adoring God
“The leading principle of the Prayer Book is,
that the public devotions of the Church must
consist chiefly in words and acts by which
God is adored.” J. H. Blunt
Why is God worthy of our adoration?
Do you think the church is sometimes tempted to lose
track of its audience? Why?
How does adoring God help us put our own life in
proper order?
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And blessed be his kingdom, now and forever.
We begin by acclaiming the Lord—not talking
about ourselves: we are not the center of the
universe
Berakah: classic Jewish prayer form—blessing God
for his mighty acts.
How has God established his kingdom?
How do we show that we are members of his
kingdom?
“Through the Gates of Penitence”
“LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.” George Herbert
Adoring God forces us to recognize our own sinfulness
• The words we speak do not match our deeds
• God’s radiant holiness shows our dark worldliness
• God’s love evokes our sorrow for wounding Him
Why are our bad deeds sins against God?
Christian penitence is a response of the heart—not merely a
legal calculation of deeds done and not done—it is about our
relationship with God, not just our own character
Penitence in the Liturgy
The Eucharist always begins by
expressing sorrow for sin
• Collect for Purity: “cleanse the
thoughts of our hearts”
• Kyrie: Lord, have mercy upon us
• Penitential Rite: includes
confession of sin and absolution
(at beginning or as a part of
approach to Holy Communion”
Penitence and Reconciliation
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he
lavished upon us.” Ephesians 1:7-8
Reconciliation with God is at the center of Christ’s
work
• Human sinfulness is our great problem
• We cannot live a life of complete holiness—all
have fallen short
• Jesus has come to bear the burden of our sin
and to reconnect us with God—at-one-ment
• In His death and resurrection, Jesus has taken
away our sin, opened access to the Father for us
• We come to seek God’s forgiveness through
Christ
Confessing and Receiving Forgiveness
Confessing our own sin and receiving God’s
forgiveness personalizes what Christ has done
• He bears our sins and releases us from their
power
• He assures us of God’s mercy and pardon
• He gives us strength to live a new life
How can we make confession a more personal
and sincere act of prayer?
Praise and Petition
We move from penitence to praise
The Gloria is the church’s great hymn of praise—
addressed to Father, Son and Holy Spirit
A time of silence after the Gloria invites us to bring
before God the particular needs or concerns we
have—our intention.
The Collect “collects up” our prayers in a single
petition to God appropriate to the liturgical season