Sunday, 2 October 2016

Did Jesus Christ really teach any form of worship or ritual?


In religious contexts, a ritual is a set form of worship. Rituals involve symbolic physical actions; some examples of rituals are genuflecting before entering a pew, making the sign of the cross, and lifting aloft the Host during the Catholic Mass. All churches have a format that they typically follow, and this can be thought of as a “ritual.”
The only “rites” the New Testament church is commanded to observe are the ordinances: baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:19) and communion (1 Corinthians 11:25). But, even then, no details are given to regulate the exact methods to use.
Empty ritual is wrong, as is any ritual that replaces, obscures, or detracts from a vibrant relationship with Christ.
Mathew 23:1-7
Then addressing the crowds and his disciples Jesus said, 2
'The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. 3
You must therefore do and observe what they tell you; but do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practise what they preach. 4
They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people's shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! 5
Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader headbands and longer tassels, 6
like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, 7
being greeted respectfully in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.
also Mathew 6:1-7
1'Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract attention; otherwise you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven.
2 So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win human admiration. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward.
3 But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing;
4 your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
5 'And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward.
6 But when you pray, go to your private room, shut yourself in, and so pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
7 'In your prayers do not babble as the gentiles do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. This has nothing to do with repetitin. There are many forms of prayer and worship and repetition is a scriptural way of praying. Jesus himself repeated the prayer three times in
Mathew 26:44 asking God to let this cup pass him without drinking...
44Leaving them there, he went away again and prayed for the third time, repeating the same words.
In Revelations 4:8
8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was studded with eyes all the way round as well as inside; and day and night they never stopped singing: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty; who was, and is and is to come.'

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