Worship and the Sacraments (1RB0)

One God, many forms of worship

Worship is showing love and reverence to God. Across the world Christians worship in strikingly different ways: some in ancient, formal services that have barely changed in centuries, others in lively gatherings full of music and spontaneous prayer. This module covers the main forms of Christian worship and the sacraments, why denominations disagree about both, and how Christian worship compares with Salah, the ritual prayer of Islam.

Forms of Christian worship

Christians worship in several broad ways:

Which form of worship?

In an Anglican church the congregation reads set responses from the Book of Common Prayer and follows the same order of service every week. Which form of worship is this?

• Liturgical worship
• Informal worship
• Private worship at home
• Non-liturgical worship

Match each form of worship

Compared: Christian worship and Salah

The spec asks you to compare Christian worship with worship in one other religion. Here that religion is Islam, and the practice is Salah, its ritual prayer and one of the Five Pillars.

Comparing worship and Salah

Select the TWO statements that are true when Christian worship is compared with Salah.

• Both are ways of worshipping and showing devotion to one God
• Salah follows one fixed pattern for all Muslims, while Christian worship takes many forms
• Christian worship follows one single fixed pattern for all Christians
• Salah has no set words, times or actions

An outward sign of inward grace

A sacrament is traditionally defined as an outward sign of an inward grace: a visible action through which Christians believe God gives his grace. The two shared by almost all Christians are baptism, marking entry into the Church and the washing away of sin, and the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion or Mass), sharing bread and wine in memory of the Last Supper. Denominations disagree about how many sacraments there are.

How many sacraments?

Christians disagree on how many sacraments there are, and even whether to have any.

Complete the practice

Worship that follows a set structure and fixed words is _____, while spontaneous, charismatic worship is _____. In Islam, the fixed ritual prayer performed five times a day is called _____. A sacrament is an outward sign of an inward _____. Sharing bread and wine in memory of the Last Supper is the _____.

What happens at the Eucharist?

Catholics and many Protestants understand the bread and wine very differently. Which statement describes the Catholic belief called transubstantiation?

• The bread and wine truly become the body and blood of Christ
• The bread and wine stay as symbols that only represent Christ
• Nothing sacred happens; it is an ordinary meal
• The bread is blessed but is never shared with people

Order the baptism service

At a Baptist church, an adult is baptised by full immersion. Put these parts of the service in the order they happen.

• The believer publicly professes their faith in Christ
• They step down into the baptismal pool
• The minister lowers them fully under the water
• They are raised up again, a symbol of new life
• The congregation welcomes them into the Church

Whose belief is it?

Match each description to the tradition it fits best.

• A Christian believes the bread and wine of the Eucharist truly become the body and blood of Christ. Which tradition fits?
• A worshipper prays a fixed ritual five times a day, in Arabic, facing Mecca. Who is this?
• A Christian rejects all outward sacraments, believing grace is inward. Which group fits?

Explain the disagreement

Explain why Christian denominations disagree about the sacraments, and compare Christian worship with Salah in Islam.

• State how many sacraments Catholics and Orthodox Christians recognise, and how many Anglicans and Protestants keep
• Explain why some groups, such as Quakers, use no sacraments
• Describe one way Christian worship is similar to Salah, and one way it is different
• Refer to the idea that a sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace