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Why a prayer book for the Church of God?

The modern Church of God has lost all semblance of worship in their assemblies and convocations. With very few exceptions, when they come together for the Sabbath or Holy Days, the format is nearly always the same as that created by Herbert W. Armstrong for the Radio Church of God (later the Worldwide Church of God). Services begin with two or three hymns, then a prayer, followed by the sermonette, another hymn, the sermon itself, a final hymn and ending with a prayer.

The people in attendance participate little in these so-called worship services, other than in the singing of the hymns. There is no biblical precedent for these types of services; and there is nothing in the history of ancient Israel or in ancient Judaism from which to create this model either. Rather, this form of service grows out from the need of the leaders of the church to maintain absolute control and to elevate themselves above the brethren.

They claim to be following the instructions of Paul in the New Testament regarding the deacons and elders of the churches, but it is faulty understanding of the roles of these men that has led to the present day worship model. There is not room in this brief introduction to explore the roles of deacons, deaconesses, elders, or the other offices established by Paul, but suffice it to say, their primary jobs were that of planning, organization, and maintaining order. They were not preachers as we understand the word today; they were servants to the flock.

The Apostolic Church did not assemble together to listen to sermons delivered by a leader or cadre of leaders. When they came together, everyone was free to participate, but Paul admonishes them in Corinthians to do it in an orderly fashion. This is not to say they never listened to a speaker deliver a message. It happened all the time when visiting apostles were in attendance and from among people of their own congregations, including the elders, but usually included a significant amount of time in questions and answers, and a free give and take among those gathered. However, even before the death of all the apostles, men were rising up in the congregations and establishing themselves as leaders, even putting out of the church brethren who didn’t comply with their rule (3 John 10).

The history of the Christian Church gives evidence to how far this model for worship services has spread. Every congregation now has an “ordained” minister or pastor over the flock. But it seems the modern Church of God have been the ones who have taken the model to its extreme, where only the head pastor and his hand-picked deacons and elders can speak in the assemblies. Everyone else must sit, all facing forward, and listen. Their only form of participation has become standing up, singing a song, and sitting down.

This is not how God desires his people to worship him. While it is better than nothing at all, it still fails to engage the people in true worship of their Lord.

The Tabernacle as Model

God gave detailed instructions in the Old Testament for the construction of the tabernacle, the outfitting of that tabernacle, the clothing of the priests who were to serve in the tabernacle, and the ways they were to live and function. The entire tribe of Levi was set apart to be priests and the family of Aaron was selected as the high priests, the only ones who could enter the holy of holies at that time. But all the priests had jobs and functions in the tabernacle that they performed daily on a rotating schedule.

Until the fall of the temple in 70 AD, one of the major roles of the priesthood was the sacrifice of animals on the altar. These sacrifices were for a variety of different reasons, but nearly all were performed on the behalf of the people. Without a serious study of this subject (which we can’t do here for space considerations), it might appear that today’s church structure and organization is following this model, minus the animal sacrifices.

But, there is an element missing in today’s church, whether we are talking of the mainstream Christian Church or the Churches of God. That element is the fact that God says that ALL of his chosen people will be priests of the most high.

Revelation 20:6 ESV
6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

This means that we all need to learn to function as priests and offer up our sacrifices (in the form of prayer and worship) to God daily. That role is not being fulfilled by sitting and listening to a sermon delivered every week by the leaders of the church. As priests ourselves, we need to become engaged in the worship of our God. Now is our time of training in preparation for Christ’s return when we will reign with him for a thousand years.

The tabernacle in the wilderness was only the model that served for the time it was needed. The temple was constructed (and re-constructed) on the same model. When the temple period ended, the spiritual temple became constructed within God’s chosen people, but on the same model God gave at Mt. Sinai. Only now, the sacrifices are of the lips in the form of prayer and worship (Hosea 14:2).

Hosea 14:2 NKJV
2 Take words with you, And return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.”

If we are to take WORDS and offer the SACRIFICES of our LIPS, what else could it be but prayer and worship? It certainly does not mean kissing someone’s ring, literally or figuratively. It is not something that is left only to the leadership, but something of which each and every one of us is called upon to participate.

The most important thing to remember here is that the tabernacle and all that follows, were modeled on the tabernacle in heaven. That is why God instructed Moses to see that it was done exactly as God said it should be.

Hebrews 8:5 ESV
5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”

That first physical model was so important, and is why such a large portion of the scripture is devoted to it. It was an image of God’s tabernacle in heaven. It set the stage, in a physical world, for all that was to follow and what is yet to come.

A Model in Heaven

The priests did more than animal sacrifices. They were responsible for the maintenance of the tabernacle, the candlesticks, and the table of showbread. They offered prayers, including the singing and chanting of psalms. Later, when the scriptures were written down, they read from the scriptures. But these things were not done in isolation, away from the eyes of the people.

Every day, for both the morning and evening sacrifices, people came to the tabernacle (or temple) with their sacrifices as well. They sang and prayed to their God before the altar of burnt offerings, evidenced by the high priest offering a blessing on the people at the end of the services each day (Num. 6:24-26).

The Psalms, themselves, are evidence of ancient Israel’s worship of their God. The Psalms were recited, sung, and chanted. We only have 150 of the Psalms recorded. It is hard to say how many may have become lost with the passage of time before they were committed to parchment.

In the scriptures, God has allowed us few glimpses into the tabernacle in heaven, but from what we have been shown through the visions of Ezekiel and John, praise and worship of God is going on continually. The elders before the throne of God are shown to fall down in worship and adoration, as well as the multitudes and multitudes of angels. This is the model that we have been given.

The evidence of the people’s participation in worship in past generations is abundant in the pages of scripture, both the Old and the New Testaments. Even the mainstream Christian Church has maintained the daily offerings of prayer throughout its history. It was only with the Reformation and the birth of Protestantism that it became relegated to one day a week.

With the revival of the Church of God in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the liturgical aspects of the service were eliminated, primarily as a way to distance themselves from the apostate church. However, this has robbed the people of an important element of their walk with, and worship of, their God. In today’s church the people are encouraged to pray privately every day and, to the church’s credit, they are encouraged to study and dig into the scriptures, but they are not offered any form of public or private worship.

The purpose of this series of prayer services for the Church of God is designed to remedy that lack. Nothing like this has ever been done before in the Church of God and will certainly be met with scorn by some and complete resistance by others. But for those who will accept them, hopefully they will be only a jumping off point for individuals to engage in their own private acts of worship. Some may look upon them as merely “crutches” and not true worship. That may be, but it is better to have a crutch to begin the healing process than to not be able to walk at all.

Structure of the Services

The services are primarily designed for individual or small group use. They are not offered as a new model for a Sabbath-day or Holy Day service. There are two services offered each day, a morning and an evening service, to comply with God’s command for the two daily sacrifices at the tabernacle. Each service is less than a half hour, depending on how long one engages in the intercessory prayers. Each service is composed of basically three parts — praise, listening and speaking. The first consists of elements of praise to God, the second of reading and studying his word, and the last is the offering of our prayers for ourselves, our loved ones, our communities, the church, and the world at large.

The elements of the services are heavily scripture based. Nearly all statements, words of praise, and lead-ins to the various sections are drawn straight from scripture. Sometimes elements are carried throughout an entire week; at other times, all the elements change to match the time of year.

The series is made up of small booklets, usually consisting of only one or two weeks of services, and they are all designed around God’s calendar. As the series is still being written, we only have booklets for the time between the Holy Days completed at this time. The goal is to complete each section prior to each season throughout this year (2008-2009).

When finished the series will include:

Passover — From Nissan 1 (Abib 1), or New Year’s Day, through the 14th of the first month.

Days of Unleavened Bread — From the 15th through the 21st of the first month.

Counting the Omer — One booklet with seven days of services to be rotated throughout the seven weeks leading into Pentecost.

Pentecost — One booklet with two weeks of services, to be used during the weeks following Pentecost.

Ordinary Time — Four booklets each containing one week of services, written on a major theme from the Bible. The time between the Holy Days we are calling “ordinary time” and flows from Pentecost until the fall festivals and is repeated again at the end of the year from the Eighth Day (Last Great Day) until New Year’s Day comes again the following spring. These booklets are designed to be rotated through that time frame. (Other booklets may be added at a later date).

Heshuvah — One booklet with seven days of services to be rotated through the month of Elul, known by some as the month of repentance leading up to the Feast of Trumpets. This booklet is designed for those who observe this time. For others, they would continue with the booklets called “Ordinary Time.”

Fall Festivals — One booklet with two weeks of services to cover the period from the Feast of Trumpets, through the Day of Atonement and up to the Feast of Tabernacles. The first 10 days are known as the “Days of Awe.”

Feast of Tabernacles — One booklet with services for eight days to cover the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day (the Last Great Day).

How to Use the Booklets

Some of the booklets are laid out from the 1st Day of the Week through the Sabbath. Others are listed as the actual day, such as Nissan 1, or Tishri 1. In any given year, depending on when the days fall, it will be easy to move from one set of booklets to another. If the first day of Ordinary Time falls on a Wednesday, you would merely begin your service on the Wednesday of the first booklet. Likewise with the booklets that are laid out with the actual dates. When that day arrives, regardless of your place in another booklet, you would merely move to the appropriate booklet of services for the time.

If holding the services for a small group, assign a leader for the service, preferably a different person each time. Women may serve as leaders in this instance, as these services are not a form of “teaching” or assuming any kind of authority over the brethren or the church. However, if that is too hard for you, then do what your conscience dictates. The leader reads the elements that appear in regular type face and the group responds with the elements that appear in bold face italic. If holding a service alone, the individual reads all the parts, either silently or out loud.

Music is available to accompany all the hymns, either in the form of piano accompaniment or, in some cases, full choral arrangements. All may be found at www.soundatrumpet.com/sabbathservices. htm. The full blue and the full burgundy hymnals of the Church of God are available in piano accompaniment and many from the purple hymnal are available in choral arrangements.

In Conclusion

To create these prayer services for the Church of God, several prayer books from other organizations were studied for format, nature of the devotion, content, purpose, and style. Included were the four-volume The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle, a set of Catholic prayerbooks; The Book of Common Prayer, the 1979 Anglican edition, the standard from which all other churches seem to begin; the prayer books of the Anabaptist and Mennonite church; the Worship Books of the Methodist, the Presbyterian, and the United Church of Christ churches; and the Siddur of the Jewish synagogue services.

Elements from all have influenced the compilations of these prayer books for the Church of God. However, the decision to keep most elements in their original form straight from the scriptures themselves was predicated on the need to avoid all statements or illusions to doctrinal teachings that are not biblical — such as the Trinity, the reward of a good life being an immediate escort to heaven, Jesus Christ as the object of our worship, and more.

The use of terms that smack of “churchianity” have been avoided wherever possible. Don’t be alarmed by the few that still remain. For example, a Canticle is simply scripture that can be read, sung or chanted, and is often an element that may be repeated several days in a row. We have retained the word for lack of a better one. The Benediction merely means the blessing at the end of the service. All services end with the same blessing the High Priest gave in the temple in ancient Israel (Num. 6:24-26).

May God bless this project and any of his chosen people who will approach it with open and loving hearts.