Seventh-day Adventist worship

A Seventh-day Adventist Church

This article describes worship practice in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The Seventh-day Sabbath is seen as an important aspect of worship.

One Adventist author wrote, "Worship involves an attitude of mind and heart which enables man to love God with all his being."

Worship service

The major weekly church worship service occurs on Saturday, typically commencing with Sabbath School which is a structured time of small-group study at church. Most Adventists make use of an officially produced "Sabbath School Lesson", which deals with a particular biblical text or doctrine every quarter. Special meetings are provided for children and youth in different age groups during this time (analogous to Sunday school in other churches).

After a brief break, the community joins together again for a church service that follows a typical evangelical format, with a sermon as a central feature. Corporate singing, Scripture readings, prayers and an offering, including tithing (or money collection), are other standard features.

Music style & Guidelines

Adventist worship is generally restrained and carefully organized. Guidelines on what to do have been laid out by Ellen White who stated...

"It is impossible to estimate too largely the work that the Lord will accomplish through His proposed vessels carrying out His mind and purpose. The things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place Just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit."

"The Holy Spirit never reveals Itself in such methods, in such a bedlam of noise. This is an invention of Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for making of none effect the pure, sincere, elevating, ennobling, sanctifying truth for this time. Better never have the worship of God blended with music than to use musical instruments to do the work which last January was represented to me would be brought into our camp meetings. The truth for this time needs nothing of this kind in its work of converting souls. A bedlam of noise shocks the senses and perverts that which if conducted aright might be a blessing. The powers of satanic agencies blend with the din and noise, to have a carnival, and this is termed the Holy Spirit's working.

"When the camp meeting is ended, the good which ought to have been done and which might have been done by the presentation of sacred truth is not accomplished. Those participating in the supposed revival receive Impressions, which lead them adrift. They cannot tell what they formerly knew regarding Bible principles.

"No encouragement should be given to this kind of worship. The same kind of influence came in after the passing of the time in 1844. The same kind of representations were made. Men became excited, and were worked by a power thought to be the power of God...

I will not go into all the painful history; it is too much. But last January the Lord showed me that erroneous theories and methods would be brought into our camp meetings, and that the history of the past would be repeated. I felt greatly distressed. I was instructed to say that at these demonstrations demons in the form of men are present, working with all the ingenuity that Satan can employ to make the truth disgusting to sensible people; that the enemy was trying to arrange matters so that the campmeetings, which have been the means of bringing the truth of the third angel's message before multitudes, should lose their force and influence.

"The Holy Spirit has nothing to do with such a confusion of noise and multitude of sounds as passed before me last January. Satan works amid the din and confusion of such music, which, properly conducted, would be a praise and glory to God. He makes its effect like the poison sting of the serpent.

"Those things which have been in the past will be in the future. Satan will make music a snare by the way in which it is conducted. God calls upon His people, who have the light before them in the Word and in the Testimonies, to read and consider, and to take heed. Clear and definite instruction has been given in order that all may understand. But the Itching desire to originate something new results in strange doctrines, and largely destroys the influence of those who would be a power for good if they held firm the beginning of their confidence in the truth the Lord had given them. "

Holy Communion service

Adventists usually practice communion four times a year. The communion is an open service that is available to members and Christian non-members. It commences with a foot washing ceremony, known as the "Ordinance of Humility", based on the Gospel account of John 13. The Ordinance of Humility is meant to symbolize Christ's washing of his disciples' feet at the Last Supper and remind participants of the need to humbly serve one another. Participants segregate by gender to separate rooms to conduct this ritual, although some congregations allow married couples to perform the ordinance on each other and families are often encouraged to participate together^{[citation needed]}. After its completion, participants return to the main sanctuary for consumption of the Lord's Supper, which consists of unleavened bread and unfermented grape juice.

See also

• Teachings of Ellen White#Music
• Seventh-day Adventist Church
• History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
• Sabbath in Seventh-day Adventism
• The Pillars of Adventism

References

• Holmes, C Raymond. Sing a New Song (Berrien Springs, Michigan: Andrews University Press, 1983)
• Pease, Norval F. And Worship Him (Nashville: Southern Publishing Association, 1967)
• Graybill, Ronald (1994). "Adventist Worship". In Robert E. Webber. The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Volume 2, Twenty Centuries of Christian Worship. Nashville, Tennessee: Star Song. pp. 98–100. ISBN 1562330128. . Also "Adventist Model of Worship" by Ronald Graybill, p248–49
• Zackrison, Ed (1993). "Adventist Churches". In Robert E. Webber. The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Volume 3, The Renewal of Sunday Worship. Nashville, Tennessee: Star Song. pp. 3–7. ISBN 1562330136. . Also "Adventist Worship" by Merle J. Whitney in the section "Models of Renewing Worship", p128–31
• Whitney, Merle J. (1994). "Adventist Churches". In Robert E. Webber. The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Volume 4, Music and the Arts in Christian Worship, book one. Nashville, Tennessee: Star Song. pp. 3–4. ISBN 1562330144. 
• Whitney, Merle J. (1993). "Adventist Churches". In Robert E. Webber. The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Volume 5, The Services of the Christian Year. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson. pp. 3–4. ISBN 1565631919. 
• Whitney, Merle J. (1993). "Adventist Churches". In Robert E. Webber. The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Volume 6, The Sacred Actions of Christian Worship. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson. pp. 3–4. ISBN 1565631927. 
• Whitney, Merle J. (1994). "Adventist Churches". In Robert E. Webber. The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Volume 7, The Ministries of Christian Worship. Nashville, Tennessee: Star Song. pp. 3–4. ISBN 1562330179. 

External links

• "The Church and Worship" by C. Raymond Holmes. Biblical Research Institute
• "Applause, Hand Waving and Drumming In The Church" by Samuel Pipim
• "Shall We Dance?" by Adventist Scholar Samuele Bacchiocchi
• "Music: Its Role, Qualities, and Influence as Set Forth in the Writings of Ellen G. White". Ellen G. White Estate, compiled 1972
• Worship, Radical Ritual, by C. Raymond Holmes. Biblical Research Institute