Tag Archives: fourfold

Worship Breathes

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One could picture the fourfold model of worship as a pattern of inhalation and exhalation. As we gather together as the people of God and then hear the Word we are taking in the breath of God. As we give thanks at the Table and are sent out into the world we exhale (share) the breath of the God with the rest of the world. I like the imagery of our worship “breathing” for three biblically rooted reasons.

First, breathing reminds us that the Holy Spirit enables everything we do, especially our worship. Genesis 1:2 tells us that in the beginning when God created heaven and earth there was a divine wind sweeping over the waters. The Holy Spirit was the divine breath that activated the words that spoke everything into being. The most ancient recorded liturgies of the church describe how the priest would breathe on the baptismal waters in blessing, recalling the Holy Spirit’s presence at creation. Just as God breathed life into Adam and Eve, the Holy Spirit breathes life into the words and actions of our confession and thanksgiving to God.

Second, every living, breathing thing was created for the purpose of praising God. Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that breathes praise God.” Every day we wake up because God graciously gives us the breath for another spin around the earth. Every breath, therefore, is an opportunity to return praise and adoration to God for who he is and what he has done. No one flawlessly seizes every available breath to praise God, and some people ignore God their whole life. But we have confidence that every breathing thing will acknowledge Jesus (Philippians 2:10-11).

Third, as believers we offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” The idea of a “living sacrifice” is an oxymoron. Something that is sacrificed is killed. In God’s original design for worship, death was synonymous with sacrifice. Something always died in a sacrifice. The paradox of a “living sacrifice” is created through the reality that in Jesus we are new creatures. Death has been defeated in Jesus, and now our worship is a living sacrifice of praise. In other words, the breath isn’t taken out of our worship. Our worship is left alive, to breathe.

Benediction

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You are sent out into the world.
Each of us carry God’s love, Christ’s light, and the Spirit’s breath.
Go in peace, and live the church.
Amen.

This is a benediction I composed that we have been using at Theophilus the last few weeks. I like it for several reasons. It captures the “sending” component of the benediction, which is important because every service ends with the final “sending” fold of the fourfold order. The Gospel and Meal propel us outward into the world. I also like it because it’s Trinitarian. As we exit a service we are stewards of the Father’s love (1 John 3:1 “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!”), the Son’s light (Philippians 2:15 “Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.”), and the Holy Spirit’s breath (John 20:22 “Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”).

Fourfold Benediction

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Here is the benediction we have been using the last couple of weeks at Theophilus:

We have been washed in the Word,
We have been nourished at God’s table,
We are sent forth as agents in God’s Kingdom
To love and serve our neighbors.
Go in peace and live the church.
Amen.

This benediction clearly outlines the order of service that is concluding (Gathering – Word – Meal – Sending). It reminds you of everything we’ve just experienced:

  • We’ve heard portions of God’s Word read and the Gospel proclaimed in the message
  • I borrowed the phrase “washed in the word” from Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”
  • “Washing” also reminds us of our baptism and our inheritance as God’s children
  • We’ve celebrated the Eucharistic feast at God’s table (where all are welcome), a foretaste of the eternal banquet that Christ presides over
  • With the conclusion of this benediction we are sent forth to work in God’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of light
  • What does work in God’s Kingdom practically look like? Loving and serving our neighbors.
  • We’re reminded that as we leave our liturgy, we don’t just return to normal life and self-centered thoughts/actions. We are launched out as missionary vessels to witness to God’s purposes and redemption of the world.
  • We are sent in peace. We have peace with God through Christ, and we are sent with the ministry of reconciliation, bringing more people peace.
  • “Live the church” is a little phrase that we end every benediction with. I borrowed it from Vox Veniae. The church isn’t a building or a social club. It’s the living/breathing Body of Christ, and it needs to be lived out in the world.

"Mr. Potato Head" Worship

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This may or may not be a valuable revelation for anyone, but it struck me one day in Ethiopia as I was playing with Masamo…

The Fourfold worship pattern is a lot like a Mr. Potato Head.

The Fourfold model is the oldest, most Biblical pattern we have for how God meets people in worship. We see it played out Sunday to Sunday like this:  Gathering -> Word -> Meal -> Sending. You can go all the way back to Moses and see the pattern emerge in how God met him in the burning bush in Exodus 3-4: Moses was gathered to Horeb, God spoke to Moses from the bush, Moses responds in obedience to God’s mission, Moses is sent back to Egypt.

So the structure of the Fourfold model is like the body of a Mr. Potato Head. When you begin to play with it, all you have is a brown body with lots of little holes in it. That body is the skeletal structure of Fourfold worship (Gathering – Word – Meal – Sending). It’s what you start with.

The different elements of worship (prayer, song, Scripture reading, offering, sermon, benediction, etc.) are like the different parts you plug into the body: the eyes, ears, nose, feet, hat, arms, etc. You can get pretty creative with a Mr. Potato Head when you start plugging the body parts into different places. No matter how unusual it looks, it’s still a Mr. Potato Head. The order of the body parts doesn’t change the fact that it is still a Mr. Potato Head.

The same goes for Fourfold worship. The elements of worship can be moved around and placed in creative patterns, but the skeletal structure of four folds always remains the same.