Review and Discuss

Quick Questions about the Sacraments, Jonathan Edwards, and Celebrating Communion

1. Which of these rituals are observed as sacraments in the Presbyterian Church?

2. At the service of the Lord's Table we usually recite together the Nicene Creed. What creed was written for and is used at baptisms?

3. True of False: When a person joins a Presbyterian church from another denomination, the person should be re-baptized in the approved, Presbyterian manner.

4. If you have doubts, should you participate in the Service of the Lord's Table?

5. Which of these occurred during the life of Jonathan Edwards?

6. True or False: Jonathan Edwards' powerful preaching and relationship to the First Great Awakening made him a beloved figure in his Northampton congregation?

7. When he died, Jonathan Edwards was president of what school?

8. Which phrase in the Nicene Creed is the source of controversy between the Eastern and Western branches of the Church?

9. These parts of the Service of the Lord's Table almost always follow which order?
     The Sursum Corda begins "Lift up your hearts."
     The Preface varies to reflect the liturgical season.
     The Sanctus begins "Holy, holy, holy."
     The Salutation begins "The Lord be with you."

10. The part of the Service for the Lord's Table called the Oblation and the part called the Thanksgiving after Communion or the Post-Communion Prayer are related to what other prayer?

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Discussion Questions

What is the value to the worshipping community to have baptisms celebrated during community worship? What is the value to the family of the one being baptized?

Many people believe that celebrating the Service of the Lord's Table every Sunday would make it seem a commonplace and therefore trivial. Do you believe that weekly observance would lessen the impact of this sacrament? Defend your viewpoint.

In the Apostles' Creed we say we believe in "the forgiveness of sins." What is the difference between forgiving sin and excusing sin. Also if we believe that a criminal has been forgiven by God, should we continue to keep him or her in prison?

In the Apostles' Creed we say we believe in "the resurrection of the body." How is resurrection different from reincarnation?

In 1706, when Jonathan Edwards was a boy, another powerful New England preacher, Cotton Mather, published The Negro Christianized, with the "revolutionary" thesis that Black Africans were human. Through Edwards' preaching during the Great Awakening, thousands of Blacks were converted and begin to join and form churches. These two religious events began the movement to abolish slavery in America. Within a generation several states abolished slavery and others began to limit its growth. How can the power of God's love expressed through the Church change the world today? How can you be part of this revolution?