Kirjahaku

An historical survey of the role of the Lord's prayer throughout the history of the Church's thought and its worship. This study surveys the contributions of biblical scholars and theologians from the Early Fathers to the modern day, from Eastern and Western traditions and from Catholic and Reformed, Enlightenment and Modernist sources.

Kenneth Stevenson is one of the UK's leading liturgical scholars with an international reputation. Much of his work is in the borderlands of theology, worship and history. The essays in this book are worked examples of the importance of interpretation and liturgy, particularly in the light of the growing impact in recent years of reception-history, and how this interacts not only with biblical scholarship but with worship and doctrine as well. Interpretation and Liturgy is a big subject, and one that is unlikely ever to go away. It is part of the twofold movement of divine initiative and human aspiration - or to put it yet more directly, what some would immediately call the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, others would call the religious imagination, and others again would call both.

To Join Together is a study of the Roman Rite of Marriage wherein historical liturgical practice celebrated three stages: betrothal, luminality, and incorporation. These stages, though they faded from the liturgy, continue to maintain a lively existence in family life. Dr. Stevenson calls for a return to the three-stage ritual celebration and offers specific recommendations for their incorporation into the Roman Rite of Marriage.

As today's church re-examines the theology of baptism, the appropriateness of the rite and its relevance to a secular society we realise that the wisdom of the great seventeenth-century divines still has a vital significance today.

This informative and inspirational guide to the principal festivals and major holy days of the Christian year is essential reading for all those with responsibility for planning or leading worship. Exploring the biblical readings and prayers for forty principal festivals and holy days, and tracing their liturgical and historical development through the centuries, All the Company of Heaven brings alive many treasures from our Christian past and offers creative suggestions for celebrating these festivals today.

Harnesses biblical, pastoral, historical and liturgical insights, exploring the significance of the different versions of the Lord's Prayer, the shape of the prayer, its varied uses in public worship and private devotion, its summary of the gospel.

Awareness of the liturgical seasons of the year has increased greatly in recent years, as the popularity of the "Common Worship Times and Seasons" volume has illustrated. Churches are constantly looking for ways to enrich their seasonal celebrations, and the first point of better celebration is better understanding. Of all the seasons, Advent is the least understood, the least studied. An entirely Western phenomenon without much of a preaching or liturgical tradition, it is characterised as much by its folk customs - the advent wreath and the Feast of St Nicholas - as by its biblical themes. Here is a book that helps to create a fuller theology of Advent. Kenneth Stevenson characteristically draws on biblical, historical and liturgical evidence to show how the churches have understood and kept Advent down the centuries, and finds that the season has much to say to contemporary concerns in today's church and world, from how we do mission to Richard Dawkins' brand of atheism and a surprising number of issues in between.

The Eucharist is central to Christian worship throughout the world. Jesus only left two commandments - to love God and our neighbour, and to share bread and wine in remembrance of him. It is a sacrament rich in symbol and image that takes everyday items and infuses them with spiritual meaning. In this short, reflective companion, Kenneth Stevenson explores some of the Eucharist's many layers of meaning - as sacrifice, memorial, sustenance for the Christian journey, sign of the new creation, anticipation of the heavenly feast - and more. As a basic guide, he uses the Gospel of Luke in which feeding is a particularly strong theme. Taking well known stories such as Jesus eating with sinners, feeding the five thousand, the Last Supper and the evening meal at Emmaus after the resurrection, he grounds our understanding of the Eucharist in scripture and shows how it can shape our entire Christian experience. It is an ideal gift for baptism, confirmation or first communion.