To order the ABC’s of Worship Bible Study by Paul T. Prange, visit the Northwestern Publishing House website at www.nph.net.   

Bible Study for Introduction

Read John 8:31,32.

1. What words mean “teach exactly what the Bible says, no more and no less”?

2. What benefits come from holding to Jesus’ teaching?

3. What does it mean to be “set free” in the area of worship forms?

Read John 5:39.

Jesus is speaking to people who studied the Bible seriously, because they thought that the Bible would show them how to get eternal life.

4. What do the Scriptures testify about the way to eternal life?

5. How do you keep from studying the Scriptures and coming to false conclusions?

Read Romans 10:9,10.

6. When you believe that Jesus is your Savior, what comes naturally?

7. Name different ways that we confess Jesus.

Bible Study for Adiaphoron

Read 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23.

1. When you are free to choose things, what principles should you keep in mind?

2. What does it mean to be beneficial?

3. What things are beneficial in worship? See 1 Corinthians 10:31.

4. What does it mean to be mastered by something?

5. What would it mean to be mastered by worship forms? See Galatians 5:1.

6. What does it mean to be constructive?

7. What would make a worship form constructive? See 1 Corinthians 16:13,14.

Bible Study for Bells

Read 1 Timothy 4:4-6.

1. How can we put things like bells and steeples to work for God?

2. What does consecrate mean?

3. What is the most important thing to point out to “the brothers” and sisters? See John 1:29.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:22-25.

4. Why is the cross an appropriate symbol for the Christian faith?

5. Why is seeing a cross on the steeple of a church not enough to get you to heaven?

6. Evaluate the name of your church. What does it communicate?

Bible Study for Chancel

Read Ephesians 2:8,9.

1. What is grace?

2. How does grace come to us? 

Read 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14.

3. How did God call you to faith?

4. What is the result of being called to faith?

5. How do we show in our churches that the gospel, God’s means of grace, is important?

6. What are the places in the front of church from which God brings us the gospel?

Bible Study for Decoration

Read John 1:4-9.

1. Who is the light?

2. In what way is he the light for all people? See also John 8:12.

3. How do we reveal him as the light in our churches?

Read Matthew 5:14-16.

4. Who has become the light of the world?

5. How do they reflect the light of Jesus?

6. How do Christians let their lights shine in worship?

Read Matthew 25:1-13.

7. What is the point of the parable?

8. How can we keep oil in our lamps?

Bible Study for Elevation

Read John 17:1-5.

1. What word means “elevate”?

2. When was Jesus elevated, or lifted up? See John 3:14,15.

3. How did the crucifixion of Jesus bring God glory?

Read Romans 15:5,6.

4. How does God prepare us to glorify him? 

5. How do we glorify him?

6. How do we show that kind of unity in worship?

Read 1 Corinthians 10:31.

7. How does this verse apply to worship?

Bible Study for Fish

The Greek word for fish is IXTHUS.

The first letter, I, is the first letter of the word Jesus in Greek.

Read Matthew 1:21.

1. What does the name Jesus mean?

The second letter, X, is the first letter of the word Christ in Greek.

Read John 7:41,42.

2. What does the name Christ mean?

The third letter, TH, is the first letter of the word God’s in Greek. 
The fourth letter, U, is the first letter of the word Son in Greek.

Read John 10:36-38.

3. What are the implications of Jesus calling himself “God’s Son”?

The fifth letter, S, is the first letter of the word Savior in Greek.

Read John 4:42.

4. How far does Jesus’ saving work extend?

5. Why is the fish a good symbol to display in Christian churches?

6. What other symbols strike you as very good to have in Christian churches?

Bible Study for Gottesdienst

Read Luke 14:15-24.

1. How is worship like the banquet in the parable?

2. What is the danger of neglecting worship?

You might like to study hymn 335 in Christian Worship, “O Kingly Love,” which puts this account into poetry and makes modern applications.

Read Revelation 7:9-15.

3. How do the people in heaven serve God?

4. How did those people get to heaven?

5. Why is it appropriate to call our time of worship a “service”?

Bible Study for Hymnal

The Bible’s hymnal is the book of psalms.

Read Psalm 150.

1. How did the Old Testament believers worship God?

2. The modern orchestra has three groups of instruments: wind, string, and percussion. How are all of these represented here?

3. Why don’t we normally dance in worship today?

Read Colossians 3:15-17.

4. How do we use the psalms today?

5. What attitudes accompany good worship forms today?

6. Examine some of the lesser-used parts of your hymnal.

Bible Study for Invocation

Read Deuteronomy 6:4.

1. How many Gods do we have?

Read 1 Corinthians 8:6.

2. Is God the Father that God?

Read Romans 9:5.

3. Is the human being Jesus also that God?

Read Colossians 2:9.

4. How much of God is in Jesus?

Read Acts 5:3,4.

5. How can you tell from these verses that the Holy Spirit is God?

Read Acts 10:38.

6. Are the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit the same person?

Read Matthew 28:19.

7. How many persons are in our God? Who are they?

8. When we are baptized, whose name do we get?

Bible Study for Jesus

Read 2 Corinthians 4:13.

1. Why do we say things out loud in worship?

2. How is going to church to worship a confession of faith?

3. What do we do in worship that is a confession of faith?

Read Psalm 116.
This is the psalm Paul quoted in 2 Corinthians.

4. When is a good time in our lives to go to worship? Why? Read verses 1-4.

5. What are good reasons to worship? Read verses 5-9.

6. When we believe God, what do we admit? Read verses 10,11.

7. What are we doing when we worship? Read verses 12-19.

8. Jesus is not mentioned in this psalm. How is he still the center of it?

Bible Study for Keys

Read Matthew 16:19.

1. What does Christ mean when he speaks about “the keys”? See John 20:23.

Read Matthew 18:18-20.

2. Why is the use of the keys a special power and right?

3. How valid and certain is the use of the keys by believers?

Read Matthew 18:15-17.

4. How does God want us to use the binding key?

5. How does God want us to use the loosing key?

Read Hebrews 13:17.

6. Through whom are the keys administered publicly in a congregation?

Bible Study for Lord’s Supper

Read Matthew 26:26-29.

1. What is the Lord’s Supper?

2. What blessing do we receive through the eating and drinking?

Read 1 Corinthians 11:25,26.

3. When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, what do we publicly proclaim?

4. We celebrate the Lord’s Supper “in remembrance” of Jesus. What do we remember about him?

Read 1 Corinthians 10:16.

Many Christians use the term “Holy Communion” to refer to the Lord’s Supper.

5. What word means “communion”?

6. How do we participate in the body and blood of Christ when we take the Lord’s Supper? See 1 John 1:7.

Read 1 Corinthians 11:27,28.

7. How do we prepare to receive the Lord’s Supper in worship?

Bible Study for Modes of Baptism

Some people say that Baptism must be by immersion.

Read Luke 11:38.

1. The word baptize occurs here in the original Greek. How is it translated?

2. Why isn’t it translated “immerse”?

Some people say that Baptism is only for adults, not children.

Read Acts 2:38,39.

3. To whom are the promises of Baptism made?

Some people say that children should not be baptized.
Read Matthew 28:19.

4. Whom are we to baptize?

5. Is anyone excluded?

Some people say that Baptism does not give you faith or forgiveness of sins or salvation.

Read 1 Peter 3:21.

6. What does Baptism do for you?

7. Can anyone be saved without faith in Jesus? See Mark 16:16.

Bible Study for New Testament

Read Luke 4:16-21.

1. What is apparent about worship in Jesus’ day?

2. How does Jesus teach here that good worship is focused on him?

Read Acts 20:7,8.

3. What is apparent about worship in Paul’s day?

4. How had it changed from worship in Jesus’ day? How was it the same?

Read Revelation 19:1-6.

5. How will worship be different in eternity? 

Bible Study for Order

Read 1 Corinthians 14:26.

1. What is the point of all of the forms of worship?

2. How does the church get stronger?

Read 1 Corinthians 14:29-33.

The Corinthians were living in a time when the New Testament was not complete, so God was giving direct revelations to people in worship. 

3. Rather than everyone talking at once, what does God encourage?

4. What basic principle leads us to have order in our worship?

5. How do we organize orderly worship?

Read Colossians 2:5.

6. What two things does Paul want to hear about the congregation while he is away?

7. How could orderliness take away from faith in Christ?

Bible Study for Pentecost

Read Psalm 1:1-3.

1. What does a person who is growing in the Word of God avoid?

2. How does worship keep us from doing these things?

3. What does a person who is growing in the Word of God do regularly?

4. How does worship help us do these things?

Read Matthew 21:33-41.

5. How do unbelievers act in God’s vineyard?

6. What can we learn from the tenants about our own attitude toward growing in the vineyard of God as we worship?

7. What are some of the fruits of growing in the faith? See Galatians 5:22,23.

Bible Study for Quadragesima

Read 1 Corinthians 15:14.

Some people say that it is not important whether Christ rose physically from the dead, as long as he lives on in our memories.

1. How important is Christ rising physically from the dead?

2. Since Christ has risen from the dead, what is true about our preaching? 
(See 2 Timothy 3:16.)

Read 1 Corinthians 15:17.

3. How important is Christ rising physically from the dead?

4. Since Christ has risen from the dead, what is true about your faith? 
(See 1 Corinthians 15:56,57.)

Read Romans 1:4.

5. What did Jesus’ resurrection show about him?

6. How do we remember Jesus’ resurrection every time we worship?

7. How can we be careful to keep Easter a Christian and not a pagan festival?

Bible Study for Reformation

Read Romans 1:16,17.

1. Why do Lutherans celebrate the Reformation?

Read Romans 3:21-24.

Before the Lutheran Reformation, the Christian church had publicly taught for many years that righteousness in God’s eyes came through keeping the Commandments.

2. How do people really get the righteousness of God?

3. What are the benefits that come with faith?

Read Romans 6:1-14.

4. How do believers live?

5. People criticize Lutherans for teaching that we are forgiven by the work of Christ with no strings attached. They think that anyone who hears that will feel free to sin. What is the actual reaction the Holy Spirit works in people when they hear the good news of forgiveness?

6. How are faith and grace emphasized in Lutheran worship?

Bible Study for Sunday

Read Leviticus 23:3.

1. What were the Israelites supposed to do on the Sabbath Day?

2. What day was the Sabbath Day?

3. What does Sabbath mean?

Read Colossians 2:13-17.

4. Why is this special will of God no longer in effect for us today?

5. Is Sunday our Sabbath Day now?

Read Hebrews 4:9-11.

6. What permanent Sabbath are we looking forward to?

7. How does God give us rest whenever we worship? See Matthew 11:28,29.

Bible Study for Tradition

Read Matthew 15:3-9.

1. What is dangerous about tradition?

2. How can we avoid those dangers?

3. Are there any dangerous traditions in our worship right now?

Read Jeremiah 6:16-19.

4. What can be good about tradition?

5. What is the danger of ignoring tradition?

6. Do you live in a culture that values tradition or novelty more?

7. How can we counteract that in worship?

Bible Study for Eulogy

Read Ecclesiastes 12:7.

1. What happens at the moment of death?

Read Luke 23:43.

2. What happens to the souls of believers?

Read Luke 16:27-31.

3. What happens to the souls of unbelievers?

4. Are souls in hell aware of the passage of time between their separation from the body and judgment day?

Read Revelation 6:9-11.

5. Are souls in heaven aware of the passage of time between their death and judgment day?

Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

6. What happens to the souls of believers on judgment day?

7. According to verse 18, what is one opportunity we have in worship?

Bible Study for Vows

Read 2 Timothy 3:14,15.

1. At what age is it appropriate to begin hearing the Word of God?

2. What is the advantage for children to be in worship?

3. After you learn the Word of God, what’s the next step?

Read Revelation 2:10.

4. What may happen even to people who worship regularly?

5. What is the point of continuing in worship then?

6. At what age is it appropriate to stop hearing the Word of God?

Read Hebrews 5:13–6:3.

7. Is Bible study a continuous repetition of the same truths over and over?

8. What elementary teaching is the foundation of every other teaching?

Bible Study for Wedding

Read Hebrews 13:4.

Some couples are tempted to live together before marriage.

1. What does God call such a living arrangement?

2. How do you keep the marriage bed pure?

Read Revelation 19:7.

3. How is earthly wedding worship a picture of something even better?

Read Revelation 21:1-3.

4. Who is the bride?

5. What is the eternal wedding worship like?

You might like to study hymn 219 in Christian Worship, which poetically describes how each believer is like a bride for eternity.

Bible Study for Your Name

Read Galatians 3:26–4:7.

1. How did you become a member of God’s family?

2. Regardless of your nationality, legal status, or sex, you are a son of God and also an heir. What do you inherit?

3. In order for you to get an inheritance, someone has to die. How did God give you his inheritance?

4. In what way is every service of worship a family reunion?

Read 1 Peter 1:3-7.

5. How secure is our inheritance from God?

6. Why do we suffer trials even though we are children of God?

7. What results from trials?

Bible Study for Your Role in Worship

Read Hebrews 10:19-23.

1. Why are we confident when we are drawing near to God in worship?

2. How do we express our confidence in the way we worship?

Read Hebrews 10:24,25.

3. What is worship a good opportunity to do?

4. What historical event encourages us to get together for worship?

Read Hebrews 10:26,27.

5. What is the danger of neglecting worship?

6. What things could cause us to neglect worship?

Bible Study for Omega

Read any section of Psalm 119 and use its ideas to write a poem of your own that could be used as a hymn to God.

Read Revelation 21:1-6 and write a prayer to God based on what you read there.