WRSP 510 Biblical Foundations of Worship

The Bible has lots to teach about worship. Unfortunately, many believers today have reduced “worship” to something that has more to do with feelings than what the Bible actually teaches. Believers are called to worship in every aspect of their lives—not just on Sunday mornings. What does the Bible actually teach about worship? How does the Bible present worship as occurring in the everyday life of a child of God? What does the Bible have to teach us about what the church should do corporately as they gather?

While these questions are of crucial importance to pastors and worship leaders, they are also just as significant for teachers and parents, students and employees (no matter the field). This course is designed to dig deep into the Word of God and explore what God has revealed about what it means to worship him. Scripture clearly portrays that there are right and wrong ways to worship God, and He has been clear in his Word about what we need to know, as believers, to rightly worship him.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations/notes

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (2)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, throughout the course, the student will participate in class-wide Discussions. The student will post a thread of 250–300 words discussing various assigned topics related to biblical worship, and then post replies to the threads of at least 2 classmates with 150–200 words each. The student’s thread should include at least one biblical reference. 

To help the student understand Turabian and to provide the student with a model that he or she may continue to use throughout his or her studies, the student will create a Turabian template paper.

Worksheet Assignments (3)

The student will complete three worksheets challenging him/her to summarize, articulate, and apply what he/she has learned in the course. The assignments are as follows:

• Worksheet: Defining Biblical Worship Assignment
• Worksheet: Prayer and Music in Worship Assignment
• Worksheet: Worship in the New Testament Assignment

Book Reflection Assignments (2)

The students will read Scripture’s Knowing, by Dru Johnson, and You Are What You Love, by James K. A. Smith, and complete a reflection for each. Each Book Reflection Assignment will consist of a summary-reflection-application engagement for each chapter. 

Paper: The Object and Subjects of Biblical Worship Assignment

The student will write a paper is an answer to this question: In Biblical worship, who worships what? This paper challenges you to articulate this clearly and to back up your points with both Scripture and research by scholars.

Capstone Project Proposal Assignments (2)

In these scaffolded assignments, the student will submit two important elements related to the Capstone Research Project. The scaffolded assignments are as follows:

Capstone Project Proposal: Annotated Bibliography Assignment:  In this assignment, the student will create a properly formatted (according to the university Turabian guidelines) Annotated Bibliography containing at least 12 resources (not including the Bible) which he or she plans on using in his or her Capstone Research Project.

Capstone Project Proposal: Writing Plan: In this assignment, the student will use the Capstone Project Proposal Template and fill out the appropriate sections (essentially like a worksheet). The student will provide his or her name, title of the paper, an outline of the paper with notes on what he or she hopes to address in each section and sub-section, and a methodology statement.

Capstone Research Project Assignment

The Capstone Research Project will require the student to write a paper of 12–16 pages, utilizing at least 10 sources.