Systematic Cycle
DN 959 BAPTISM IN REFORMED FAITH AND WORSHIP
This course is a systematic study of the Christian sacrament as it has been observed down through the centuries. Particular attention is
given to the reforms of the baptismal rite during the Protestant Reformation as well as the controversies between the Reformers of classical
Protestantism and the Anabaptists. The course addresses the catechetical teaching entailed by the sacrament, the baptismal prayers,
the covenant vows, and the baptismal washing. Biblical and theological foundations of this rite and the practical problems of administering
baptism in the life of the Church today are examined.
Elective. Three hours.
DN 960 THE LORD’S SUPPER IN REFORMED FAITH AND WORSHIP
In this systematic study of the celebration of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper down through the centuries, special attention is given
to its Biblical roots, as well as to the way the sacrament was observed in the ancient Church and the evolution of the liturgy through the
days of the Byzantine Empire. Consideration is given to the Protestant Reformation and to the eucharistic theology of Luther, Zwingli, and
Calvin. In addition to a study of the development of a covenantal theology of the sacrament, the deep devotional insights of the 17th and
18th centuries and a number of communion prayers and hymns are studied.
Elective. Three hours.
DF 903 LEADING IN PRAYER
With an eye to leading today’s congregation in public prayer, this course begins with a study of public prayer as found in both the Old
and New Testaments. Analyzing significant developments in Christian public prayer in the ancient church, students examine the essays
on prayer by Tertullian, Cyprian, and Origen, the highly conventionalized prayer disciplines of the Middle Ages, and the Reformation and
Puritan reforms in the discipline of public prayer. Particular attention is given to William Perkins, Matthew Henry, Benjamin Morgan
Palmer, Samuel Miller, and James Alexander.
Elective. Three hours.
DN 910 THE PSALMS AS CHRISTIAN PRAYER
This course begins with a study of the Biblical psalms as they were used in the worship of Israel. It looks at the way the psalms were used
in the worship of the New Testament Church and traces this development through the ancient church and into the Middle Ages. Particular attention is given to the revival of psalmody at the time of the Protestant Reformation and the development of the various Protestant
psalters through the 17th and 18th centuries until the present.
Elective. Three hours.
DF 912 THE ROLE OF HYMNODY IN PROTESTANT WORSHIP
This course traces the profound influence of the Protestant congregational hymn and metrical psalm from the time of the 16th Century
reformers, through Pietism and the Moravians, and including the pivotal work of the English hymn writers Isaac Watts and the Wesleys.
Special attention is given to the hymnic impact of the First and Second Great Awakenings in America leading up to the various renewal
movements of the late 20th Century. Consideration is given to musical as well as textual issues as they relate to the various cultural and
theological settings.
Elective. Three hours.
DC 911 THE CHRISTIAN USE OF ART
The purpose of this course is to develop a wide appreciation of Christian art. Examination is made of the mosaics of Ravenna, the medieval
painters of Siena, the early Italian Renaissance painters in light of the Franciscan and Dominican revival, and Michelangelo’s sculpture
against the background of his evangelical Catholic faith. Particular attention is devoted to the Dutch Protestant painters of the 17th
Century, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and de Hooch, as well as several more recent artists such as Vincent van Gogh.
Elective. Three hours.
DC 913 THE ARCHITECTURAL SETTING OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
The purpose of this course is to study the way the Church has provided buildings for its worship down through the centuries. Consideration
is given to the earliest examples of church buildings in Rome, Aquileia, and Syria, the church buildings given by Constantine,
Hagia Sophia, the Cisterican monasteries in Provence, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and the thoroughly Protestant approach to church
architecture adopted by the French Huguenots at the time of the Reformation. Some contemporary architectural masterpieces also are
explored in this study.
Elective. Three hours.
DN 955 THE THEOLOGY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE WORSHIP OF THE CHURCH
It is in the doctrines of the Holy Spirit, the Church, the ministry, and the word, prayer, and sacraments that the study of worship fits into
Christian theology. This course is by intention systematic, emphasizing the thoughts of major Reformed theologians and the historic
creeds and confessional documents of the Church. A central theme of the course is that worship is an elaboration of faith in the triune God
and His activity in the Church through His Spirit.
Elective. Three hours.
Historical Cycle
DN 903 THE OLD TESTAMENT ROOTS OF NEW COVENANT WORSHIP
DN 920 WORSHIP IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
DC 902 THE WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH
This course examines the New Testament and a number of early Christian documents such as the Didaché, the worship reported by Justin
Martyr, the Odes of Solomon, and the prayer of the Church of Antioch in the Fourth Century. The sermons of John Chrysostom and Augustine
and the hymns of Ambrose of Milan and Ephrem of Syria receive special attention.
Elective. Three hours.
DN 965 THE REFORMATION OF WORSHIP IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
This course considers the reforms in the service of worship demanded by the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s Babylonian Captivity of
the Church, Zwingli’s recovery of covenant theology, Bucer’s essay on the reform of worship, Calvin’s Genevan Psalter of 1542, and Thomas
Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer are considered. Attention also is given to the worship of the Puritans and the Westminster Directory
for Worship.
Elective. Three hours.
DC 918 THE REFORMATION OF WORSHIP IN THE BRITISH ISLES
The Reformation of Worship in England and Scotland took different paths than it did in Europe. This course examines the development of
worship in Tudor/Stuart Great Britain, the origins of Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer, the roots of Puritanism, the Westminster Directory
for Worship, and Richard Baxter’s Reformed Liturgy.
Elective. Three hours.
DC 922 WORSHIP IN THE AGE OF PIETISM, ROMANTICISM, AND THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL
Historians of worship often overlook the positive contributions of 18th and 19th century Protestant worship. This course studies the
contributions of such figures as Zinzendorf, the Wesleys, Thomas Chalmers, and Charles H. Spurgeon to the development of Protestant
worship. In addition, the work of John Williamson Nevin, Charles Baird, and Alexander Campbell is taken into account.
Elective. Three hours.
DN 956 THEOLOGY OF WORSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION
This course is a comparative study of the different theologies of worship most frequently advanced today. The theologies of worship
associated with the Second Vatican Council, High Church Anglicanism, the contemporary Christian worship movement, the charismatic
movement, and the Church Growth movement are discussed and critiqued in light of Scripture and a Reformed theology of worship. This
course is intended for working pastors and more advanced students.
Elective. Three hours
Graduate Seminars in Preaching
DF 925 EXPOSITORY PREACHING I
The history of expository preaching offers much inspiration and many practical insights for the expository preacher today. This course
begins with a study of the preaching of the ancient church, especially Origen, Chrysostom, and Augustine, continues with the study of
the preaching of Zwingli, Calvin, such Puritan masters as Thomas Manton and Richard Rogers, and concludes by looking at some of the
leading expositors of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Spurgeon, Thieliche, Lloyd-Jones, et al. The purpose of this course is to help
students develop their skills in expository preaching.
Elective. Three hours.
DF 926 EXPOSITORY PREACHING II
The history of expository preaching offers much inspiration and many practical insights for the expository preacher today. This course
begins with a study of the preaching of the ancient church, especially Origen, Chrysostom, and Augustine, continues with the study of
the preaching of Zwingli, Calvin, such Puritan masters as Thomas Manton and Richard Rogers, and concludes by looking at some of the
leading expositors of the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Spurgeon, Thieliche, Lloyd-Jones, et al. The purpose of this course is to help
students develop their skills in expository preaching. This is a continuation of DF 925.
Elective. Three hours.
DF 927 EXPOSITORY PREACHING III
Focusing on the leading expository preachers of our day, this course studies the different approaches to expository preaching being used
in the contemporary church. Preachers are studied who show skill in the art of oratory as well as a variety in the scope of preaching. Those
of prophetic interest, those of devotional sensitivity, or those of doctrinal integrity receive special attention.
Elective. Three hours.
PREACHING THE PURITAN PLAIN-STYLE SERMON
Courses on the drawing board
GRADUATE SEMINAR IN CATECHETICAL PREACHING
GRADUATE SEMINARY IN APOLOGETICAL PREACHING
SACRED MUSIC IN THE GERMAN PROTESTANT TRADITION
EVANGELICAL HYMNODY FROM WATTS TO THE WESLEYS
NINETEENTH CENTURY BRITISH HYMNODY (BONAR, NEAL, SULLIVAN, ETC.) |
