A church service involves praising God in music, readings from the Bible, prayers, thoughtful silences, a sermon and various holy ceremonies (often called sacraments) such as the Eucharist (an important part of worship for many Christians).

Christian worship grew out of Jewish worship. Jesus Christ was a religious Jew who attended the synagogue and celebrated Jewish festivals, and his disciples were familiar with Jewish ritual and tradition. The first obvious difference from Judaism was making Sunday the holy day instead of Saturday. By doing this the day of Christian worship is the same as the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

Set times for prayer during the day were established (based mainly on Jewish models), and a festal cycle throughout the Christian Year governed the celebration of feasts and holy days linked to the events in the life of Jesus, the lives of the saints, and aspects of the Church's perception of God.

Prayer is when we communicate with God. We don’t even have to talk, we can just think or feel a connection with him. God already knows what is in our hearts and minds. We can be honest with God, and say exactly how we feel, or even just sit in silence. We may want to be on our own, but may also find that it helps to join with other people in a church, school or some other place. We can pray for other people or for ourselves, we can say sorry for the things we have done wrong and we can thank God for all he has given us. We can all Learn to Pray. The Book of Common Prayer is a permanent feature of the Church of England's worship and is also one of the things which bond Anglicans around the world.

When Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he taught them a prayer that has come to be called "The Lord's Prayer". It is a Christian prayer in Jesus' own words and is used in many different services in the church. Jesus was a man of prayer and he teaches us how to pray by using the Lord's Prayer as an example and guide. He shows us the things to bring into our own prayers and he encourages us to act on these things in our everyday life. Read the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.

"Daily Prayer provided by the official Church of England web site, © The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2002-2004."
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