【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 pare them for death. This is most likely after a long period of illness. Prayers of preparation and reconciliation may be said, with only the minister in the room. Family and friends can participate in the Lord39。s Prayer, the Word of God and Holy Communion. Often, the funeral is held about a week after one’s death. It can either take place in a church or at a crematorium. The Gathering: the priest will open the service with this reading from the scriptures:39。I am the resurrection and the life,39。 saith the Lord。 39。he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.39。I know that my Redeemer liveth...Book of Common Prayer 1979’Readings and sermon: a psalm from the Bible is read out. It is often Psalm 23, 39。The Lord is my Shepherd39。. Verses from the Old or New Testament are also read. Personal readings: The priest will talk about the person who died. This can be quite a personal section, reflecting on the person39。s life and their role in the Christian church. A family member or friend may wish to read out a poem or a passage from the Bible. Prayers: prayers of thanksgiving, penitence and readiness for death are said. Reflection: Silent time for reflection. The congregation is given a minute to reflect on the deceased. Commendation and farewell: The priest speaks these words: Let us mend (the person39。s name) to the mercy of God, our maker and redeemer. The priest then reads a prayer of entrusting and mending. The mittal: this is probably the most solemn moment of the service. At a burial, this is when the coffin is lowered into the grave. At a cremation, the curtains are closed around the coffin. We therefore mit (his or her) body to the ground。 earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust。 in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life.There may also be a selection of hymns which are sung throughout the service.Some parishes still have space for burials. The burial follows a church service and the family and friends of the deceased gather round the grave for the Committal. It is tradition to throw some dust/mud onto the coffin. A short prayer will be said by the minister. For those who wish to be cremated, the body is taken to a crematorium, where it is burned. At the point of Committal, the curtains close around the coffin. The ashes are put into an urn and given to the family, who may choose to keep them or scatter them in a place that was meaningful to the deceased. The influences of the Bible on FestivalIn English countries, many festivals are closely related to Christianity. Easter and Christmas are the main religious festivals of the Christian Year. Most people in England celebrate Christmas and Easter. School children have two weeks off school during Christmas and Easter. Most of the festivals are e from the Bible and extensively affected by it. The influences of the Bible on Sunday Take Sunday for example. As Sunday is the very mon holiday that now it is spreading around the world. Sunday were mentioned many times in the Bible. Sunday is e from the Sabbath. In Hebrew, Sabbath means to rest. The Christians believe that: God has made people a promise of rest but it is up to people to claim it. In the Bible God tells people there are certain things they must do before they can enter His rest. The Sabbath days were just a shadow of our true rest, Jesus Christ. Only Christ can save our soul and give us rest.Jesus Christ has bee our Sabbath and people can have a rest every weekend of the week if people want. People need to have faith, an open mind and work to get God’s rest. Read God39。s word and claim the promise of rest that God made to us. If you would like to set aside a day of the week to do this, there is nothing wrong with that. But remember that mankind gave the days of the week, not God. Also, with God a day is a thousand years, so saying a certain day is the Sabbath just doesn’t work. People use Sabbath as Sunday today. The influences of the Bible on ChristmasSince about 400 AD, Christians have celebrated the birth of Jesus. 39。Christ39。 means 39。Messiah39。 or 39。Anointed One39。 the title given to Jesus and 39。Mass39。 was a religious festival. Christmas is a wonderful time of year. In many countries of the world, the celebration of Christmas on December 25th is a high point of the year. Christmas is a very special time for Christians, it is a time of celebration. According to the record of the Bible, Jesus is God’s son, he is given the birth by Saint Mary. For memorating Jesus’ birth, Christianity decided December 25th as the Christmas. Christmas is the biggest festival that all sorts of groups of Christianity celebrate. December 24th is called Christmas Eve. Christians hold the firmed belief that Christmas is the day that Christ was born. That’s how Christmas es. But the real Christmas story is found in the Christian Bible. It is told in two different books: Matthew and Luke chapters 1 and 2. Christians believed that it was exactly God39。s plan that things happened in this way. They say that it shows that Jesus came as a humble, poor person and not as a strong, rich king. They also claim that the birth of Jesus was told many years before the event was written in the books of the prophets. Five hundred years ago, the prophet Micah had said, But you Bethlehem, though you are small, out of you will e for me, one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. The prophet Isaiah had written, A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. His royal power will continue to grow。 his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David39。s successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. These are only two of many prophetic words that told of the birth and life of Je