Lessons from the Reformation for Today: Worship

Protestants adopted a variety of worship styles, but they had a few things in common. First, they emphasised the preaching of the word; second, they put a great deal of emphasis on the sacraments. Although they did not believe that sacraments were necessary for salvation, they still believed that proper celebration of the sacraments was a mark of the true church. And therein is the problem: with no higher authority to appeal to settle theological disputes, the inability of Protestants to agree on how to interpret the sacraments meant that Protestantism rapidly fragmented.