BOOK REVIEW: A Holy Meal: The Lord’s Supper in the Life of the Church (Gordon T. Smith)
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Some Descriptions of Worship: Old and New
WORSHIP NOTES Volume 18, Nr. 2 (February 2023) Jewish Roots While we do not have a lot of historical information about worship in the very earliest churches, we can observe that there were influences from Christianity’s Jewish roots: both from the synagogue (especially the practice of the reading and expounding of the Scriptures) and from the temple (especially the remembrance of the once-for all sacrifice of Christ in the celebration
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“In Remembrance of Me” (part 2)
WORSHIP NOTES Volume 17, No. 4 (April 2022) THE SCOPE OF THE LORD’S SUPPER TIME (past-present-future) At the Table we are reminded of the event of Christ’s crucifixion, but in its remembrance we draw comfort from the realization that when Jesus died, He died for each of us—thus bringing the significance of the past event into our present experience. There is also a crucial future aspect as well. Paul writes:
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“In Remembrance of Me” (part 1)
WORSHIP NOTES Volume 17, No. 3 (March 2022) In obedience to Jesus’ command (Luke 22:19),[1] His church has always made the ritual remembrance of His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross a central part of gathered worship.[2] In fact, in most traditions the Lord’s Supper was celebrated weekly for the first 1500 years of the church. Some groups continue this practice, though many groups now opt for a monthly observance, while
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The Importance of Worship in the Church
WORSHIP NOTES Volume 15, No. 1 (January 2020) Among (undoubtedly) others, the following are some of the key purposes of corporate worship: 1. Worship in the church honors the Father. This is the ultimate purpose of corporate worship, an end in itself. It serves no higher purpose than this; it is a means to no other end. (“Worship is the only Christian activity that is an end in itself,” John
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SPOKEN WORSHIP: Congregational Readings (part 2)
WORSHIP NOTES Volume 10, No. 8 (August 2015) Last month we naturally gave our first and primary focus in our study of congregational readings to “the public reading of Scripture“ (1 Timothy 4:13), and to the priority of letting “the Word of Christ dwell richly among you” (Colossians 3:16). But there are other resources as well (historical and recent) that can be drawn upon and fruitfully used in worship services. 2. CREEDS
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BORN TO DIE: Christmas Communion Resources
WORSHIP NOTES Volume 8, No. 11 (November 2013) CALL TO WORSHIP And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:14,16-17)
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Important New Testament Worship Passages (Part 4)
WORSHIP NOTES Volume 8, No. 8 (August 2013) NOTE: For the crucial passage on worship in John 4, please see Worship Notes 3.9. 4. BIBLICAL CONSTANTS OF WORSHIP (Acts 2:42,47) a. Normative Elements Luke has just recounted the events of the day of Pentecost: the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ followers, Peter’s sermon, and the conversion and baptism of “three thousand souls” (2:41). And in the very next
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The Reformation of Worship
WORSHIP NOTES Volume 5, Nr. 8 (October 2010)
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