“Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. Worship the Lord in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.” Let [...]
The Evangelical Liturgy 5: The Prelude
23 Aug by
In most Protestant and evangelical worship services there is some kind of a transition from non-worship time to worship time. Though this is among the least essential elements of worship, this “prelude” serves a number of helpful functions. Protestants have an uneven record on treating a worship space/time as a time of focused, prayerful response [...]
Links to the Evangelical Liturgy Series (so Far)
23 Aug by
Introduction 1) The Worship Setting 2) The Tools 3) The Leaders 4) The Congregation 5) The Prelude 6. The Call To Worship Remember that there will be 23 posts in this series. There is also a “Church” category here at IM, and also a “Baptists” category.
The Evangelical Liturgy 4: The Congregation
19 Aug by
I’ve been thinking about this post quite a bit, and for the life of me I really can’t think of much to say than some of the obvious. The evangelical worship service is the worship of the people of God. God acts, speaks invites and offers. God’s people respond in worship, service, ministry and mission. [...]
The Evangelical Liturgy 3: The Leaders
16 Aug by
Intro, 1, 2. If you are looking for a complete theology of the pastorate, sorry. I am going to talk about the relationship of leaders to the worship service itself, and a few related issues. The sermon is a separate subject. One point I am making is that ministers are not entirely preachers. Someone has [...]
Michael Horton, Etc.: Resources on Reforming The Church and Its Worship
15 Aug by
If you only read one book on worship, it should be Dr. Michael Horton’s “A Better Way.” I can’t find an audio presentation of that material, but Dr. Horton has a lot of good material on reforming worship in the local church. Reforming Worship Preaching Christ Reforming Church Music Reforming the Church Service Rethinking Baptism [...]
The Evangelical Liturgy 2: The Toolbox
15 Aug by
NOTE: Read the intro? The first post? You ought to do so. The “tools” for worship refers to the necessary books and literature giving distinctive evangelical content, flavor and boundaries to the worship service. One of the problems with evangelical worship is that the entire “toolbox” is often the pastor and/or worship leader! That should [...]
The Evangelical Liturgy 1: The Worship Setting
14 Aug by
RESOURCE: Excellent piece at CICW on designing worship space. NOTE: Someone asked where I got the liturgy bug as a Southern Baptist. Here is Highland Baptist Church, Louisville, where I was on staff for 3 years. From the Chancel. And exterior. New Covenant worship can take place any place and any time. There is no [...]
A New Series: The Evangelical Liturgy: Introduction
13 Aug by
I am beginning a series of brief (I hope) posts on the subject of “the evangelical liturgy.” In these posts, I am going to survey the basic elements of a traditional Protestant worship service in a traditional Protestant setting. I will offer abbreviated commentary on each of those elements, with a purpose of explaining and [...]
