Actual Holiday Service Schedule of A Newberg Church
There seems be something going on in the Church that is disturbingly new (at least in my memory), which I find staggeringly ill-informed biblically and irreverently profane. It’s new in the wider sense that it would have been unthinkable through most of the Church’s history; and new even to Evangelicalism in recent times. What I am referring to is the trend of not having worship services on Christmas Day. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Christmas, Christmas Worship, family worship, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lord's Day, Poetry, Sabbath, worship
From Silence to Song - Peter Leithart
Peter Leithart in 2003 published his wonderful book, From Silence To Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution, which exegetically and theologically demonstrates the importance of David’s tabernacle worship on Mount Zion, both to Old Covenant and New Covenant worship. While I am not convinced of Leithart’s entire thesis (i.e. I think his arguement that weekly worship before David did not involve singing is an arugement from silence, and seems unlikely to me considering the fact that we have songs given to us previous David that were sung in a worship context), Leithart’s work is unique and groundbreaking in terms of its discription of the importance of Davidic worship prophetically.This book is must reading for all serious students of the Bible and its teaching on music in the church.
Last week an article was published by Leithart in First Things, How the Church Lost Her Soundscape, about contemporary Christian worship music. He introduced his subject by saying, “I am not assessing the quality, theology, or sincerity of contemporary worship music. I merely observe the fact, and offer a preliminary interrogation of its cultural sources and effects. What ideas, standards, and forces shape liturgical music? And, what does the church’s musical culture say about the church and its future?”
” Culture is a gift from the old to the young, and the younger generation’s grateful reception is a sign of honor for fathers. Cultural transmission has been thrown into reverse, also in the church.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Books, Culture, First Things, music, Peter Leithart, worship
In recent years there has been a renewed interest in biblical and historical liturgical studies in Reformed circles. From a symposium sponsored by The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship James K.A. Smith gave this excellent presentation of a biblical motivation for worship.
Smith is the author of a recent book called Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Cultural Liturgies) that comes highly recommended to me, and is on my reading list. 
Tags: Books, James K.A. Smith, worship
As many in the Church today plant churches that are appealing to “seekers” we find that there are certain techniques that are important to success. The following video provides a good church planting blueprint for the liturgical life of the church.
http://vimeo.com/11501569
NOT!!!
Tags: Church, Church Growth, Church Planting, worship
This is a fascinating article written by Peter Leithart:
In the article Peter provides some excellent theological background for properly understanding fasting and Lent. Lent and it’s propoer use has been the subject of much discussion recently amoung some of the CREC pastors. I think his insights are very useful to recovering a biblical and a modern Protestant understanding of the Lenten season.
Tags: Fasting, feasting, Lent, worship
