Tag Archives: atonement

Drawing Near to God as the Essence of Worship

Drawing Near to God as the Essence of Worship

In order to grasp the essence of Christian worship, we must start in the beginning. Creation provides the foundation for understanding not only the nature of God and mankind but also the substance of their relationship in worship. God, the sovereign Initiator, publicly revealed himself through what he made. The creation itself displays his nature… Continue Reading

Good Friday

Good Friday

AM I a stone and not a sheep   That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy Cross,   To number drop by drop Thy Blood’s slow loss, And yet not weep? Not so those women loved   Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;   Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; Not so the thief… Continue Reading

Satisfaction of God’s Wrath in Christian Hymnody

Satisfaction of God’s Wrath in Christian Hymnody

There has been quite a lot of noise in the blogosphere lately over a decision by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to reject Getty and Townend’s hymn, “In Christ Alone,” since they object to the language of penal substitutionary atonement and have failed to secure permission to change the line, “the wrath of God was satisfied.”… Continue Reading

Constructing Hebrew worship

Constructing Hebrew worship

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series The Building Blocks of Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

In this series I have suggested that the building blocks of worship were established in the first few chapters of Genesis. To review, those building blocks are as follows: (1) God reveals himself and initiates a relationship with his people; (2) God forms the boundaries of the relationship with his commandments; (3) the nature of worship… Continue Reading

The building blocks of worship

The building blocks of worship

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series The Building Blocks of Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Synthesizing an essential definition of worship is a perennial problem. Many have tried, several have given us very helpful definitions, yet few are fully satisfactory. Part of the problem is trying to develop an understanding of worship that encompasses the essence of worship regardless of religion but that also incorporates a particularly biblical/Christian flavor as well. One… Continue Reading