What we have seen over the past several weeks is a dynamic interplay between four realities: worldview, theology, culture, and cultus. Worldview and theology affect one another and constitute religion; culture and cultus affect one another as liturgy. But this kind of mutual formation occurs at a macro level as well, between religion and liturgy,… Continue Reading
Last week I described the liturgical nature of culture. Yet there is a second element within the broader concept of liturgy, actually the more common use of the term, and the one that centers on the primary focus of this book—worship. While the Greek term leitourgia was originally used to describe all sorts of social works,… Continue Reading
I am arguing that liturgy forms our religion, and religion forms our liturgy. When I left off last time, I defined religion as worldview + theology. Now it’s time to define liturgy. Liturgy is a word that I am using to describe the way we “live and move and have our being.” Our English word… Continue Reading
Broadly speaking, theology is how we intentionally answer the questions James Sire provided (see last week’s post) that form the assumptions at the core of our worldview. What we believe about the nature of reality, the purpose and meaning of life, the basis of right and wrong, and most importantly God form our theology. Theology… Continue Reading
Religion is composed of two parts, the first of which is worldview. A worldview consists of a set of assumptions a person holds about reality; it is a lens through which he understands and interprets everything around him. James Sire has provided a helpful and influential definition of worldview: A worldview is a commitment, a… Continue Reading
Imagine a dense forest separating two cities. In order to engage in commerce between these cities, merchants must pass through the forest. For the earliest of these merchants, this was a very difficult task, wrought with many mistakes and casualties. Eventually, though, over time and with experience, the merchants discovered the safest, quickest route through… Continue Reading
Studying the liturgical history of the Christian faith paints a necessary picture of what Christians have truly believed throughout history, perhaps in some cases more so than studying their creeds. This history helps us obey God’s command given in Job 8:8–10: For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out.… Continue Reading
There are many valuable ways to study the history of the church; church historians often trace the development of creedal theology, recount the lives of key theologians and church leaders, or study significant events in the life of the church. Each of these is a valuable way to understand how we arrived where we are… Continue Reading
A few weeks ago I posted a link to an article about finishing homeschool in less time each day. This morning Sonya Shafer posted over at Simply Charlotte Mason some practical tips, guiding principles, and real life schedule examples of how to finish homeschool lessons by lunchtime. She gives examples of schedules for homeschooling one… Continue Reading
I regularly teach and write about how to plan and lead worship services whose structural narrative express the gospel. For example, in the following article, I explain how I plan such a service, including a video that walks through the process: “How I order corporate worship“ When I teach or write on this subject, I… Continue Reading
Each week I post an exposition of our Sunday service. Here is this week’s. Continue Reading
Each year in our church, we have a Holy Week service that has become one of our most anticipated services. It is a simple service of Scripture, hymns, and Communion, following a similar structure to a Lessons and Carols Christmas service, but focusing on the events leading up to and including the Cross. Over the… Continue Reading
Each week I post an exposition of our Sunday service. Here is this week’s. Continue Reading
Each week I post an exposition of our coming church service. Here is this week’s: Lord’s Day Service – February 25, 2018 Continue Reading
In his book, Wiser Than Despair: The Evolution of Ideas in the Relationship of Music and the Christian Church, Quentin Faulkner provides a helpful description of how the domination of the Church during the Middle Ages affected worship and music, for good and for ill: Financial support for the church was from taxes; therefore “in no way,… Continue Reading
Each week I post an exposition of our church’s worship service. Here is the service for this Sunday: Lord’s Day Service – February 18, 2018 Continue Reading
This past Saturday was the Day of Atonement. Ken Casillas continues his series on the Holy Days of Israel: The Day of Atonement | Theology in 3D Continue Reading
For several years now James K. A. Smith has been helpfully speaking and writing on the subject of liturgical formation in education and worship. His first two volumes on this subject, Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Baker, 2009) and Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works (Baker, 2013), have reintroduced several important biblical… Continue Reading
Being familiar with some of Rod Dreher’s other works like The Little Way of Ruthie Leming and How Dante Can Save Your Life, I was excited to read his newest book, just out on Tuesday, The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. While the whole book is both accessible and informative (see Scott’s review… Continue Reading
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Rod Dreher’s much anticipated book, The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation, is how unremarkable his proposal really is. Yet it is a profoundly necessary correction for an American Christianity that has lost its biblical moorings and become just as secular as the culture around… Continue Reading