Tag Archives: temple

Brought Near by the Blood of Christ

Brought Near by the Blood of Christ

This entry is part 6 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Last week we examined two images Scripture uses to describe the Old Testament temple that should be applied equally to the New Testament Church has God’s temple—sanctuary and house of God. From these images, we can recognize a bit more clearly the nature of who we are and what we are to do as the… Continue Reading

The Church: God’s Temple

The Church: God’s Temple

This entry is part 5 of 15 in the series Fundamentals of Corporate Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

So far in this series I have established the importance of grounding our theology and practice of worship in the sufficient and authoritative Word of God. Then remainder of this series will address the natural next question: What is that theology and practice of worship that the Bible prescribes? And in this post I will… Continue Reading

How the Tabernacle Communicated a Theology of Worship

How the Tabernacle Communicated a Theology of Worship

At Mt. Sinai, God established standardized practices of worship for his people. First, God commanded that the people build a sanctuary for him. They built the tabernacle of God—and later the temple—according to God’s specific instructions (Exod 25:8–9, 40; 27:8; Num 8:4; cf. Acts 7:44; Heb 8:5). This sanctuary of his presence was not for… Continue Reading

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

Christ removes the shadows to reveal the reality

Christ removes the shadows to reveal the reality

This entry is part 5 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.

I have been arguing that the basic building blocks of worship have existed ever since creation, were codified in the Mosaic system, and are actually pictures of heavenly reality. I have suggested that these building blocks follow this flow: (1) God reveals himself and initiates a relationship with his people; (2) God forms the boundaries of… 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

Godless Worship

Godless Worship

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Faulty Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

In part one of this series, we investigated what Isaiah describes as heartless worship. God was not pleased with that worship, nor did He accept it as true worship. God demands to be worshipped in a manner which gives Him true glory and honor, not in ways that simply salve our consciences. In addition to… Continue Reading

The Hebrew Worship Textbook

The Hebrew Worship Textbook

The books of Chronicles are very important for anyone desiring to study Hebrew worship. For the average reader of the Old Testament, however, the books may seem redundant, simply repeating material found in 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings. Why would God include another two books recording the same events? A couple… Continue Reading

Jesus Christ as the Fulfillment of OT Worship

Jesus Christ as the Fulfillment of OT Worship

This entry is part 5 of 10 in the series Worship in Hebrews You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Significant discontinuities exist between OT and NT worship, and it is important to note that each of these cases of discontinuity stems from the author of Hebrews’ primary discontinuity, that of the physical vs. the metaphysical. Human prophets, a mediator, priests, animal sacrifices, and a Temple each represent physical realties that Hebrew worshipers could see,… Continue Reading

The Location of Worship

The Location of Worship

This entry is part 6 of 10 in the series Worship in Hebrews You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Hebrews 12:18-29 is structured around a discontinuity of the location of worship, and the rest of the book reflects this emphasis. In Hebrews 12:18, Sinai stands as a representative for worship under the Law, and thus the location of this worship is first the Tabernacle and later the Temple. In contrast, worship for a Christian… Continue Reading

Drawing Near to God in Worship

Drawing Near to God in Worship

This entry is part 1 of 10 in the series Worship in Hebrews You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

Worship emerges in Hebrews as a major theme when on considers the overall structure of the book. Jones argues that two minor climaxes in the literary structure that lead to the climax of 12:18-29 reveal that the primary theme of the entire book is a call to “come near and worship.”1 The first climax is found… Continue Reading

Hymnody in the Judeo-Christian Tradition

This entry is part 8 of 14 in the series The Hymnody of the Christian Church You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

The Beginning The first mention of music in the Bible is in Genesis 4. Verses 17—22 list Cain’s descendants, and specifically those who began the development of various cultural and social skills. Jabal was “the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock,” Tubal-cain was “the forger of all instruments of bronze and… Continue Reading

The Church Assembles for Worship, Part 3 by Ryan Martin

The Church Assembles for Worship, Part 3 by Ryan Martin

In this series, I have been attempting to show that the New Testament teaches that the church assembles for worship. Some deny this teaching because the New Testament no where specifically commands the church to gather for worship. I agree with this last observation, but I believe it to be poor theological method to insist… Continue Reading

The Church Assembles For Worship, Part 2 by Ryan Martin

The Church Assembles For Worship, Part 2 by Ryan Martin

Last week I offered an initial argument that believers gather for worship. In part 1, I discussed the significance of the phrase, “house of God” as applied to the church in the New Testament, that it points to assembled believers as the place of God’s special presence, the “new temple/tabernacle” for those in Christ Jesus.… Continue Reading

The Church Assembles For Worship, Part 1 by Ryan Martin

The Church Assembles For Worship, Part 1 by Ryan Martin

For millennia, the church understood the purpose of its gathering to be for worship. Today some scholars argue that “Christians worship everywhere,” that there “was no chapter and verse” (so to speak) that indicated that the early church thought of its assembly as a time for worship. This should be a warning to us on… Continue Reading